Adelle Gersten

Adelle Gersten, 89, of Las Vegas, NV and previously of West Hartford, CT, passed away peacefully with her children by her side on Monday, April 28, 2025. Her husband of 31 years, Harold Gersten and her life partner of 25 years, Donald Bean both predeceased her. She is survived by her loving children: Samuel “Sam” Gersten and his wife Alison of Natick, MA and Atty. Ceil Gersten of South Windsor, CT; her grandson Evan Abate of Boca Raton, FL; her 2 great grandchildren: Khai J. Abate and Adonis A. Abate; several nieces, nephews, friends, her caregivers: Hilda, Tina, Virginia & Theresa and her “grand pets” Archie and Logan.

Adelle was born and raised in Brockton, MA the daughter of the late Dr. Eli and Tillie (Birner) Leeder. She graduated from Bockton High School and then went to Smith College in Northampton, MA where she earned her Bachelor’s Degree in 1957. Adelle had met Harold at a party in May of 1957 and they quickly married November 10, 1957. She moved to be with Harold at his family farm in Tariffville, CT and began working at Connecticut General. The happy couple started their family and once her children were older, Adelle went back to Trinity College to earn her Master's Degree in Economics in 1970. Adelle continued her career at Connecticut General, now Cigna, where she worked as an executive in the pension department over 35 years until her retirement.

Adelle loved travelling with her family and visited most of the countries in Europe and throughout Asia. When she was home, she would attend Broadway Productions many times a year, travel to London Theater and Las Vegas shows and the family would visit Lake Tahoe every summer. She enjoyed visiting museums all over the world where she especially loved fashion exhibits, fashion designers and always looking her best. Adelles love of tennis playing for many years encouraged her son Sam to play at a young age and to this day he is an active tennis player due to Adelle's initiatives. She loved going out to dinners, reading all genres of books, following politics and having a wonderful sense of humor through it all. Most of all she loved spending time with her family. Everyone who knew Adelle will miss her dearly.

A funeral service is Monday, May 12, 2025 at 1:00 PM at Weinstein Chapel, 640 Farmington Avenue, Hartford, CT 06105 followed by burial in Emanuel Synagogue Cemetery, Wethersfield, CT. The family will sit Shiva: Monday, May 12 from 2PM to 8:00PM; Tuesday, May 13 and Wednesday, May 14 from 4:00PM to 8:00PM at 96 Tumblebrook Lane, West Hartford, CT 06117.

In lieu of flowers, contributions in Adelle’s memory may be made to: Vets Without Borders, One World Trade Center 85th Floor, New York, NY 10007-0103 or at: www.vwb.org/site/how-to-help-us; Guiding Eyes for the Blind, 611 Granite Springs Road, Yorktown Heights, NY 10598 or at: www.guidingeyes.org/; The Bushnell, 166 Capitol Ave,Hartford, CT 06106 or at: https://bushnell.org/support/donate