Obituary of Bertha Lederer

Bertha V. B. Lederer of 32 Second Street, Geneseo, NY, died at age 97 on Tuesday, October 6, 2009. Ms. Lederer was a long time resident of Geneseo for over 60 years. She is survived by dear friends John and Gloria Sullivan of Pittsford, NY and their sons Dr. John Pier Sullivan of Victor, NY, Jonathan Lederer Sullivan of Scottsdale, AZ, and Joshua Ward Sullivan of Rye, NY, with whom, after the death of her mother, Ms. Lederer spent the holidays in Rochester. Ms. Lederer was born May 14, 1912 in New Haven, CT, the daughter of Jonathan and Estelle Magill Lederer and grew up in Greenwich Village in New York City. Ms. Lederer was one of the first women to attend Yale University where she earned a Bachelor of Fine Arts. She attended Columbia and earned a Master of Arts at New York University. Ms. Lederer was a faculty member and administrator at the State University of New York at Geneseo from 1945-1980. During this time, she was the founder of the Genesee Valley Council on the Arts. In 1980, Ms. Lederer was appointed Distinguished Service Professor of Art and in 1988 she received the Geneseo Foundation Meritorious Service Award for outstanding efforts to promote the fine arts. The Bertha Lederer Art Gallery at Brodie Fine Arts Building was named in her honor. She continued to serve on the Geneseo Foundation and the Association of the Preservation of Geneseo for several years after retirement. Ms. Lederer was an accomplished artist whose respect for individual expression and creativity were foundations of her life's work. She shared her passion for the arts and commitment to nurturing a culture of art appreciation by accompanying several generations of Geneseo students on European art tours. She remembered her former students fondly and delighted in receiving cards telling of their lives, decades after they graduated. There will be no prior calling hours. Services will be held Saturday, November 28, 2009, at 1:00 P.M. at St. Michael's Episcopal Church, 23 Main Street, in Geneseo, NY. Private interment, Temple Hill Cemetery, Geneseo, NY. In lieu of flowers, memorials may be made to the Bertha V. Lederer Endowed Scholarship in Dance, Geneseo Foundation, 202 Erwin Hall, 1 College Circle, Geneseo, NY 14454. Cards of fond memories and condolence may be sent to John and Gloria Sullivan, 516 Allens Creek Road, Rochester, NY 14618.