Born May 18, 1936
Washington, D.C.
Died Nov. 10, 2023
Shelburne, Vermont
Details of services
A celebration of Tina’s life is planned for Spring, 2024. Corbin and Palmer Funeral Home is taking care of arrangements and online condolences can be left at https://memorials.vtfuneralhomes.com/christina-stearns/5323701/index.php
Christina Dickey Stearns died on November 10th at Wake Robin in Shelburne, Vermont with her family by her side. She was 87. Tina was born on May 18, 1936 in Washington, D.C. and grew up in Hanover, New Hampshire where her father John Sloan Dickey was President of Dartmouth College. Tina met her future husband Stewart Stearns on the tennis courts in Hanover. Tina graduated in 1958 from Smith College and credited a horticulture course for inspiring her life-long passion for gardening.
Tina and Stew married in 1958 and settled in Hudson Falls, New York, where they both taught at area schools. Tina was known as an exacting junior high English teacher in South Glens Falls. In addition to tennis, Tina and Stew were enthusiastic skiers who enjoyed Hickory Hill, West Mountain, and Tuckerman Ravine. They also spent a lot of time at the Dickey camp on Lake Champlain in Swanton, Vermont. Tina and Stew eventually bought property on a hill in Gansevoort, New York, where they raised their two daughters and multiple Labradors. The property afforded Tina and Stew idyllic space to garden, tap maple trees, naturalize hundreds of daffodils, and operate a small cut-your-own Christmas tree farm. Tina was a talented seamstress and an accomplished needle pointer and knitter. She was curious and a lover of books. Tina served on the Crandall Library Board and was a member of the Glens Falls College Club. She fostered deep friendships over the years through tennis and golf groups. At Wake Robin, she was the secretary of the Residents Association, chaired the Humanities Book Group, and was active with needle arts, gardening, golf, and tennis.
Tina was pre-deceased by her parents, John and Christina (Gillespie) Dickey, siblings Sylvia Dickey and John Dickey Jr., and by her husband Stewart P. Stearns, Jr. She is survived by her daughters and their spouses, Christina Stearns Drescher and Michael Drescher, and Sarah Stearns and Chandler Harris, and two granddaughters, Sunny and Carolyn Drescher, of whom she was very proud. She is also survived by two nephews, Nathaniel Dickey and Will McClung, and a niece, Holly Reusing.
The family thanks the wonderful employees at Wake Robin, for their kindness and friendship to Tina during her 13 years in that community. We extend deep gratitude to her nurses during the past year, with special thanks to Nick Fredette, NP.
