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IN LOVING MEMORY OF

Neva M.

Neva M. (Nichols) Strom Profile Photo

(Nichols) Strom

d. Sep 6, 2017

Obituary

Neva M. (Nichols) Strom, 85, died peacefully in the arms of loving family at Glens Falls Hospital on September 6, 2017 after a brief illness and under hospice care.  She was preceded in death by her husband of 58 years, Victor T. Strom (April 19, 2016), and their son, Rolf T. Strom (July 21, 2000).  She is survived by their daughters, Neva D. Strom (Thomas Dula), and Dina F. (Strom) Grant, and their children, Nikolas and Hannah Dula, and John, George, and Katherine Grant.

Neva grew up in Glens Falls, attended Oakwood Friends School in Poughkeepsie, and graduated from Glens Falls High School.  She had a brief career as a receptionist in a dentist's office in NYC, but resigned in 1959 to give her full attention to raising a family and keeping their home.  She and Victor spent their married life in New York City and Ridgewood, NJ close to Victor's work, but always summered in the Glens Falls area, close to her family's generations of roots, and where Neva returned after Victor's recent death.

Neva was a bright and effervescent woman, charming people in her life with her sparkling eyes, ready laugh, warm hospitality, and stories galore.  She generously opened her homes and heart to many, individually, and in service to groups throughout her life.  She was a famed Girl Scout leader and Council member in Bergen County NJ, for many years co-leading 3 different troops simultaneously so both of her daughters would have a troop to be in.  Due to her dedicated service, both girls completed the entire 11 year program, and along with a large number of others in their troops, earned the highest distinction of First Class, largely due to the extra time and effort the co-leaders invested in guiding them.  She and her co-leader/best friend, Marjorie Poole used to joke that they had "green blood," and even had identical green station wagons.

Neva's language skills (Latin, French, and sentence diagramming) found expression for a lifetime in her completion of NYTimes crossword puzzles, and her avid hobbies of reading and genealogical and historical research.

Her musical background (cello and singing, like her opera-singer mother, trained by Bolton Landing's Marcella Sembrich) made her a great song-leader in Girl Scouts.  She also emphasized musical training and expression for her 3 children, including picking the family's NJ church membership because of its high quality music program.


Neva turned her love for visual creative expression with cloth into an avocation as a costumer, and gave her skills, time, and enthusiasm with joy to Ridgewood High School's Jamboree program, as well as West Side Presbyterian Church's theater group, "The Hillside Players."  Neva also volunteered at West Side as church receptionist and was part of the Feisty Ladies group there.  Both Neva and Victor volunteered at The Hermitage, a local historical building in Ho-ho-kus, NJ, where Neva dealt with the history, care, and preservation of historical clothing.  Neva and Victor were part of a Marriage Enrichment small group fellowship for years with other couples at West Side, and the relationships built in the 1970s there, and with their summer neighbors at Lake George lasted throughout their lifetimes.

Memorial services are open to all and will be as follows:
11:30am on Sunday October 1st at Caldwell Presbyterian Church, 71 Montcalm Street, Lake George, NY.

3:00pm on Friday October 6 at West Side Presbyterian Church, 6 South Monroe Street (Varian Fry Way), Ridgewood, NJ.

Interment will be privately held by family.  In lieu of flowers, make a memorial gift to your local Girl Scout Council.  Please visit the Baker Funeral Home website and sign the guest book online.

To send flowers or plant a memorial tree in memory, please visit our flower store.

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