Sylvia Geer, 87, a resident of Williamsburg since 2004 and member of Williamsburg Presbyterian Church, died of natural causes on December 21st, 2020 at Brookdale Chambrel Williamsburg.
Born in Lebanon, Missouri, Sylvia grew up in Colorado and attended Grinnell College, where she met her husband, Lucien Geer, a long-time teacher and coach at Berkshire School in Massachusetts and Episcopal High School in Alexandria, VA. In Massachusetts, Sylvia taught at Florence Crittenton, a school for unwed mothers. She later earned a master’s degree in education from George Mason University, and for over two decades taught special-education and English at Washington and Lee High School in Arlington, VA.
Sylvia loved music, playing the piano, reading, camping, hiking, canoeing, and cooking. She also loved animals and had many beloved pets, most of which were rescues.
She was truly selfless and generous with her time. She never met a stranger and opened her house to everyone. She was the ideal neighbor, offering rides, meals, and anything else to help. She volunteered throughout the community everywhere she lived. In Williamsburg, she was active in her church and volunteered with hospice and literacy programs. Sylvia’s cheerful disposition was so prominent even with dementia. It was part of her essence, and all the more remarkable given the challenges she met, as a child of the Depression, losing part of her mobility at such a young age, and working so many years and so generously with special needs students. She was always a wonderful person and left her mark on many lives in many ways.
Her husband passed away in 1992. She is survived by three children, Martha Geer of New Hill, N.C., Matthew Geer of Sebastopol, CA and William Geer of Williamsburg, VA. She was a devoted grandmother to Nick, Nora, and Eliza Geer.
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