Jean Geringer

* Retired Payroll Secretary

Jean Geringer could have written a book about all the changes she witnessed from her 1967 debut as a school secretary at James Monroe HS in the Bronx to her next job at Russell Sage JHS in Forest Hills, Queens, until her retirement 30 years later as a payroll secretary at Stephen Halsey JHS, also in Forest Hills.

Jean was 92 when she died of COVID-19 on April 8, 2020.

She began her career taking notes as a stenographer and transcribing the notes to typewritten copies with many carbons. Over the years, the stenography and typewriters gave way to word processing and computers.

Her son, Ira, a teacher at the Williamsburg HS for Architecture and Design in Brooklyn, said, “She always kept up with whatever was the latest and became the fastest keyboardist I’ve ever seen.”

Jean’s daughter, Harriet Spivack, a retired teacher, remembers her mother as someone “who was always able to adapt quickly and grow professionally.”

Jean earned a secretarial degree at Queensborough Community College and worked at various neighborhood firms before going to work for the city Department of Education.

Spivack describes her mother as a gracious and classy woman with an old-fashioned work ethic who took pride in everything she did. She was a Girl Scout leader, liked to play mahjong and tennis, and enjoyed theater and music. Her hobby was art, including sketching and watercolor painting, and she attended arts and crafts classes.

In addition to her son and daughter, Jean is survived by three grandchildren and two great-granddaughters.