Sylvia Ellen (Pendleton) Leibensperger, 98, passed away on February 17th, 2024 in Johnston, RI. She was born on January 1st, 1926 on a farm in Hermon, ME, to Walter Pendleton and Iva (Miller) Pendleton. She graduated from Hermon Pond School, a one-room school house, in 1939, followed by Hermon High School in 1943, and the University of Maine, Orono in 1947. She worked as a teacher and counselor at the Bradley Home for Children in Riverside, RI and then as a Field Director for the Girl Scouts, first in Fall River, MA and then in Bergen County, NJ. In 1956 she married Howard Leibensperger, who was to be her beloved husband of 66 years. They raised their three daughters in Suffern and Monsey, NY. In 1977 Sylvia and Howard moved to Stephentown, NY, where Sylvia worked as the Librarian of the Stephentown Memorial Library, and where she and Howard were active in the Stephentown Historical Society.
Sylvia cherished rural life and the beauty of nature. She loved animals and owned cats, dogs, chickens, fish, and parakeets. She converted much of her yard to natural habitat and kept bird houses and bird feeders. She was an avid gardener and produced an extensive variety of vegetables on a large plot at her home in Stephentown. Sylvia and Howard traveled and camped all over North America, from the Gaspé Peninsula to Alaska. Sylvia was physically active throughout her life through walking, skiing, and working around the house and yard. She was an excellent cook.
Sylvia held a strong set of New Englander values. She was a believer in self-sufficiency and reduce, reuse, recycle long before the term was coined. She raised her daughters to be studious and fun-loving, and was proud of their academic achievements in art and science. Her dry wit was sharp but always kind, and she welcomed her daughters’ partners into the family.
Sylvia particularly cherished her memories of her rural childhood: swimming in Hermon Pond, watching the circus train go by, and using a horse for farm work.
Sylvia was predeceased by her husband Howard and her sister Roseanne Gray of Hermon, ME. She is survived by her daughters Laura Leibensperger (James Ventola) of Arlington, MA; Kathryn (Luke) Dillon of West Cape May, NJ; and Roslyn Leibensperger (Ronald Pitt) of Barrington, RI. She also leaves her nieces Cynthia (Roy) Little of Carmel, ME; Nancy (Brent) Delong of Hermon, ME; and Susan (David) Correll of North Ridgeville, OH.
