Claire Steiger

Claire Louise Steiger passed away at age 91 on February 3, 2025. She was born August 24, 1933, in Scarsdale, NY, precipitating a hurricane. She died in Hartford, CT, peacefully, surrounded by her family, during a gentle snowfall. She got her wish of having "a good death", which she had prepared for and planned after much forethought and research, having attended Death Cafés for 20 years. 

Hers was a curious and questing mind, always wanting to know more about everything. She was a true student of life. Her father remarked, "You have a mind like a steel trap." She took after her engineer father in many ways, mountaineering (climbing to the top of the Matterhorn), a lifetime of hiking and camping in the mountains, being very handy, making household repairs and became known as "The Gadget Queen." After attending two colleges (Middlebury and Vassar) and earning a Master's Degree in Social Work, she married and achieved what she considered her life's greatest work: the bearing and raising of four eventually loving daughters. Each one had her share of challenges throughout their lives, and Claire rose to help meet them all with patience, love, wit, compassion, and faith in her children.

She was immensely proud of her daughters and then of her five grandchildren and two great-grandchildren. She shared with them her love of adventure, travel to all parts of the world, skiing, horseback riding, classical music, and singing. She loved playing the piano and was proud of the recitals she gave. She loved all things Irish and, with her second husband, owned a cottage on a sheep farm. Located in an idyllic spot halfway up a mountain overlooking Bantry Bay in the southwest of Ireland, they had great fun remodeling the building from a shell into a cozy home, which she visited nearly every summer for 30 years, where she made many friends. She went river rafting with her grandchildren. She was a published poet, as were several of her children. Her letters to friends were always graced with beauty, whether with the words she chose, the stamps she selected, or the sentiments she expressed. She was always thinking of others and was notorious in the family for sending articles or cartoons she discovered in all kinds of print media she was reading, just because she thought they would find it interesting, useful, or simply enjoy it. She performed random acts of kindness. She trusted love. 

At age 90 she had her first flying lesson, and, according to her flight instructor, did better than the younger students, even if she did need four cushions to see the runway over the instrument panel. In the months before her death, she was beginning to learn a new bridge convention, had oil paintings displayed in local shows, and had works in progress when she passed. She belonged to book groups, writing groups, Great Idea discussion groups, and a monthly Unitarian church discussion group. She took part in a choir performance only a few weeks before she died. She was fascinated by black holes and string theory. She loved crossword puzzles, murder mysteries, art museums, and nature programs. People remarked that they could be endlessly lost in conversation with her, not only because of the breadth of knowledge she had, but because of her kindness, humor and charm. She was the best of friends, the best of mothers, of grandmothers, of great-grandmothers... in fact, the best in every relationship she had with everyone. 

She is survived by daughters Jennifer Nagode, Barbara Phillips (Richard White), Emily Dean (Bob Vaughan), and Sarah Phillips; grandchildren Melanie Nagode (Melody Smith), Gavin Dean (Crystal Dean), Helen Phillips-White (Emily Remick), and Fiona Phillips-White; and great-grandchildren Leonardo Dean and Linus Dean. She was predeceased by her first husband Burt Phillips, second husband William Steiger, son-in-law Louis Andrew Nagode, and grandson (Louis) Paul Nagode.

In lieu of flowers, donations can be made to Claire’s favorite charity, World Central Kitchen (https://wck.org).