Tessa Harvey
Tessa Ruth Harvey of West End Avenue in New York City and The Hallmark of Creve Coeur in St. Louis, Missouri died quietly at Missouri Baptist Hospital on December 15, 2009 at age 94. She is survived by her sons Robert in St. Louis and Brian in Berkeley, California, her sister Evelyn Irsay in New York, her grandchildren, great-grandchildren and nephews and nieces. She was the former Deputy Superintendent, District 3, of the Board of Education in Manhattan and a lifelong teacher of gifted children.
In lieu of flowers, contributions may be made to the Lois Harvey Memorial Fund, a component fund of the Greater St. Louis Community Foundation, 319 North Fourth Street, Suite 300, Saint Louis, Missouri 63102.
A celebration of the life of Tessa R Harvey will be held at the Helmsley of New York, 212 E 42nd St from 2:00-4:00 PM Saturday January 16, 2010. Tessa was remembered at a celebration of her life on December 19, 2009 at The Hallmark of Creve Coeur at 2:00 in the Lakeview Room.
When I first saw this gorgeous photograph yesterday, I was reminded how beautiful as well as brilliant – and accomplished -Tess was. Who noticed these things growing up? She was just Aunt Tell. How diminished I am by her loss. My family’s thoughts are with you, and we look forward honoring her life and memory in New York in January.
I was filled with sadness when I saw the obit for Tess, who was sort of my unofficial godmother in 1943. And now my difficult task.. for I must tell my 94-year old mother Sophie (Berken, formerly Miller) that her lifelong dear friend Tess is gone. She will be inconsolable. My sincere condolences to Brian and to Bobby (as I knew him in NYC in the 1950s). Treasure the memories.
I was filled with sadness when I saw the obit for Tess, who was sort of my unofficial godmother in 1943. And now my difficult task.. for I must tell my 94-year old mother Sophie (Berken, formerly Miller) that her lifelong dear friend Tess is gone. She will be inconsolable. My sincere condolences to Brian and to Bobby (as I knew him in NYC in the 1950s). Treasure the memories.
I taught in a District 3 school for a good number of years, and remember Tessa Harvey very well. Always very pleasant and professional, she was highly respected, and left her mark on the District and the people with whom she came in contact. Her husband Leonard was also affiliated with the NYC Public School System, and like Tessa, was a well respected representative of that system.
Tessa was my aunt by marriage to my mother’s brother. In my adult years Tessa became a friend. I visited her several times in St. Louis and she always was a gracious host. I have two fond memories of her at the Hallmark. The first was her doing exercise at the gym and the second was teaching her to play poker in the rec room. She will be dearly missed.
Don’t know if this is accepting new messages but here goes. Mrs. Harvey was my 4th and 5th grade teacher at P.S. 84 in New York City. She was probably one of the 2 or 3 best teachers I ever had. As a grantwriter, I can say that I attribute my career to her and, in many ways, I can thank her for whatever confidence I have in my own intelligence. When I was an adult, Mrs. Harvey moved to 565 West End Avenue, where my mother lived and I relished the idea that she was my (or at least my mother’s) neighbor. When I adopted a daughter in 1995, Mrs. Harvey came to my daughter’s “debut party” and brought a book that we still have and that my daughter occasionally skims. I wish that I had taken the opportunity in the last however many years to tell her how much she meant to me.