Sterling passed away at home on January 29th. She was preceded in death by her loyal canine companion of 16 years, Margaret.

Sterling retired from teaching at the ripe old age of 88. On her last day of work she fell and broke her hip, but with a lot of sheer determination and encouragement from her close friends, was back on her feet in a year.

Sterling’s first teaching job began in a one room schoolhouse at Sawyer’s Bar, a small town between Yreka and Eureka. She wrote a book about her two year experience called “40th & Plum.” Sterling found her way to Lathrop in 1965 and taught kindergarten there for 22 years. She retired in 1987 but continued to teach adult ceramics.

Sterling was named “Woman of the Decade” by the Lathrop Chamber of Commerce in 1981 and in 2006 she received the “Golden Apple” from the California Teacher’s Association.

Sterling lived a full life, checking off almost everything on her bucket list. Her passions were many. She loved traveling and took a trip around the world in her seventies. She also loved bingo and the casinos. Sterling had a soft spot for animals. She created the Happy Pets charity which helped pay for spaying and neutering. She also founded the Megavor Scholarship Foundation for college students. She was generous to a fault donating to many organizations and people throughout her long life. She never told anyone no and was the first person to offer help if someone was in need.

Sterling had a wide variety of friends from every walk of life. She never met a stranger. Her closest friends were a handful of women she had known for decades and whom she thought of as her daughters.

Our deepest thanks goes out to her Kaiser physician, Dr. Jasti, and Hospice of San Joaquin staff, Michelle, Lori and Allen.

A memorial service will be held on Sunday, January 10th at 4p.m. at Grace Methodist Church, 1625 N. Lincoln, (corner of Harding Way) in Stockton. Reception to follow immediately. In lieu of flowers, donations can be made to the Hospice of San Joaquin, 3888 Pacific Ave., CA, 95204 or the City Animal Fund, 1575 S. Lincoln St., CA 95206.

Manteca (Calif.) Bulletin

Thursday, February 7, 2013