Linda Catherine GERSTEL

Linda Catherine Barry

Linda Catherine (Gerstel) Barry, died Tuesday, December 14 at the Easton Nursing Center in Easton, PA, where she was cared for during a long illness. She was the wife of Paul Douglass Barry. They weremarried 46 years in June, and had three children and two grandchildren. Born June 18, 1943 in Troy, New York, she was the daughter of Adolf and Olive Engwer Gerstel. She graduated from Berlin High School in 1961, and went on to nursing school at Bishop Memorial School in Pittsfield, Massachusetts, graduating in 1964. She worked for many years at Pittsfield General Hospital (now Berkshire MedicalCenter), before working at a variety of hospitals in northeastern Pennsylvania. She went on to earn a specialization as an occupational health nurse, holding positions in a number of Allentown, PA-area firms. Linda converted to Catholicism, making her first communion together with her son Eric. She remained devout throughout her life. Linda had an insatiable zest for learning, taking up skiing when her elder children were teenagers. She earned a college degree in her 40s, something that she took great pride in. She loved crafts, making things for her children as they grew, and collecting Longaberger baskets. Christmas was her favorite time of year. Survivors: Her husband; daughter, Colleen Barry, who resides in Italy with her husband, Martino Masotto; daughter, Katrina Barry, of San Diego,California; and son, Eric Barry, of Providence, Rhode Island; two grandchildren, Emilio Barry and Bianca Stella Masotto; brother, Gary, of Berlin, NY; sister, Deborah Zwack, of Stephentown, NY. Her mother, Olive, died on Thanksgiving Day of this year, while her father, Adolf, died in January 1966. She was predeceased by brothers, Wayne and Donn. Services: A Liturgy of Christian Death and Burial will be celebrated by Rev. John Close on Monday at 11 a.m. in St. Josephs Church, Route 43, Stephentown. Interment will follow in St. Josephs Cemetery. Relatives and friends are invited to the Hall & Higgins Funeral Home, 457 NY 43, Stephentown on Sunday from 4 to 7 p.m. for visitation.

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