Matilda “Tilly” Sternig, 99, passed away peacefully at the Hearthstone in Whitewater on Sept. 8, 2013.
Tilly came to Whitewater in 2007 and she moved to Fairhaven in 2009 where she has many friends who admired her strength of character and will miss her spunk.
In 1926, at the age of 12, Matilda immigrated to the United States from St. Stefan, Austria with her parents, Simon and Magdalena Fritz, and her two younger brothers.
In 1932, at 17, Tilly married John Sternig just before her family moved back to Austria because of the Depression. Her husband John worked for the Milwaukee Road Railroad and Tilly worked for Gimbels in downtown Milwaukee. During the 1950s the Milwaukee Public Schools hired Tilly where she worked for more than 25 years. She was the head cook and manager at Juneau High School when she retired in 1979.
Survivors include her nephew, John (Kathy) Fritz, and niece, Magdalene Stetter and their children, Patricia (Wade) Congdon, Amy (Luis) Yeager, Ray (Alison) Stetter, Jennifer (Eric) Redwitz, frater Cyprian Fritz and Mary Fritz. Tilly is further survived by her great-grand nieces and nephews, Autumn Congdon, Isabella Redwitz, Zach, Max, Sydney and Samantha Stetter, Hannah, Jack, Andrew and Elizabeth Yeager.
Matilda was preceded in death by her husband, John, her son, James “Jimmy” Sternig, her two brothers, Andrew and John (Mary) Fritz.
Tilly Sternig will be remembered in many cities across the globe as she still has relatives and friends in Austria, Canada and throughout the U.S.
A Memorial Service will be held at 11 a.m. on Friday, Sept. 13, at St Patrick’s Catholic Church, 1225 W. Main St. Whitewater. A luncheon will be provided in Fr. Berry Hall after the mass.
Inurnment will be at Holy Cross Cemetery and Mausoleum in Milwaukee.
Memorials may be made to the Salvation Army or the Milwaukee Rescue Mission in Matilda Sternig’s honor.
Nitardy Funeral Home, Whitewater, assisted the family.
For online guest book, visit www.nitardyfuneralhome.com.
