Gladys D. (Dorrance) Osterman

Gladys Dorrance Osteman passed away peacefully at her home in Tarrytown, New York on Monday, December 11. She was 92 years old. Daughter of Ann Levine and David Dorenz, she grew up in New York City and Yorktown Heights where she attended Shrub Oak High School. She earned a Bachelor of Arts from the Cooper Union School of Arts and a Masters degree from New York University. Gladys and her husband, Herb (passed 2014), settled in Tarrytown in 1957 where they raised two boys.

Gladys had a lifelong passion for literature and the visual arts. She read extensively in poetry and philosophy, as well as feminist theory, art criticism, and cultural theory. Her artwork spans from abstract oil paintings to watercolor landscapes and also included explorations through photography, etching, and ceramics.

Gladys taught grade school art, and was a volunteer teacher at Abbott House in Irvington. She was a volunteer for WBAI, ran a children's theater program that brought performances to Sleepy Hollow High School, and was politically active, protesting against the Vietnam War and working to ban above ground nuclear testing. Later, she and her husband, Herb, were instrumental in the preservation of the Grove Street Historic District, and was one of the community volunteers who successfully fought to save what is now Neperan Park from becoming a multiunit housing development.

Gladys had a particular flair for life and never compromised her own individuality. She was devoted to her family, and taught her children to appreciate the world through her talent in art. In addition to reading and creating art, Gladys loved nature, gardening, and the various pet cats who were her companions over the years.

Gladys is survived by her half sister Dorothea Dorenz, sons David (Laura) and Jonathan, and grandchildren Cybele, Dan, and Mira.

Visitation will be at Coffey Funeral Home on Sunday from 1PM to 3 PM.

In lieu of flowers please make donations to the American Civil Liberties Union.

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