Stella Milner Stern's Obituary
Stella Stern
March 12, 1933 - September 19, 2021
Roseville, California - Stella Milner Stern, 88, of Sun City, Roseville, died of complications from pancreatic cancer on Sunday, Sept. 19, 2021. She leaves behind an international circle of close friends -- many of them from her childhood in London -- and of course, her loving family who will miss her dearly.
She chose to live her life joyously, although it was not without its challenges. She was born to an extremely poor Jewish family in pre-war East End London. When the war erupted, her parents (Joseph and Dinah Milner) sent their three young children away to live with foster families in the countryside. When Stella returned to London five years later at the war's end, she was eleven. She found her beloved city of London in ruins from the bombs and met her two youngest siblings, David, and Sylvia, for the first time.
Her home lacked indoor toilets and running hot water, but relief came in the form of The Oxford & St. George's Club -- a Jewish youth and community center created by Sir Basil Henriques to provide services for the Jewish community in the East End of London. As well as being a social club, The Oxford & St. George's Club provided religious classes, taught sports, ballet, acting, fine arts, physical education, and first aid. In doing so, the Club prepared children for future careers and expanded their horizons far beyond their impoverished lives in the East End.
The Club was her lifeline to sustain her in the present and her pathway to becoming the future woman that she became.
The Club not only provided baths and showers for those like my mom whose homes lacked them, but it instilled a sense of worthiness and nurtured self-confidence in those, like Stella, who attended. Activities introduced the young teens to culture -- classical music and art -- left a deep imprint on Stella for her entire life. The people she met there became her deepest, lifelong friends.
The club also gave her the confidence to move by herself to the United States when she was in her early 20s where she met her future husband David Stern. They married in 1956, eventually settling in Southern California in 1968 where they raised their two children. Stella worked for many years at the Broadway Department Store in Canoga Park, CA., where she earned many sales records and employee awards.
The Sterns retired and moved to Sun City in 1999, where she became active in various community activities including the Jewish Fellowship, the International Club (formerly the British Club), the Mah Jongg group and her beloved painting classes.
In her retirement, she developed her skills as a painter, producing hundreds of canvases which she often described as "all happy." Even in the advanced stages of fighting cancer, she retained her cheerful outlook and sense of humor. She was adamant that she simply would not die until she knew that all of her paintings had found new homes.
Stella was predeceased by her husband, David Stern, in 2006, her sister Daphne, her brother David, and her sister Sylvia.
She is survived by her daughter, Andrea Seminer (married to Dr. David Seminer), and grandsons Jason Seminer and Zachary Seminer, son Stephen Stern (married to Cathy Nino), Zach's life partner Rachel Martin and a great-granddaughter, Isla Martin. She is also survived by her brother Jackie, and many nieces and nephews.
Published by & from Sep. 23 to Sep. 25, 2021.
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