Compiled by The Bedford Citizen
Flags were lowered to half-staff this week to honor Marcia Larsen Sternberg.
Marcia Larsen was born in Bedford in 1926, and as a Bedford student, she graduated from Lexington High School in 1943. Armed with her high school diploma, Miss Larsen went to Washington DC to help in the ‘War Effort.’ As an ultra-proficient typist, she was charged with preparing documents for the White House because they had to be perfect, without errors or erasures. After marrying Maurice ‘Pete’ Sternberg in 1950, the young couple returned to Bedford to raise their family.
Mrs. Sternberg’s capacity for detail and perfection, along with a love of numbers, led her into financial accounting when she went back to work in the 1950s. She became Town Treasurer in 1965, and later Bedford’s first Finance Officer.
Selectman Mike Rosenberg recalled “Marcia’s service as treasurer helped build a bridge to the sophisticated municipal financial platform we take for granted today. She was successful because she took her responsibilities seriously — and she loved living here.”
Former Finance Director Peter Naum followed Mrs. Sternberg. He recalled, “Marcia’s dedication to both the Town and the Finance Department was an inspiration. The knowledge that she shared and the guidance she gave to me was invaluable.”
“The Town of Bedford was very fortunate to have had the financial knowledge of Marcia when she was Treasurer for the Town,” said Victor Garofalo, Bedford’s present Finance Director. ” She was well-respected by all who knew her, and I know she will always be remembered for her service to the Town.”
Meredith McCulloch, former Director of the Bedford Free Public Library, recalled Mrs. Sternberg as one of the first women with major responsibility in town government. “She was friendly and helpful along with being extremely competent,” McCulloch remembers.
Betsey Anderson and Frank Gicca both served on the Finance Committee and as Selectmen during Mrs. Sternberg’s tenure.
“Marcia Sternberg was one of the first people I met when I became a member of the Finance Committee,” recalled Anderson. “She was very professional and helpful to the many volunteers in town government. She loved Bedford and always worked to make it a better place for its residents.”
School Committee member Bobbie Ennis recalled that “Marcia always had Bedford’s best interests at heart as our ‘financial watchdog.’ She monitored every penny, stayed on top of all the new laws, and implemented them to a ‘T.’ She was well-respected and Bedfordites had complete faith in her knowledge.” Ennis added that two of the Sternberg children, Kip and Marie, were great athletes, and through them “Marcia was a true supporter of Bedford sports.”
During one of her terms as a Selectman, Judy Barber traveled to Manhattan along with then-Town Administrator Richard White and others to secure Bedford’s first AAA bond rating. The two women became close friends with Barber recalling, “the great adventures and a wonderfully caring woman with a great sense of humor.” Click this link to read Judy Barber’s full remembrance.
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