Photo by Ronny Borshan

From Joy Hayes, editor of the "Del-be-Del" newsletter:

Steve. I found out some things about Elaine Geiger that I didn't know - and we were good friends. I thought that you and your classmates would be interested. This information comes from her obituary that appeared in the Phiuladelphia Inquirer. "Born in Chestnut Hill, granddaughter of a millionaire and daughter of a lawyer and a sickly mother, Mrs. Geiger was raised by a French-speaking governess in Europe during early childhood. The family returned to the United States in 1905 and settled in Tarrytown, N.Y. After graduating from Barnard College in 1920 with a bachelor's degree in math and physics. She taught math at a small school near New York. she earned a master's degree from Columbia University in 1922 and immediately set off with her parents for Japan and China, where she taught English and history. In 1925, she married the Rev. Linwood T. Geiger, a Presbyterian minister, and the couple raised three sons in Southwest Philadelphia. He died in 1945, and she moved to Lansdowne. Mrs. Geiger, whose family lost its fortune during the Depression, taught math full time at Bartram for 20 years. She took in two more children and raised them with her boys. They lived frugally, each owning one pair of shoes and two outfits. When they could no longer use the clothing, they gave it to the poor. Mrs. Geiger's mother had warned her that she would not always have money, but that she would never feel poor if she reached out to those in need. When Mrs. Geiger retired in 1965, she applied to and was accepted be the Peace Corps. While awaiting her assignment, the Presbyterian Board of Missions asked her to teach in Tehran, Iran. While teaching there until 1974, she traveled to Eastern Europe, the Soviet Union, Nepal, Afghanistan, Pakistan and Ethiopia, where one of her sons was a missionary. Before she returned to Lansdowne, her students gave her a certificate stating that she had 'the ability to make a geometry class come alive.' " "When asked the secret of her longevity, she said: 'Oatmeal and yogurt every morning and a strong faith.' "