Juliet Richter

Juliet Sylvain Richter, 85, of Watkins Glen, New York died on August 9, 2011, peacefully at home, surrounded by her family and under the care of Hospice of the Southern Tier. She successfully battled diabetes for a decade and eventually succumbed to a newly diagnosed bone marrow disease. She was the daughter of the late Madeline Briggs Viviano and Edmund Paul Sylvain.
Born in Gardiner, Maine, on January 24, 1926, she resided in Orange, Massachusetts, until 1966 when she moved to Atlanta, Georgia.
A member of the Orange High School Class of 1944, the former Juliet Sylvain was a drum major of the Orange High School Band under the direction of Malcolm Hall. After high school she worked briefly at the former Orange Bakery and at Tepper’s Department Store in Orange.
Juliet was employed in the women’s apparel industry for more than fifty years. She began her professional career at the Orange Clothing Company as manager of the Women’s Department for more than twenty years. At the Orange Clothing Company she was the buyer for all women’s apparel, the window decorator, and the manager of the women’s department. When she moved to Atlanta, Georgia, she was employed as a Sales Associate, then as a Department Manager, for the newly opened Saks Fifth Avenue store in Phipps Plaza in Atlanta. Over her more than twenty-five year career with Saks Fifth Avenue she was the manager of nearly every department of the Atlanta store, from the bridal salon to the jewelry counter. In retirement she was an office administrator for Hearn Financial Services of Cumming, Georgia.
She built a home on Lake Lanier in northeast Atlanta and was a resident of Cumming, Georgia, for nearly thirty years.
A devoted member of the Episcopal Church, she was active at Saint John’s Episcopal Church in Athol, Massachusetts, and was a long-time member of the Church of the Holy Spirit in Cumming, Georgia.
Moving to Watkins Glen, New York, in 2006, she was active at Saint James’ and Saint John’s Episcopal Churches of Schuyler County. She was a regular volunteer at the parish Thrift Shop and a member of the Altar Guild.
She loved riding and driving her MGs. For more than a two decades she drove a 1954 MG-TD to work daily in Massachusetts and then in northeast Atlanta. During the last days of her life she enjoyed daily rides in her 1976 MGB – including her ride home from the hospital.
She was a devoted Mother, Mother-in-Law, Grandmother, and Great Grandmother, a talented seamstress and wherever she lived blooming flowers surrounded her homes, whether in Massachusetts, Georgia or New York.
She is survived by her first husband, Michael ‘Jack’ Hartney of Watkins Glen, New York; a son, The Reverend Michael Hartney (Susan B.) of Watkins Glen, NY; grandchildren Dr. Edgar Norman Kemp III D.O. (Heidi) of Kirksville, Missouri; Leslie Cameron Kemp of Sedona, Arizona; David Cameron Hartney of Las Vegas, Nevada; Elton Matthew Hartney(Ashley) of Los Angeles, California; great grandson sons: Samuel, Max, and Alex Kemp, and Owen and Declan Kemp; sister-in-law Geraldine LeBlanc (Al) of Venice, Florida; nephew Steven LeBlanc of Milford, Massachusetts; niece Diane (Kenneth) Cypher of Marlborough, Massachusetts; step children Lisa (Steve) Stamm of Spartanburg, South Carolina, Paul (Sandy) Richter of Yulee, Florida, Candy Robinson of Lawrenceville, Georgia; step granddaughter Melissa Moss and several other step grandchildren. Her second husband, Carl Richter, died in 2000.
Her body will lie in state on Monday, August 15, 2011, at Saint James’ Episcopal Church, Decatur and Sixth Streets in Watkins Glen, New York, where her family will receive friends from 6-9 pm. Vigil prayers will be offered at the Church at 8.45 pm. The funeral and Holy Eucharist will be celebrated at the Church on Tuesday, August 16, 2011, at 11:00 am, officiated by The Reverend Earle King of Grand Island, New York. After cremation, burial will be at Lakeside Cemetery in Watkins Glen at the convenience of the family.
In lieu of flowers, memorials may be made to the Endowment Fund of the Episcopal Parishes of Schuyler County, 112 Sixth Street, Watkins Glen, New York 14891, or the Church of the Holy Spirit, Post Office Box 1010, Cumming, Georgia 30028.
You may express condolences to the family online at www.Royce-Chedzoy.com. Arrangements by Royce-Chedzoy Funeral Home.