Austin Stern

1931 - 2022

Wed 14 Dec 2022

Austin Stern will be remembered by those who knew him as a loyal friend, willing mentor, passionate thinker, eager conversationalist, tireless cheerleader, talented whistler, and probably most of all, as a deeply loving husband, father, and grandfather. Whether you were meeting Austin for the first time or had known him for years, his vibrant smile and warm greeting (with a voice made for radio) made you feel embraced, an innate talent that served him well throughout his personal and professional life.

Born in 1931 in Boston, MA to Louis and Clarice Holloway Stern, Austin spent his childhood years between Winchester and Brookline, graduating from Brookline High in 1949. Austin went on to obtain his BA ('54) and MEd ('62) from Clark University in Worcester, where he studied foreign relations and captained the baseball and soccer teams, receiving an award as the school's most accomplished athlete during his Senior year. Armed with a talent for athletics and a degree in education, Austin would go on to spend much of his working life engaged in the two. Following a short stint with the Philadelphia A's farm team in 1954 and time serving as the athletic director at an Army base in Germany as a First Lieutenant, Austin returned stateside and in 1962, he entered what would be an almost 40-year career in education when he joined the faculty at New Hampton School in New Hampton, NH. A few years after arriving at New Hampton, Austin married Caroline Munn O'Neill, to whom he was married for 35 years before her passing in 1999. After five years of building a strong network of friends and establishing a life busy with engaging in all that New Hampshire had to offer, Austin and Caroline started their family in 1969 with the birth of their daughter, Jennifer, the first of three children. That same year, Austin assumed the position of Director of Admissions, a role that he loved and would continue in at the Storm King School in Cornwall-on-Hudson, NY after leaving New Hampton in 1982. As Director of Admissions at both schools, Austin built deep and meaningful relationships with incoming students and their families that lasted well beyond their interviews or tenures on campus. His conviction in the transformative power of the educational settings in which he worked allowed him to look beyond students' resumes to embrace their potential, and he relished playing an active role beyond matriculation to see his optimism bear fruit. To this day, former students readily refer to Austin as someone who 'changed their life' and served as a 'second father,' providing invaluable counsel and guidance that has lasted a lifetime.

Although dedicated to his work, the majority of Austin's energy and attention went into raising his three children, Jenny, Hillary and Chad. Whether it was digging tunnels in the snow, lacing skates by the side of a frozen lake, or driving around New England and New York for riding events, tennis matches or hockey games, Austin was there with a smile and encouraging word. As a father, he was unmatched in his willingness to lend an ear or provide a shoulder, and his unwavering support of and belief in his children was a gift they will forever be grateful for.

Upon his retirement from Storm King in 1997, Austin moved to Brewster, MA, and a life of reading hard covered books, searching for balls at Captain's Golf Course, wringing his hands at the performance of his beloved Red Sox, and relishing sitting on the bench outside the Brewster General Store while completing the crossword puzzle in any one of the numerous newspapers he would purchase on a daily basis. In 2006, he married Karen Szvoren, and the two established a wonderful life filled with love, friends, family, adventure and discussions surrounding the Yankee-Red Sox and Patriots-Bills rivalry from their home in South Dennis, MA. After a slow decline in health over a number of years, Austin died peacefully on Wednesday, December 14, 2022 surrounded by loved ones. Austin is survived by his wife Karen; three children, Jenny Stern-Carusone, Hillary Conkling and Austin C. Stern, II ("Chad"); his step-son, Jim Hayes; his son-in-law Judson Stern-Carusone and daughters-in-law Caralyn Quigley Stern and Jenny Mullins; and his seven grandchildren, Sophia Conkling, Tegwin Stern-Carusone, Austin C. Stern, III, Calvin Stern, Sydney Conkling, Maxwell Hayes, and Adeline Hayes.