Alexis D. Teitz

Exeter - Known to many as Lexi since childhood, Alexis Dale Teitz passed away peacefully at home in Exeter, New Hampshire, on May 28, 2014. She had lived in Exeter since 2004, and before that in York Beach, Maine, and Cornish, NH. Lexi was born in Newport, Rhode Island, December 21, 1945, to Judge Alexander and Mrs. (Lucille Feinstein) Teitz. She attended local schools, graduating from Rogers High School, where she played on the women's basketball team, and then from Goucher College in Towson, Maryland. In 1967 she moved to New York and entered Macy's Executive Training Program, later working in Manhattan as a buyer in millinery and women's wear. While at Macy's she received many outstanding performance awards. In the early 1970s, Lexi met the love of her life, William (Bill) Gersumky. They were married in 1973. Bill was a petrochemical engineer, and he and Lexi traveled frequently to Brazil for business and pleasure, where she prided herself on her fluency in Portuguese. In Manhattan, Lexi worked as a researcher for the Foundation Center, the leading source for information about philanthropy worldwide. She was a principal author of several publications for the Center in the 1970s and early 1980s. In 1979, Lexi and Bill moved to Cornish, where they had a summer house. They made it a year-round home and acquired the first of several golden retrievers that became her daily companions. Bill worked in hospital fund-raising, and Lexi entered the Master of Arts and Liberal Studies (M.A.L.S.) program at Dartmouth College, writing her thesis on the works of Virginia Wolff and Alice Walker (Developing Feminine Voices: Spirituality and Selfhood in To the Lighthouse and The Color Purple). Until Bill's death in 1991 they were very active in community affairs. After coming to Exeter, Lexi enrolled in ChIME, the Chaplaincy Institute of Maine, and after completing a two-year curriculum that included an internship at the Merrimack Valley Hospital and a trip to the Dominican Republic, she was ordained as an Interfaith Minister in 2011. Lexi served in hospitals and also helped as a volunteer assistant in local elementary schools until her last illness. Lexi also taught several Adult Education courses in the Seacoast area on poetry, literature, and journaling. A highlight of Lexi's years in Exeter and York Beach was her participation with Voices from the Heart, a 200-member women's chorus. She sang at many regional presentations and toured with Voices to the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland in 2001. In addition to her husband, Lexi was predeceased by her parents and an infant son, Maxwell Gersumky. She leaves behind her brothers, Richard, San Antonio, TX; Andrew (wife Lois), Barrington, RI; and sister, Louise Ellen, Bristol, RI. Other survivors include her nieces and nephew: Rebecca Ackerman, Cresskill, NJ; Jessie Becker (husband Travis), Palo Alto, CA; Alexander Teitz, Denver CO; Elizabeth Teitz and Alexandra Teitz, Barrington, RI; her four grandnephews, Joshua and Daniel Ackerman, Zachary and Samuel Becker; and Rosie, her last golden retriever. Lexi's family is grateful to her many friends who surrounded her with love and care in her last months. Those wishing to remember her may make a donation to Voices from the Heart, ChIME, or the charity of their choice. In accordance with her wishes, a memorial service will be held on Saturday, June 14, at 3:30 PM at South Church, 292 State Street, Portsmouth, New Hampshire. There will be a reception in the Parish Hall afterward.

Alexis D. Teitz

December 21, 1945 - May 28, 2014