Cora Alice "CA" Gebhardt

Cora Alice Gebhardt, known to her friends and family as CA, passed away unexpectedly on Sunday, September 25th.  Born to Joy Ivey Carter Dickerman and Orson Luer St. John in New York City on May 18, 1933, she spent most of her childhood in Greenwich, CT aside from two years in Washington, D. C., where her father was stationed during World War Two.  In high school, CA attended Abbot Academy in Andover, MA.  After graduating from Mount Holyoke College in 1955, she moved to New York City and took a job at the clip desk for Life Magazine, where she pored over various newspapers in order to deliver current events to the newsroom.  The job suited her thirst for knowledge and news, which would inspire her voracious consumption of the news for the rest of her life.  

In New York, she met Ronald Evans Gebhardt, and three short months later, they were engaged.  They were wed on February 1, 1958 in Greenwich.  While Ron proceeded to build his career, CA stayed at home with their two children, Elisabeth Reading and Ronald Evans, Jr., in Darien, CT.  When Ron’s job called him to Pittsburgh, CA packed up the family and moved to Sewickley, PA where they lived for years until an opportunity to work in Paris, France took the family abroad.  Ten weeks after their third child, Joy Dickerman, was born, CA and Ron traveled by ship to Paris.  Given their shared love of travel, CA and Ron took full advantage of the opportunities to explore Europe and Northern Africa.  Indeed, CA believed that exploring other cultures was an important part of her and her children’s education.  

After three years in Paris, the family moved back to Sewickley where CA co-owned Cricklewood, a men’s clothing store, with her dear friends.  She also served as a lifelong community volunteer with various organizations including the Sewickley Community Center, Village Garden Club, Sewickley Academy, Sewickley Presbyterian Church, and the Edgeworth Surgical Center.  An avid tennis and paddle tennis player, golfer and skier, CA also relished her weekly bridge games with close friends and their excursions into the city to hear the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra and attend plays. Even in her later years, she traveled widely and frequently with Ron and after his passing in 2016, with her sisters and friends.  And, when she wasn’t traveling or seeing friends, one could find her sitting quietly with a good book in her hands and a stack on the table beside her.  She lived life to the fullest.

CA is predeceased by her loving husband, her brother Orson Luer St. John, Jr. and her sister Joy Ivey Carter St. John.  She is survived by her sister Cornelia St. John Lewis and her children, Elisabeth (Art Heberer), Evans (Tanya Tuccillo) and Joy along with her six grandchildren: Ashley Turner Dillon (Taylor), Jonathan Turner (Kristen), Max Gebhardt, Avery Gebhardt, Carter Beuc, and Sophia Beuc.  She is also survived by numerous nieces and nephews.

 A memorial service will be held on Saturday, December 17, 2022 at 11 AM at the Sewickley Presbyterian Church, Sewickley. The family asks that in lieu of flowers a donation be made to FAME, PO Box 100073, Pittsburgh, PA, 15233 or https://famefund.org/give.  

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