News

In Memoriam

Brigitte O. Sinding

Gallup Poll director, active volunteer  

MONTGOMERY — Brigitte Ostermann Sinding died Wednesday at Stonebridge at Montgomery. She was 91.

Born in Berlin, Germany, she learned English as an au pair in England before immigrating to the United States in 1936.

Following her marriage to Steven Sinding in New York in 1939, she lived in northern New Jersey and Massachusetts before moving to Pennington in 1953. She later lived in West Windsor for 10 years and Princeton for nearly 30 years before moving to Stonebridge in 2003.

She was employed for many years by the Gallup Organization, serving as field director of the Gallup Poll. She later retired from Opinion Research Corp.

Known to her friends as Gitti, she was deeply involved in volunteer work. She was a familiar figure on Monday mornings at the information desk of the University Medical Center at Princeton, and a fixture on Tuesdays at Recording for the Blind & Dyslexic.

She helped form the Caring and Sharing Committee of the Unitarian Universalist Congregation of Princeton, and was active for many years in its Women's Alliance.

She loved classical music and attended concerts regularly at Richardson Auditorium and other area venues. She was an avid bridge player, enthusiastic traveler and ardent supporter of progressive causes.

Predeceased by her husband and her sister, Gabrielle, she is survived by sons and daughters-in-law Steve and Monica of Manchester, Vt., and Rick and Arlene of Princeton; granddaughters Kate and her husband, Dave Pollak, of New York City and Jenny and her husband, James Bradbury, of Washington, D.C.; sister Annemarie Maass of Flushing, N.Y.; and many nieces and nephews.

A memorial service will be held 1 p.m. Jan. 6 at the Unitarian Universalist Congregation of Princeton, Cherry Hill Road, Princeton.

In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions may be made to Princeton Hospice, 208 Bunn Drive, Princeton, NJ 08540, or Recording for the Blind & Dyslexic, New Jersey Unit, 69 Mapleton Road, Princeton, NJ 08540.

Published in the Princeton Packet, December 29, 2006