Gerre Dawley Alderwick Klien

On May 12, 2024, Gerre Dawley Alderwick Klien passed quietly from this life, surrounded by books, family and friends. We will miss her insatiable curiosity, generous spirit and wit. We will remember her contributions to the communities where she lived, beginning in her teens at a shelter for runaway youth and then her active support of families in Providence impacted by the AIDS epidemic and the years she escorted women in search of medical care past protesters. After acquiring a degree in Social Work, she worked with residents of Providence city housing. Her only expressed regret before her death was that she would not be able to vote in November.

Gerre was an adopter of strays, feline and human, supporting all with loving patience. Her friends were as numerous and diverse as her interests. Always a spiritual seeker, she was active with the Unitarian Universalist Church in Wakefield and sometimes a self-described Buddhist. She thought deeply. Her journals dating back well into her teenage years, are filled with brief notes, poems and pieces of her days. Later in life, she arranged flowers at Belmonts, an unofficial greeter of the many, many friends who passed each day. She loved great food, fresh oysters and a Cosmo. And she loved quiet. She sought peace. Once married, once divorced, in partnership at the time of her death, her quiet independence was unshakable. She gave away everything she ever had, with love and the hope that the gifts she received in life might help someone else even more. We will miss her.

The family thanks Dr. Christopher Azzoli of Lifespan Cancer Institute and the amazing people of Hope Hospice.

A Celebration of Life will be announced.