Felicity Dell’Aquila-Geyra was born May 17, 1930 in New Haven, Conn. A lifelong resident of New Rochelle, NY, she was a world traveler and had lived in Rehovoth, Israel.
A graduate of The Thornton-Donovan School and The Ursuline School, in New Rochelle, NY, she attended The College of New Rochelle, The University of Michigan, Hunter College, The Manhatten School of Music, The University of London and Institut Valery Larbaud in Vichy, France. She received a Bachelor of Arts from New York University and a Master of Arts from Teachers College at Colombia University.
Long an advocate for artists and musicians, in conjunction with The Lincoln Center Institute for the Arts in Education, she taught Aesthetic Education, Language Arts, Humanities, and French in The Rye City Schools for twenty years and Coordinated the Aesthetic Education Program for Westchester Public School Teachers at SUNY Purchase. Upon retirement from teaching, she received a Proclamation from the County Board of Legislators for her Contribution to the Cultural Life of Westchester, an Award from the Westchester Heart Association and was appointed Dean of The Academy at Manhattan School of Music and Adjunct Professor of English at Pace University.
Artist Liaison for Wainwright House in Rye NY and The New Rochelle Council on the Arts, she was Public Relations, and Artist Coordinator for Special Events for the Rye Arts Center and for The America-Israel Cultural Foundation for Gala Concerts at Alice Tully Hall, and The Kaye Playhouse at Hunter College.
Author of interviews with prominent American and Israeli personalities for Lifestyles Magazine, as well as articles for The New York Times, Art Times and Spotlight Magazine, she was Director/Host for “Collage, Conversations about The Arts” for Westchester Cable TV and an advisor for Exhibits at Colgate University, The New York Historical Society, The New Rochelle Council on the Arts, The Rye Arts Center and The Manhattan School of Music. A close friend of many famous musicians and painters, she was a frequent model for numerous distinguished artists, including among others, John Koch, Molly Guion, her son, Don Geyra and his father, Zvi Geyra.
A member of The NYS Teachers’ Retirement System, Women in Communications, The Bohemians, The Westchester Arts Council and Past President of The Alumni Association of Manhattan School of Music, she was a Board Member of The New Rochelle Council on the Arts and most recently a volunteer for Charlotte White’s “Salon de Virtuosi” in New York City.
St. Gabriel’s Church, 10 a.m. Mass
