Lisa Robin Stern obituary

Lisa Robin Stern
1955-2018

SKOWHEGAN — Lisa Robin Stern, born April 19, 1955, in Chicago, died July 24, 2018.
Lisa’s many friends knew her as the consummate volunteer and get-things-done participant in her adopted community of Skowhegan. One of her greatest passions was her love of food — cooking it, eating it, and sharing it with people. Through a number of organizations, she was able to bring food knowledge and enjoyment to many.

Lisa was a cheerleader and founding organizer of many of the efforts in downtown Skowhegan contributing to its renewed vibrancy. She founded the Maple Fest’s annual pancake breakfast centered around her secret, beloved pancake recipe, which raised thousands of dollars for Main Street Skowhegan. Lisa was a co-founder and acting treasurer of the Maine Grain Alliance and its flagship Kneading Conference, an annual gathering of bakers, millers, grain farmers and oven builders celebrating the restoration of regional grain economies.
After moving to Maine to help run a local, family-owned furniture store for 20 years, she joined efforts to restore grain milling and local flour production to Skowhegan through her employment at Maine Grains, the gristmill that launched out of the former Somerset County jail building in 2012, where her background as a pastry chef and her detailed-oriented nature anchored the customer service offered to bakers and brewers throughout the northeast. Lisa was a founding member of the Pickup Café and a volunteer with the Skowhegan Farmer’s Market’s food and nutrition outreach programs. Besides her many friends and colleagues, her fans included many children who will remember her warmth and tenderness.
Lisa grew up in Glencoe, Ill., graduating from New Trier East High School in 1973. She studied Special Education at Northern Illinois University, earning bachelors and master’s degrees and taught special education to adults for six years. She left the teaching profession to indulge her love of food and cooking by graduating from Johnson Wales Culinary Institute in Providence, R.I. She specialized in pastry and went on to prepare breads, pastry and wedding cakes for some of the finest dining establishments in the northeast, as well as for her friends and family. Lisa’s famous molasses-bran dinner roll earned her the recognition of having “the best buns in Cincinnati” while working at the Millcroft Inn.
The loss of her quiet steadfast contributions and generous smile will be felt throughout the community. Her extensive library of cooking and baking books will reside at Maine Grains gristmill for the continued benefit to her community.
In her last months, she was cared for by so many loving friends who, by their presence and generosity, provided great comfort. Especially dedicated to Lisa’s care were Amber and Michael Lambke, who took Lisa into their home and created a safe and secure environment in which she was able to live peacefully, surrounded by friends and family. There are not enough words of thanks for the care of those who loved her.
Lisa was the daughter of the late Lois and Seymour Stern, and the sister of Ellen (Mitchell) McCrate, Peter Stern and Jonathan (Holly) Stern. She was a fun-loving aunt for Connor, Jordan, Dylan (Dan) and Kieran McCrate, and Lily and Greta Stern. Her love for her dogs was known to everyone, and her dear buddy, Buddy, is being welcomed into the home of Irene and Verne Daigle.
There are so many friends we want to thank for their respect and love of Lisa, and their support, as she made this final journey.
In lieu of flowers, please consider a contribution to Main Street Skowhegan, a 501c3 non-profit, 48 Court St., PO Box 5, Skowhegan, ME 04976.
Her ashes will be interred in the beauty of the Maine countryside she loved at Mercer Community Cemetery.
Arrangements by Dan & Scott’s Cremation & Funeral Service, Skowhegan.