STERLING – Maxine Clara Long, 88, of Sterling, formerly of Dixon, died Sunday, Aug. 26, 2012, at Heritage Woods in Sterling.  

Maxine was born in Sheffield in Bureau County, to Clara Thompson Rosenow and Henry Rosenow. She attended one-room country schools in Sheffield, Manlius, and Walnut. Maxine wanted to graduate from high school, so she moved in with a family of teachers as a mother’s helper in Sterling. She proudly graduated with the Sterling High class of 1941.

After graduation, she took a job with First National Bank in Sterling. One day while taking the mail to the post office, she noticed a Navy recruitment sign on the wall, and with the trepidation of her parents, she joined the Navy WAVES in 1944. She attended WAVE boot camp in New York and advanced training in Milledgeville, Ga., posting to COMWESSEAFROM in San Francisco as Storekeeper Second Class. While stationed in San Francisco, Maxine witnessed the signing of the United Nations Charter. Fifty years later, she was able to return to San Francisco for the anniversary celebration and met South African Archbishop Desmond Tutu. She received an honorable discharge in April 1946 and returned to Sterling. She was incredibly proud of her service to her country and was able to take the Honor Flight to Washington, D.C., last November with her daughter Sue, to honor “The Greatest Generation.”