Colette de Geofroy of Chelsea, New York City died on August 22, 2018 at the age of 94. She was born on April 6, 1924 in Marseille, France to Marcel and Valentine Duplan. A few months later, the Duplan family moved to their home in London where they had settled a year earlier. Colette attended the Lycée Français de Londres until World War II broke out. She lived through the London Blitz of 1940 to 1941. Colette later joined the BBC’s French department, and in 1944, she enlisted in the French army under General Charles de Gaulle. She later was transferred to the French Administrative Military Liaison, landing in Normandy one month after D-day. She served under General Patton, advancing into Germany until the end of the war. She later assisted in the care and transfer of concentration camp survivors during their liberation.

After the war, Colette began her career at the United Nations, first in Munich and later in Paris and Libya. She arrived in New York in the late 1940s, where she later met Bertrand de Geofroy. They were married in 1959. A gifted watercolorist, Colette worked as a textile designer and colorist in the 1970s and taught at the Fashion Institute of Technology.

Colette was known for her charm and elegance, her fun loving nature, and her love of family. She was a consummate host, welcoming family and friends from all over to her Chelsea home.

She is survived by her two daughters, Isabelle de Geofroy and Caroline Watson, and her sister Simone Guet. She is predeceased by her husband, Bertrand de Geofroy. A memorial service will be held for her at Guardian Angel Church at 193 Tenth Avenue in New York City on Saturday, September 8 at 11 a.m. In lieu of flowers, donations can be made to her hospice care providers, the MJHS Foundation, at 39 Broadway, 3rd floor, New York, NY 10006 (www.mjhsfoundation.org), or to the Holy Apostles Soup Kitchen at 296 9th Avenue, New York, NY 10001 (www.holyapostlesnyc.org).