Albany County, New York Obituary and Death Notices Collection
(Searches various funeral homes and newspapers in the Albany, Altamont, Berne, Bethlehem, Coeymans, Cohoes, Colonie, Green Island, Guilderland, Knox, New Scotland, Ravena, Rensselaerville, Slingerlands, Voorheesville, and Watervliet areas.)
Mary Leonard
BRATTLEBORO, N.C. - Mrs. Mary Bruno Leonard, 55, of Brattleboro, died Friday at home.
Born in Troy, N.Y., Mrs. Leonard was a 1966 graduate of the Rhode Island School of Business.
She was a member of Our Lady of Perpetual Help Catholic Church.
Survivors include her husband of 30 years, Tom J. Leonard; a daughter, Crystal Lee Leonard of Brattleboro; her parents, Rocci R. and Grace Daurio Bruno of Mechanicville; two sisters, Margaret Brownell of Mechanicville,, and Louise Lent of Paoli, Pa.; four brothers, Rocci Bruno, Jr. of Albany, Patrick and Raymond Bruno, both of Mechanicville, and Victor Bruno of Sarasota, Fla.
Burial will be at 11 a.m. Wednesday at Saint Ann Cemetery, Cranston, R.I.
Memorial contributions may be made to the Duke Comprehensive Cancer Center, P.O. Box 3814, Durham, NC 27710.
Arrangements are by the Bowling Funeral Home, Rock Mount, N.C.
[Published 11-Dec-2001]
Mary Perna
GLOVERSVILLE - Mrs. Mary Perrella Perna, 95, of Gloversville, died Saturday at the Nathan Littauer Hospital Nursing Home after a short illness.
Born in Gloversville, Mrs. Perna was employed at home as a glove maker by her husband and her brother, Joseph Perrella.
She was a member of Sacred Heart Church and its Rosary Society.
Mrs. Perna was a member of the 55-Plus Senior Citizens Club.
Her husband, Louis Perna Sr., whom she married Oct. 6, 1923, died in 1963.
Survivors include four daughters, Theresa Piazza of Troy, Congetta Putnam of Gloversville, Virginia Perna of Glens Falls and Linda Cook of Texas; six sons, Pasquale, David, and Raymond Perna, all of Gloversville, Donald Perna of Ilion, Fred Perna of Johnstown and Robert Perna of Watervliet; a brother, Alfred Perrella of Florida; 28 grandchildren; 27 great-grandchildren; and seven great-great-grandchildren.
The services will be held at 10:45 a.m. Wednesday at the Walrath & Stewart Funeral Home, 51 Fremont St., and 11:30 a.m. a Mass of Christian burial will be celebrated at Sacred Heart Church. Calling hours will be from 5 this afternoon until 8 tonight at the funeral home.
Burial will be in Prospect Hill Cemetery.
Memorial contributions may be made to Sacred Heart Church, 189 Kingsboro Ave., Gloversville, NY 12078 or to charity.
[Published 11-Dec-2001]
Michael V. Itzo
ROTTERDAM - Michael V. Itzo, who worked for the state of New York for nearly 27 years, died Monday at St. Peter's Hospital in Albany. Mr. Itzo, of Valentine Drive, was 54.
Born in Schenectady, Mr. Itzo was a 1965 graduate of Mont Pleasant High School. He graduated from Siena College with a bachelor's degree in business administration.
He was the assistant director at the Division of Cemeteries of the Department of State at the time of his death.
Survivors include his wife, Susan Itzo; a daughter, Amanda Itzo Robbins of Boston; a son, Michael D. Itzo of Schenectady; a stepdaughter, Amanda L. Hooker of Rotterdam; his mother, Beatrice Gilpin Itzo; and two sisters, Cindy Itzo Corcoran of Colonie and Patricia Gavingan of Rotterdam.
The services will be held at 9:30 a.m. Thursday at the DeMarco-Stone Funeral Home, 1605 Helderberg Ave. Calling hours will be from 4 to 8 p.m. Wednesday at the funeral home.
Burial will be in St. Joseph's Cemetery, Schenectady.
Memorial contributions may be made to the American Cancer Society, 260 Osborne Road, Loudonville, NY 12211.
[Published 11-Dec-2001]
Richard L. Rubscha
GLOVERSVILLE - Richard L. Rubscha, who was an Army veteran of the Korean War, died Sunday at home after a long illness. Mr. Rubscha, of East Ninth Avenue, was 71.
Born in Amsterdam, Mr. Rubscha was educated in Gloversville schools. He was a meat cutter at the former Acme Market and then at the former P&C supermarket, retiring in 1993.
He was a communicant of Sacred Heart Church.
Mr. Rubscha was a member of the Johnstown Moose Lodge.
Survivors include his wife, Margaret Donnelly Rubscha, whom he married Oct. 8, 1955; three sons, Richard Rubscha of Peoria, Ariz., Mark Rubscha of Caroga Lake and Thomas Rubscha stationed with the Navy in Norfolk, Va.; two daughters, Deborah Vainauskas of Hagaman and Susan Smith of Gloversville; two brothers, Paul Rubscha of Johnstown and Robert Rubscha of Mayfield; and seven grandchildren.
A prayer service will be held at 9 a.m. Wednesday at the Kobuskie-Konik Funeral Home, 147 Bleecker St., followed at 9:30 at Sacred Heart Church where a Mass of Christian burial will be celebrated.
Spring burial will be in St. Patrick's Cemetery, Johnstown.
Calling hours are from 5 to 8 this evening at the funeral home.
Contributions may be made to Mountain Valley Hospice, 73 N. Main St., Gloversville, NY 12078.
[Published 11-Dec-2001]
Sophia N. Gluckow
SARATOGA SPRINGS - Mrs. Sophia Nina Gluckow, who taught first grade at the Division Street Elementary School for 43 years, died Monday at Pine Manor in Ballston Spa. Mrs. Gluckow, formerly of Seward Street, was 91.
Mrs. Gluckow was born in Poland.
She taught in New York City in her earlier years before moving to Saratoga Springs.
Mrs. Gluckow was a member of Congregation Shaara Tfille in Saratoga Springs.
She was the widow of Samuel Gluckow.
Survivors include three cousins, Rosalie Pulver of Florida, George Arrow of California and Naomi Lieber of Florida.
The service will be held at 2 this afternoon at the Simone Funeral Home, 105 Lake Ave., Saratoga Springs. A calling hour will precede the service at the funeral home.
Burial will be in the Jewish Community Center Cemetery, Weibel Avenue. A gathering will follow at Congregation Shaara Tfille.
Memorial contributions may be made to the Division Street Elementary School, in care of Mary Ann Handy, 220 Division St., Saratoga Springs, NY 12866.
[Published 11-Dec-2001]
Michael Modic, 40, research engineer who held 28 patents
HOUSTON, Texas - Michael John Modic, 40, of Houston, died Thursday.
Mr. Modic was born in Schenectady.
He was a graduate of Virginia Tech and the University of Akron.
A research engineer for 17 years with Kraton Polymers, he held 28 patents in the field of polymer modifications.
Survivors include his wife, Aimee Modic; his parents, Marie and Frank J. Modic of Scotia and Mesa, Ariz.; a sister, Diane Smith of Stratford, N.J.; two brothers, Kevin Modic of Bethlehem, Pa., and Frank E. Modic of Santa Rosa, Calif.; and his grandmothers, Mary Modic and Rita Connors.
A Mass of Christian burial will be celebrated at 3:30 p.m. Monday at St. John Vianney Catholic Church, 625 Nottingham Oaks Trail.
Calling hours will be 7 to 9 tonight at Memorial Oaks Funeral Home, 13001 Katy Freeway.
Memorial contributions may be made to the American Hemochromatosis Society Inc., 4044 W. Lake Mary Blvd., Suite 104, Lake Mary, FL 32746-2012.
[Published 16-Dec-2001]
`Marge' Pallotta, co-owned food market in Amsterdam
AMSTERDAM - Mrs. Madalene "Marge" Pallotta, 88, of McClellan Avenue, died Saturday at the Edward L. Wilkinson Residential Health Care Facility after a long illness.
Mrs. Pallotta was born in Holyoke, Mass., and lived in Amsterdam for most of her life.
She and her husband owned and operated the former Pallotta's Food Market on Florida Avenue for 28 years before retiring in 1969.
Mrs. Pallotta was a communicant and Eucharistic minister at Our Lady of Mount Carmel Roman Catholic Church and a member of its Christian Women's Society, Mount Carmel Seniors and Catholic Daughters of the Americas.
Her husband, Horace A. Pallotta, whom she married in 1936, died in 1970.
Survivors include a son, Robert Pallotta of Amsterdam; a daughter, Sister Madilene Pallotta of the Sisters of St. Joseph in Latham; and two grandchildren.
Services will be held Tuesday at 8:15 a.m. at the Betz, Rossi & Bellinger Family Funeral Home, 171 Guy Park Ave., and at 9 at St. Casimir's Roman Catholic Church, where a Mass of Christian burial will be celebrated.
Burial will be in Mount Carmel Cemetery.
Calling hours are 4 to 8 p.m. Monday at the funeral home. Members of the Christian Women's Society will meet at 6 for prayers.
Memorial contributions may be made to the Montgomery County SPCA or the Amsterdam Library, in care of the funeral home.
[Published 16-Dec-2001]
Monsignor Liu, Vatican official
VATICAN CITY - Monsignor Odorico Liu Ho-Teh, a Vatican vicar general in China who helped bridge relations between underground and state-sanctioned Catholic churches after being imprisoned by the communist authorities, has died. He was 90.
Liu, the vicar general in the central Chinese city of Hankou since 1950, died in a hospital in the nearby city of Wuhan on Dec. 10 after a fall, the news service of the Vatican's missionary arm, Fides, said Saturday.
Liu remained in China and loyal to the pope after the Vatican and Beijing broke formal relations in 1951. The rupture occurred after China's new communist rulers kicked out missionaries and forced Catholics to sever ties with Rome.
One of millions of Chinese Catholics who continued to worship in underground churches, Liu resisted the birth of China's state-sanctioned church, the China Patriotic Catholic Association, which doesn't recognize papal authority, including the right to name bishops.
As a result, he was arrested and questioned by Chinese authorities, and in 1958 was sentenced to 20 years in prison and hard labor, Fides said.
In the 1990s, Liu decided to reconcile with the Patriotic Church and its "official" bishop in Hankou, Monsignor Bernadino Dong Guangqing, a fellow member of the Franciscan order, Fides said.
Fides said Liu's gesture made a strong impact within the Patriotic Church and helped strengthen relations between the underground and state-sanctioned church, even though Liu was still considered by many Catholics in the Hankou diocese to be their true bishop.
[Published 16-Dec-2001]
Winfried Sebald, professor, author
LONDON - Winfried Georg Sebald, a German-born author and academic who impressed the literary world with books based on tragic events of the last 200 years, was killed in an automobile accident, police said Saturday. He was 57.
The British-based author, also known as Max, died Friday when his car collided head-on with a truck in Norwich, England. His daughter, Anna, who was traveling in the car, was in poor but stable condition at the Norfolk and Norwich University Hospital, a hospital official said.
Sebald, professor of European literature at the University of East Anglia in Norwich, was an author of novels, poetry and essays. His works, often about characters affected by World War II and the Holocaust, included "Vertigo," "Europe," "The Past & The Trials of Knowing," "Austerlitz" and "Rings of Saturn."
Vincent Watts, vice chancellor of East Anglia University, said Sebald's colleagues were "shocked and saddened."
"As an established author he had a unique style that brought him great acclaim in many countries around the world, including his native Germany," Watts said.
"He was an eminent critic of German literature and teacher of German studies and he also created here at UEA what is now the major center for literary translation in this country. We shall miss him greatly as a friend and colleague."
Born in Wertach im Allgau, Germany, he studied German language and literature in Germany, Switzerland and England.
Sebald became assistant lecturer at the University of Manchester in 1966 and moved to England permanently in 1970, when he began teaching at the University of East Anglia.
He had been professor of European literature since 1987 and lived in Norwich with his wife, Ute, and his daughter.
[Published 16-Dec-2001]
Anna M. Cognetta
MILFORD, Mass. - Mrs. Anna M. Cognetta, 94, formerly of Nott St. and Palmer Ave. in Schenectady, died Saturday at the Geriatric Authority in Milford.
Born in Schenectady, Mrs. Cognetta was a Schenectady resident most of her adult life.
She was a graduate of Schenectady High School and the Spencer Business School.
She was employed as a secretary for the International General Electric Co.
Her husband, Philip Cognetta, died in 1993.
Survivors include a son, Philip J. Cognetta of Milford; a daughter, Lucretia C. Hovsepian of Newark, Del.; three sisters, Carmella Battista and Helen Williams, both of Schenectady, and Victoria Fontana of Dallas, Texas; a brother, Salvatore Mauriello of Niagara Falls; and four grandchildren.
Services will be at 8:30 a.m. Tuesday at the Griswold Funeral Home, 1867 State St., Schenectady, and at 9 at St. Paul's Roman Catholic Church, where a Mass of Christian burial will be celebrated.
Burial will be in St. John the Baptist Cemetery, Schenectady.
Calling hours will be 6 to 8 p.m. Monday at the funeral home.
Memorial contributions may be made to the American Heart Association or to the American Diabetes Foundation.
[Published 16-Dec-2001]
