Kathryn “Kate” Quinn Lacalamita died peacefully on Monday, December 10, 2018 surrounded by her husband and four children at Tampa General Hospital. She was 84.
Kate was born in Sherburne, NY on March 10, 1934. She moved to Warwick right out of college as an Elementary School Teacher in the Pine Island School where she met her husband Frank Lacalamita on a blind date. They were married in 1958. Together they raised four children in Warwick, NY.
Kate was a woman ahead of her time. With Frank at her side, she raised four children – while at the same time earning a master’s degree in Remedial Reading. Kate went on to teach Remedial Reading, ultimately retiring from the Minisink Valley School District.
Kate volunteered alongside her children as a Girl Scout leader and a youth cheerleading coach. She volunteered at St. Stephen’s Catholic Church and for many years with Meals on Wheels, organizing and delivering meals to local seniors. At her retirement, she was nearly eligible to receive the meals she was helping to deliver.
She was an avid reader, boasted an extensive vocabulary, and rarely felt compelled to hold back her opinion. Kate was a repeat champion of the bridge club supporting the Friends of the Library, partnered with Shirley Gordon and Carole Bentley. She also played for many years at the duplicate bridge in Goshen. Kate enjoyed playing golf and participated in both the single and couples’ leagues with her husband at the Warwick Valley Country Club.
Family was everything to Kate. She is survived by her husband of 60 years, Frank Lacalamita; her son Dominic and his wife Cheryl of Hamburg, NJ; her son Peter and his wife Krissy of Warwick, NY; her daughter Patty Goodrich and her husband Jim of Florida, NY; and her daughter Kathy Girolamo and her husband Pete of Waverly, NY. She is also survived by seven grandchildren: Brian, Francis, James, Mary, Anthony, Michael, and Anna. She joins her eighth, grandson Paul, in Heaven.
Visitation will be held on Monday, December 17 from 2-4 p.m. and 7-9 p.m. at Lazear-Smith & Vander Plaat Memorial Home, 17 Oakland Avenue, Warwick, NY. A funeral mass will be celebrated at St. Stephen the First Martyr Catholic Church, 75 Sanfordville Road, Warwick on Tuesday, December 18 at 10:00 a.m. Interment will follow the mass in St. Joseph’s Cemetery, Florida, NY.
In lieu of flowers, the family requests that donations be made in Kate’s name to the Albert Wisner Library, 1 McFarland Drive, Warwick, NY.