Jeanne Pyle Rodney, formerly of Tuxedo, NY, passed away on May 13, 2015 at Ramapo Manor Nursing Home, Suffern, NY. She was older than she cared to admit, living almost nine full decades.
Jeanne was born in Cohoes, NY. She delighted in her independence and enjoyed working. A favorite teenage summer was spent picking apples at Fishkill Farms where she was proud to pick as well as any other worker and better than most. When done with school, she moved to New York City where she worked at Watkins/Loomis Agency meeting Roald Dahl among other authors. It was there that she was given her first cat. An author brought a kitten into the agency in a hat box. That kitten, Mr. Boo, became the first in a long line of beloved cats. She then became a personal assistant to Hans Zeisel. Jeanne was a trailblazer, working at Young & Rubicam as the first female sales person of radio time. An active member of the Republican County Committee, Jeanne was the Director of Special Records for NYC 1960 Census under Mayor John Lindsay.
In 1968 Jeanne and her husband, Ira, moved to Tuxedo to raise their two young children. Jeanne was a lover of nature, knowledge and community. She enjoyed her friends, art, cooking, gardening, creative ideas, reading and cats. She was a member of St. Mary’s Episcopal Church in Tuxedo. In Sterling Forest in the 1980’s and 90’s Jeanne was known as the local “Avon Lady” and was proud to make Avon President’s Club for a number of years. For many years she could also be found selling flower garlands for Rosie’s Posies at the Sterling Forest Renaissance Faire. Above all, Jeanne was a loving mother who cared for her children more than anything else.
Jeanne is survived by her daughter, Nicole Anne Rodney of San Rafael, CA; her son, Christopher P. Rodney, her daughter-in-law, Laurene Iammatteo-Rodney, and her grandson, Brandon Matthew Rodney of Chester, NY; her ex-husband, Ira Rodney; and sister-in-law Barbara Pyle of Orlando, FL. She was predeceased by a brother, Robert Pyle.
Visitation will be on Sunday May 17th from 2-4 & 7-9 pm at Lazear-Smith & Vander Plaat Memorial Home, 17 Oakland Ave., Warwick. Funeral Service will be at 10:00 am on Monday at St. Mary’s Episcopal Church, 10 Fox Hill Road, Tuxedo, followed by interment in Warwick Cemetery, Warwick, NY.