October 30, 1918 - May 23, 2012
COOPERSTOWN - Consuelo (Connie) Mercedes Couto died peacefully at Otsego Manor Wednesday morning, May 23, 2012, with her daughter at her side. She was 93 years old.
Connie was born October 30, 1918, in Havana, Cuba, but was raised by her parents, Concepción and Higinio Couto in New York City, from the age of six months. She graduated from the Wadleigh School in 1936 and went on to secretarial school.
She met her husband, John Carroll Kraham of Cooperstown during the early days of their employment. They married on January 17, 1943, at the Church of Our Lady of Esperanza in New York City. She was primarily a homemaker and mother for the next fifteen years. Following the death of Mr. Kraham in 1958, she re-entered the workforce as a secretary at Sun Insurance Company, which was acquired by Chubb and Son in New York City. She continued at Chubb, eventually becoming an administrative assistant to senior management.
She remarried on June 24, 1969 to Santiago Couto. She and Mr. Couto retired to Miami, Florida, in 1974. Connie was never one to "retire" and she resumed working in a secretarial capacity until returning to New York to be closer to family in 1993, following the death of Mr. Couto in 1988.
She continued to use her skills in various volunteer activities, most notably at St. Peter Church in Yonkers, where she assisted as part-time receptionist and some-time translator. She continued volunteering and living in the Bronx and in Yonkers until she moved to Cooperstown four years ago to reside with her daughter and son-in-law.
Connie was predeceased by her parents and brother, Ernesto.
She is survived by her only daughter, Consuelo Kraham Vélez and son-in-law, Deacon Randy Vélez of Cooperstown; three grandsons and their wives, John (Jessica) Vélez of Hyde Park, NY, Anthony (Dawn) Vélez of Bronx, NY, and Aaron (Jenna) Vélez of Baldwin Place, NY; and three great grandchildren, Ian and Marissa of Hyde Park and Stephanie of the Bronx.
The family will receive visitors at the Riverdale-on-Hudson Funeral Home at 6110 Riverdale Avenue in the Bronx on Tuesday, May 29th from 2-5 p.m. and from 7-9 p.m.
A Mass of Christian Burial will be celebrated at St. Peter Church, 91 Ludlow Street in Yonkers on Wednesday, May 30th, at 10 a.m.
Interment is at Calvary Cemetery in Queens.
In Connie's honor and in gratitude for the outstanding care she received, donations may be made to Otsego Manor, 128 Phoenix Mills Cross Road, Cooperstown, NY 13326, or to Catskill Area Hospice and Palliative Care, 1 Birchwood Drive, Oneonta, NY 13820.
Funeral arrangements are under the guidance of the Connell, Dow & Deysenroth Funeral Home in Cooperstown.
COOPERSTOWN - Consuelo (Connie) Mercedes Couto died peacefully at Otsego Manor Wednesday morning, May 23, 2012, with her daughter at her side. She was 93 years old.
Connie was born October 30, 1918, in Havana, Cuba, but was raised by her parents, Concepción and Higinio Couto in New York City, from the age of six months. She graduated from the Wadleigh School in 1936 and went on to secretarial school.
She met her husband, John Carroll Kraham of Cooperstown during the early days of their employment. They married on January 17, 1943, at the Church of Our Lady of Esperanza in New York City. She was primarily a homemaker and mother for the next fifteen years. Following the death of Mr. Kraham in 1958, she re-entered the workforce as a secretary at Sun Insurance Company, which was acquired by Chubb and Son in New York City. She continued at Chubb, eventually becoming an administrative assistant to senior management.
She remarried on June 24, 1969 to Santiago Couto. She and Mr. Couto retired to Miami, Florida, in 1974. Connie was never one to "retire" and she resumed working in a secretarial capacity until returning to New York to be closer to family in 1993, following the death of Mr. Couto in 1988.
She continued to use her skills in various volunteer activities, most notably at St. Peter Church in Yonkers, where she assisted as part-time receptionist and some-time translator. She continued volunteering and living in the Bronx and in Yonkers until she moved to Cooperstown four years ago to reside with her daughter and son-in-law.
Connie was predeceased by her parents and brother, Ernesto.
She is survived by her only daughter, Consuelo Kraham Vélez and son-in-law, Deacon Randy Vélez of Cooperstown; three grandsons and their wives, John (Jessica) Vélez of Hyde Park, NY, Anthony (Dawn) Vélez of Bronx, NY, and Aaron (Jenna) Vélez of Baldwin Place, NY; and three great grandchildren, Ian and Marissa of Hyde Park and Stephanie of the Bronx.
The family will receive visitors at the Riverdale-on-Hudson Funeral Home at 6110 Riverdale Avenue in the Bronx on Tuesday, May 29th from 2-5 p.m. and from 7-9 p.m.
A Mass of Christian Burial will be celebrated at St. Peter Church, 91 Ludlow Street in Yonkers on Wednesday, May 30th, at 10 a.m.
Interment is at Calvary Cemetery in Queens.
In Connie's honor and in gratitude for the outstanding care she received, donations may be made to Otsego Manor, 128 Phoenix Mills Cross Road, Cooperstown, NY 13326, or to Catskill Area Hospice and Palliative Care, 1 Birchwood Drive, Oneonta, NY 13820.
Funeral arrangements are under the guidance of the Connell, Dow & Deysenroth Funeral Home in Cooperstown.
If you would like to send condolences to the family, send an email to Connell, Dow & Deysenroth. We will forward your comments to the family. If you would like to send flowers in memory of the deceased, contact Mohican Flowers, or call them at (607) 547-8822.
