Catherine McAlevey


June 12, 1955 - April 13, 2013

ALBANY - Catherine Benincasa McAlevey, beloved partner, sister, daughter, friend and devoted horse racing aficionado, passed away Saturday, April 13, 2013, in Albany, N.Y., after a brave battle with breast cancer. She spent her last days surrounded by family and friends, who had arrived from as far away as California, Florida and Sweden.

A resident of Saratoga and Greenwich Village, N.Y., Catherine McAlevey was raised in a family of activists and community builders. She was passionate about government - she was determined to show that any government could work with savvy management.

Before retirement in 2010, Ms. McAlevey served as deputy commissioner of operations for New York City's Human Resources Administration's Department of Social Services. There, she oversaw a staff of more than 5,000 located in 35 job centers and food stamp offices in all five boroughs, serving more than 1.7 million clients. She reorganized the department by instituting up-to-date processes and technology to streamline the distribution of benefits for those in need.

For 12 years prior, she served as a senior policy adviser to New York City Council Speaker Peter Vallone as director of the New York City Office of Oversight and Investigation, where she oversaw for the council all relevant investigations into city operations. She began at the Oversight and Investigation Office in 1990 as deputy director and counsel.

Before, she had a distinguished career as an assistant district attorney in Rockland County, N.Y.

A 1980 graduate of Benjamin Cardozo Law School, Ms. McAlevey, known to friends and family as "Cats," discovered her interest in law and administration at an early age, helping her father through numerous campaigns as a Rockland County supervisor and mayor of Sloatsburg, N.Y.

Born June 12, 1955, in New York City, Ms. McAlevey was raised in the village of Sloatsburg. She attended Sacred Heart School, Suffern High School, Buffalo State University and State University of New York at Stonybrook.

In 1995, Ms. McAlevey's life changed forever when she fell in love with her life partner, Debra Hall. Sharing a passion for thoroughbred racing, city government, their extended families and the rich cultural offerings of New York, Catherine and Debra had recently retired, planning to enjoy the rest of their days together traveling the world and enjoying the pleasures of life in upstate New York and New York City.

In addition to Debra Hall, Ms. McAlevey is survived by her father and stepmother, John F. and Marlene McAlevey of New York; her aunt, Sister Mary Janetta of Brooklyn; two sisters, Birgitta B. McAlevey of Sharon, Mass., and Jane McAlevey of San Francisco, Calif.; four brothers, Peter C. McAlevey of Los Angeles, Calif., Benedict McAlevey of Jupiter, Fla., John B. McAlevey of Buffalo and Thomas M. McAlevey of Stockholm, Sweden; two stepbrothers, Mitchell J. Rotbert of Rockville, Md., and Clifford A. Rotbert of New York; as well as 17 nieces and nephews.

A funeral was held at 3 p.m. Thursday, April 18, 2013, at St. Joseph's Church at 371 Avenue of the Americas at Washington Place in Greenwich Village, N.Y.

A private burial is being planned.

Arrangements with Greenwich Village Funeral Home, 199 Bleeker St., New York, NY 10012, and Connell, Dow & Deysenroth Funeral Home, 82 Chestnut Street, Cooperstown, NY 13326.



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.

Gladys Davidson

May 18, 1924 - March 31, 2013
 
COOPERSTOWN - Frances "Gladys" Davidson, age 88, passed away peacefully at home on Easter Sunday morning, March 31, 2013. 
 
Born May 18, 1924 in Rockwood, PA, she was one of nine daughters and two sons of  Frank and Sophie Gorence. Gladys married Roger H. Davidson on July 31, 1948 in Cooperstown and lived in the Davidson family home until her passing.
 
Gladys graduated from Cooperstown High School on June 24, 1942. She went to work for the New York Telephone Company as an operator in March 1943. She was a friendly voice for servicemen calling home during the war. She was promoted to Supervisor and later left to raise her children. After her children were grown, she served as the owner of Rod's TV and Appliances. She was a 60 year member of the VFW Auxiliary and longtime member of St. Mary's Catholic Church. During later years she enjoyed tending her flower garden and feeding the birds at home, attending Friday night auctions, walking around town, and dancing to Big Band and Polka music.
 
She is survived by her son Roger H. (Maureen B.) Davidson of Hartwick; her daughter Becky A. (Brian) Davidson-Nielsen of Cooperstown; her beloved grandchildren, William (Marissa) Davidson of Hartwick, and Emily Davidson of Oneonta and step-grandchildren, Michael and Ryan Barrow. She is also survived by a sister, Louise Kubis of Schenevus; a sister-in-law, Marian Gorence of North Tonawanda; a brother-in-law, Richard M. (Mary Lou) Davidson of Jacksonville, NC; two sisters-in-law, Patricia Sheldon of Cooperstown and Joyce Cowles of Poughkeepsie; and many nieces, nephews and cousins. She is also survived by very special friends, Steven Reynolds, Kaitlyn DiPippo and Richard Clancy of Cooperstown and caregiver Eileen Bramsen of Maryland.
 
Gladys was predeceased by her husband, Roger H. Davidson, on April 19, 1997; seven sisters, Agnes Van Dyke, Alice Gurley, Mary Roberts, Sophie Gus, Jenny Calhoun, Carolyn Schemm and Anne Sugarick; and two brothers, Frank and Charles Gorence.
 
Visitation for family and friends will begin at 9:30 am on Saturday, April 6, 2013 at St. Mary's "Our Lady of the Lake" Roman Catholic Church in Cooperstown.
 
A Mass of Christian Burial will be offered in the church at 11 am on Saturday, with Fr. John P. Rosson, pastor, presiding. Assisting will be Fr. David Wm Mickiewicz, pastor of St. Mary's Church in Oneonta.
 
Gladys will be laid to rest in St. Mary's Cemetery in Index.
 
Expressions of sympathy in the form of memorial gifts may be made to the Cooperstown Fire Department, P. O. Box 1, Cooperstown, NY 13326 or Catskill Area Hospice and Palliative Care, 1 Birchwood Drive, Oneonta, NY 13820.
 
Instead of floral arrangements, the family respectfully requests plants that can be planted at the family home in memory of Gladys.
 
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.