Kathleen G. Ascienzo

1921 - 2016

Kathleen G. Ascienzo SAUGERTIES-Kathleen G. Ascienzo, 95, of Saugerties, N.Y. passed away on Dec. 24, 2016 at Kingston Hospital. She was born to Denis and Mary Sheehan on Oct. 21, 1921 on their family farm in Saugerties. Kathleen graduated from Kingston High School in 1939 and worked at Trailways Bus Co. before marrying Nicholas P. Ascienzo (Lt. Col., Ret., USAF) in 1949. Kathleen spent the first 14 years of her marriage moving with her husband and living in many different locales across the country as an Air Force wife. During that time she gave birth to their five children: Anne Underwood of Maryville, Tenn.; Nicholas of Lake Katrine, N.Y.; John (Margaret) of Washington, D.C.; Teresa of Saugerties, N.Y.; and Thomas of Syracuse, N.Y. Kathleen is survived by her loving husband of 67 years, Nick; her five children, ten grandchildren, seven great-grandchildren and various nieces and nephews. She was predeceased by her brothers Denis and Edward, and her sisters Ellen Chenel and Mary Callahan, as well as her son-in-law Lynn Underwood. After her husband retired from the service they returned to the Lake Katrine / Saugerties area where both were raised and built a home within sight of her childhood farm where she lived the last 52 years of her life. She was a selfless wife and mother and took immense pride in her family and being a full-time homemaker. She made the best apple pie on the planet. She had a love of nature and a deep connection to the land where she was raised and loved to sit on the back porch watching nature unfold. She was grounded by a strong faith in the Catholic Church and an amazing sense of humor which got her through numerous serious illnesses and surgeries in her lifetime without complaint. She was an amazing force. Funeral arrangements are under the guidance of the Joseph V. Leahy Funeral Home, Inc., 27 Smith Ave., Kingston. www.jvleahyfh.com Friends will be received at the funeral home on Saturday from 10 to 11 a.m. The funeral procession will form at 11 a.m. A Mass of Christian Burial will be celebrated 11:45 a.m. at Saint Catherine Laboure in Lake Katrine. Burial will follow in Saint Mary of the Snow Cemetery, Barclay Heights. In lieu of flowers the family requests contributions to The Ascienzo Family Foundation through ascie nzofamilyfoundation.org