KELLY ROSE CORTESI

Kelly Rose Cortesi, an athlete, musician, dancer and honor roll student, died Wednesday following a fall from a cliff in Bear Mountain State Park. She was 16. At Putnam Valley High School, where she was to be a junior in September, Kelly was known for her hearty laugh and her ability to forge strong friendships. She played oboe in the high school band and studied piano for several years. She played on the Putnam Valley High School field hockey team and was a runner and hurdler on the Putnam Valley High School track team. She participated in the YMCA Camp Combe leadership club where she was a counselor this summer as well as a junior counselor last summer. She had also obtained her life guard certification for use at the camp. She was an avid Irish step dancer, having studied and performed since she was six, most recently with the Kelly-Oster School of Irish Dance in Brewster. She also had a keen interest in outdoor activities such as hiking, back-packing, snow and water skiing, and bicycling. She is survived by her parents, Mary and Allan Cortesi, both of Putnam Valley; her brother, Kyle; her grandparents Yvonne and Charles Cortesi of Red Hook, NY, and Ginny and Herb Herbig of Yellow Bay, MT, as well as a plethora of aunts, uncles and cousins. A wake will be held Friday July 25 from 2 to 9 PM at Heritage Funeral Home, 35 Morrissey Dr, Putnam Valley. In lieu of flowers, the family plans to set up a scholarship fund in memory of Kelly.