Hoosick Falls – Nancy Kovage, 84, of Hoosick Falls, NY, passed away on Tuesday, January 5, 2010, after a long illness. Born on July 8, 1925, in Hartford, CT, Nancy was the daughter of Olive Witter Hatheway and Robert Knowlton Hatheway. In 1945 she married Charles Kovage of Hoosick Falls and had been a resident of the Village of Hoosick Falls since her marriage.
She was an extraordinary wife, mother and homemaker. Many of her volunteer activities in her younger years centered around her five children. She was active in the Hoosick Falls Parent-Teacher Association and was a Girl Scout leader. She utilized her considerable sewing and designing talents to sew uniforms for the Esther Bogardus School of Baton and the Hoosick Falls Central School cheerleading squads. She also clothed her children, making everything from prom gowns, Halloween costumes and bathing suits to wedding gowns. She excelled in all crafts especially knitting and quilting and was a valuable resource person and member of the Hoosick Falls Home Bureau. After the death of her husband, Nancy planned and designed the rebuilding of her home, Nans-tucket. Another passion of Nancy’s was gardening. She was an active member of the Cambridge area gardening club at the time of her death and took great pride in her flowers and vegetable gardens and the wildlife that also enjoyed them. She was a long-time member of the Hoosick Township Historical Society and the King’s Daughters.
Nancy was pre-deceased by her husband, Charles, in 1988. She is survived by her five children, Susan Ratzan M.D. and her husband Richard, Avon, CT, Charles Jr. and his wife Sharon, Hoosick Falls, Karen Arnold and her husband Samuel, Woodstock, N.B., Canada, Michael and his wife Carmela, Bennington, VT, and Kimberly Hayden and husband John, Hoosick Falls, 13 grandchildren, David and his wife Megan, William, Katherine and her companion Crandall Peeler and Noah Ratzan, Kayleigh and Marissa Kovage, Tiffany and Victoria Marbot, Eben Arnold and wife Hazel and Erinn Daigle and husband Mike and Kathleen, John and Alice Hayden, and five great-grandchildren.
The funeral service will be Saturday, January 9, at St. Mark’s Episcopal Church, 70 Main St., Hoosick Falls, at 10:30 am. Friends may call on Friday, January 8, at the Robson-Reinfurt Funeral Home, 72 Main St., Hoosick Falls, from 4 to 7 pm. In lieu of flowers, the family suggests memorial contributions to the Town of Hoosick Rescue Squad, the Women’s National Farm and Garden Association, Cambridge Chapter, c/o Jane Kopta, 2532 State Route 22, Cambridge, NY, 12816, or to The Friends of Elizabeth Park, P.O. Box 370361, West Hartford, CT, 06137.