ALTAMONT — Kimberley A. Egloff, a woman with an infectious laugh, died on Thursday, Jan. 14, 2016, in Johnstown. She was 56.

Her only child, daughter Shannon Egloff, recalls her as a very open and welcoming person, and as a “great” mother, who “loved spending time with me and doing activities with me.”

Mrs. Egloff enjoyed nature hikes, gardening, birdwatching, knitting, reading, and playing with her cats.

She spent five years as a nun during her early adulthood, but then decided to take her life in a different direction, and went on to marry and to raise a child.

She was born on Jan. 2, 1960 in Plattsburgh, to John Perry and Norma (née Brousseau) Perry. Her father was in the military, and so the family moved often, including to Japan when Mrs. Egloff was young.

She joined the Sisters of St. Joseph of Watertown in 1980, where she professed first vows, and stayed for five years as Sister Claire Marie. She attended college at the same time, graduating from Jefferson Community College in 1984, and then studied history at the State University of New York at Potsdam, graduating in 1988.

On Feb. 4, 1989, she married Nicholas J. Egloff II in Potsdam. After the birth of their daughter, Shannon, Mrs. Egloff worked for many years as a stay-at-home mother.

Later she was employed at Crotched Mountain, located at the time in Albany, and then as an Independent Living Skills Trainer at Living Resources in Albany.

She moved to Altamont in 2012, her daughter said.

Mrs. Egloff was a sweetheart of the Order of Prometheus Service Fraternity.

She volunteered as a docent at the Albany Pine Bush Discovery Center, showing visitors around the facility and explaining the exhibits.

Her love of nature lives on at the Pine Bush, where she was a certified seed collector. Some volunteers, explained her daughter, were taught how to identify seeds of native plants found in the Pine Bush. At various natural sites, she collected seeds, for example, of the lupine plant that is essential to the survival of the Karner blue butterfly. These seeds were then planted within the Pine Bush, to encourage the rare native butterfly.

****

Kimberley A. Egloff is survived by her daughter, Shannon Egloff, of Altamont; her stepfather, Dave Evans, of Round Rock, Texas; her aunt, Donna Beebe, of Endicott, New York; her aunt, Joyce Drake, of Florida; her cousin, Marcy Swain, of Maryville, Illinois; her cousin, Christie Drake, of Altona, New York; her aunt and uncle, Carol and Jimmy Lee, of Warner Robins, Georgia; and cousins. 

Her husband, Nicholas J. Egloff II, died in 2010.

A celebration of her life will be held on Saturday, February 13th, 2016, from 1 to 3:30 p.m. at the Albany Pine Bush Discovery Center, 195 New Karner Road, Albany, New York 12205.

Memorial contributions may be made to Friends of the Albany Pine Bush Community, 195 New Karner Road, Albany, New York 12205. Please make checks payable to “Friends of the Pine Bush Community” and specify that your gift is to the Land Protection Campaign in memory of Kim Egloff. Or you may donate online at  http://www.albanypinebush.org/get-involved/become-a-member/specify-donation-amount

— Elizabeth Floyd Mair