ALTAMONT — Jeanette Beatrice Orsini lived by the Golden Rule.

One Thanksgiving, she invited a homeless man to her family’s dinner. She wanted her three sons to learn, even if they didn’t have a lot, they could still give to others, her son John Orsini said.

“She was always generous and giving and helpful and kind and sweet,” said Mr. Orsini. “She treated people like she wanted to be treated.”

Mrs. Orsini died peacefully on Sunday, Feb. 5, 2023, at Daughters of Sarah in Albany. She was 90.

“Her caregivers at the nursing home described her as a model resident — sweet and kind,” Mr. Orsini said.

He also said of his mother, “She didn’t want to be the star of the show. She didn’t like the limelight shining on her.”

The daughter of the late Joseph and Eva Dube-Page, Mrs. Orsini lived her earliest years in Schenectady, part of a neighborhood of French-Canadian families. She was the third oldest among nine siblings.

Her father, a hardworking man, thought it wasn’t safe in the city for his family and moved them to a small farm in Knox. He sold vegetables at a farm stand and worked for 40 years at General Electric, coating wires, work that involved handling asbestos.

Mrs. Dube-Page was a homemaker, busy raising nine children and also plagued with health concerns.

In her youth, Mrs. Orsini helped with farm chores — such as milking cows, gathering eggs, and tending the vegetable garden — as well as assuming household duties. “She was a step-in mother, helping with laundry and cooking,” said Mr. Orsini.

Mrs. Orsini didn’t particularly enjoy going to school, he said, explaining that her family spoke French at home and “teachers were hard on her being bilingual.” He went on, “She was smart and moved up grades when they moved from Schenectady.”

Mrs. Orsini was good at most subjects, her son said, and learned shorthand and typing, which proved valuable in her work later. She graduated from the former Altamont High School in 1950. 

She then did clerical work for General Electric in Schenectady. “She had a lot of girlfriends there and they would go out together after work,” her son said. “She was good at saving money although she didn’t make much.”

She saved for a future home although she did not marry Joseph J. Orsini Sr. until she was 27, her son said.

“My father always had his eye on my mom,” he said. He was four or five years ahead of her in school and they both went to the same church, St. Lucy’s in Altamont. “She was hard to get,” their son said.

Jeanette’s father and Joseph Orsini’s father played darts together, and her sister married his brother.

“My father was religious and he made a lot of prayers that she would go out with him. Eventually, she did,” their son said.

Their marriage lasted 48 years, ending only with his death.

Mrs. Orsini stopped working at GE when their first son, Joseph, was born. Two more sons, John and Jason, followed. 

“My mom had her hands full,” said Mr. Orsini. “She wanted boys; she liked how mischievous boys were.” Mrs. Orsini enjoyed being a sports fan with her sons, cheering on their various teams, and she liked the treasures they’d bring home, even frogs.

She did not like it though when John once brought home a snake. “She was scared to death but amused by it,” he said.

“She was very generous with her time, helping us with homework and giving us special attention when we needed it,” he said. “She was part of our lives, knowing how we felt.”

Mrs. Orsini was also the family’s disciplinarian. “My dad was laid back. My mom made sure we followed the rules. She taught us how to treat people kindly.”

Joseph J. Orsini Sr. was the youngest of 15 children; he was one of the seven Orsini brothers who served during World War II. His brother, the late Millard Orsini, was well known in Altamont for an American flag he secretly made while a prisoner of war.

“My father liked that people honored my uncle’s service,” said John Orsini.

Mrs. Orsini worked for 20 years for the Veterans of Foreign Wars in Albany in an administrative and secretarial job.

“She knew how to type and had to transition to a computer, which she liked,” said her son. “Her boss would dictate letters and she’d take it in shorthand and type it. And she took calls from veterans’ groups.”

What Mrs. Orsini liked most about her job, he said, was serving veterans. “Her husband and her husband’s brothers fought in World War II,” he said. “She thought the cause was important.”

After the war, Mr. Orsini worked at the Army depot in Guilderland Center. When he was faced with a transfer to the midwest, he didn’t want to leave his extended family, his son said, so he worked as a bookkeeper for his brothers’ construction business.

Later in life, Mrs. Orsini loved having two grandsons. “She wished she had more,” said her son. “She encouraged them to pursue their interests.” 

She never missed a play for the grandson who loved the stage. “She was thrilled to see his musicals at Voorheesville,” said Mr. Orsini.

And for the grandson who loved baseball, she watched his games from Little League days through high school.

Mrs. Orsini was a good cook and came to specialize in Italian cuisine. “My father was Italian and she wanted to please him; she learned from my grandmother. She cooked meatballs and her own spaghetti sauces,” said her son.

Mrs. Orsini also did canning and preserving and put up close to 150 quarts of tomatoes every year.

“She wanted to make sure we didn’t get into trouble,” Mr. Orsini said. “She made sure her boys knew how to cook.”

Mrs. Orsini always made her son Jason a special lasagna for his birthday. Jason Orsini recently dug out of the freezer the last lasagna she made. “It was still delicious,” said John Orsini.

The day before his mother died, John Orsini had a dream. His father appeared in the dream and said to his mother, “I know you’re suffering. I’m taking you home.”

John Orsini concluded, “We know she’s at peace.”

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Jeanette Beatrice Orsini is survived by her three sons, Joseph Orsini and his wife, Deborah, of Guilderland, John Orsini and his wife, Lisa Durivage, of Voorheesville, and Jason Orsini of Altamont; by her two grandsons, Ryan Orsini and Luke Durivage; by her four sisters; and by her many nieces and nephews.

Her parents and husband died before her as did four of her siblings.

A Mass of Christian Burial will be celebrated Tuesday, Feb. 14, at 10 a.m. in St. Lucy’s Church on Grand Street in Altamont. Family and friends are invited on Monday, Feb. 13, to calling hours, from 4 to 6 p.m., at the Fredendall Funeral Home in Altamont.

Interment will be in the spring in the Fairview Cemetery in Altamont in the Orsini family plot.

Memorial contributions may be made to Daughters of Sarah, 180 Washington Avenue Extension, Albany, NY 12203 or to the St. Lucy’s Food Pantry, Post Office Box 678, Altamont, NY 12009.