RENSSELAERVILLE — Anna Kuhar, a founding member of the Rensselaerville Volunteer Fire Company Battalion, died on Saturday, Feb. 22, 2020. She was 91.

She died at St. Peter’s Hospital in Albany, surrounded by those who loved her.

The sixth of 10 children, Mrs. Kuhar was born at home on the Snyder Farm on County Route 1 in Westerlo to Christina (née Messer) and Walter Snyder. She was the first Hilltown baby delivered by Dr. Anna Perkins.

It was as a teenager that Mrs. Kuhar met James Kuhar. The two would eventually marry and build a house together in Rensselaerville while she was still a young woman.

“I think she was out with her brother,” said Mrs. Kuhar’s daughter, Rosemarie, of how her parents met. “I know they all went to a lot of dances when she was a teenager.”

Mr. Kuhar, who died in 1990, was an avid fireman and Mrs. Kuhar, ever the Samaritan, got involved immediately.

“From the time they got married, she was always helping with dinners and that sort of thing,” Rosemarie said. “She was just a very kind person.”

Mrs. Kuhar’s passion for organizing the community and donating her time to those around her led her to found the Rensselaerville Volunteer Fire Company Battalion, which Rosemarie Kuhar said was originally a women’s auxiliary but has since allowed members of both sexes. Mrs. Kuhar would remain a lifelong member. 

The couple had three children: Rosemarie, Barry, and Nancy. At the time of her death, Mrs. Kuhar cared for a border collie named Molly and a cat named Smokey. 

“She was known for her loving personality and her willingness to help others,” her family wrote in a tribute. “She spent many hours watching the birds that came to her feeders and her many flower gardens were shared by all. She enjoyed needlework and had a jigsaw puzzle going at all times.”

When asked if Mrs. Kuhar passed her charitable ways onto her descendents, her daughter said “definitely.”

**** 

Anna Kuhar is survived by her children, Rosemarie Kuhar of Rensselaerville; Barry Kuhar of Rensselaerville; Nancy Dempster, and her husband, Rodger, of Saranac Lake; and a grandson, Micah Kuhar, and his wife, Rochelle, of Rensselaerville. She is also survived by her sister Catherine Latham, of Westerlo; her brother Robert Snyder, of Westerlo; her sister-in-law, Rita Snyder; and many nieces and nephews.

Her husband, James Kuhar, died before her, as did her siblings Richard, John, George, Frederick, Henry, Viola, and Mary.

Internment will take place on Saturday, May 9, 2020 at 11 a.m. at the Rensselaerville Cemetery, followed by a Celebration of Life.

Memorial contributions may be made to the Rensselaerville Volunteer Fire Company at Post Office Box 134; the Rensselaerville Historical Society at Post Office Box 8; or the Rensselaerville Library at Post Office Box 188 in Rensselaerville, NY, 12147.

— Noah Zweifel