ALTAMONT — Beryl E. Naginey, also known as “Murph,” a woman with many interests who was dedicated to her community, died peacefully on Friday, Jan. 23, 2015, after a 19-year struggle with Alzheimer’s disease. She was 89.

Mrs. Naginey was born on Sept. 10, 1925, to the late George and Martha Gill of Fultonville. She was the middle child, with four brothers.

She attended secretarial school and then began working at General Electric.

She married her husband, George A. Naginey, in 1950. Their 49-year marriage ended only with his death.

Mrs. Naginey stayed at General Electric until 1953, when she and her husband moved to Altamont, where he was made the resident engineer of Albany County.

After the couple’s three children were older, she worked as a teacher’s aid in a special-education classroom, and then worked for Blue Spruce Farms as a bookkeeper.

“Murph had diverse interests that were all woven together with her love of family, friends, and community,” wrote her family in a tribute.

“My parents were very into community,” said Mrs. Naginey’s daughter, Janet Chalker. “They had this little group that did all these things together.”

She cooked for the local food bank, visited the lonely, and opened her home and her heart to those in need, her family wrote. She and her husband were long-term members of the Altamont Reformed Church.

She enjoyed playing tennis and bridge, and was a longtime member of the garden club — all things she did with a devoted group of friends.

Long after her memory began to fail, she could still play a “good hand” of cards, wrote her family.

She was a classic jack-of-all-trades, and could as easily be found creating something out of wood, playing toy soldiers in the backyard, doing cross-stitch, tailoring a garment, fixing something, teaching Sunday School, or serving on the Helderberg House board.

“She had never seen anything she didn’t want to try to fix,” her daughter said.

One of her prized possessions was a plumber’s snake, given to her by a local plumber when he retired, her family wrote.

She loved to spend time outdoors gardening, camping, canoeing, or simply walking up the street to get the mail.

“Mostly, Murph was patient, and loving with all those in her life,” wrote her family in the tribute. “She has been and will be missed.”

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Mrs. Naginey is survived by her daughter, Susan Carol Baumes, her husband, Harry, and their children, Matthew Stephen and Kelsey Alexandra; her son, Mark Eric Naginey, his wife, Deborah, and his step-children, Natalie and Jeremy; her daughter, Janet Mary Chalker, her husband, Terry, and their daughter, Samantha Beryl; extended family; and many friends.

Her husband and parents died before her, as did her brothers, Harry, Laverne, Glenn, and William Gill.

A memorial service will be held on Saturday, Feb. 7, at the Altamont Reformed Church, 129 Lincoln Ave., Altamont, at 11 a.m.

Memorial contributions may be made to the church.

— Anne Hayden Harwood