GUILDERLAND — Named Citizen of the Year for the town she loved and served, Bertie Chesebrough was active in church, Scouts, the fire department, and more. A devoted wife and mother, she taught children Bible stories and helped feed the needy.

Roberta “Bertie” Ruth (née Ward) Chesebrough died on Saturday, Nov. 1, 2014, at Our Lady of Mercy in Guilderland. She was 88.

“Bertie loved family, gardening, traveling, bowling, and square dancing, but much of her life was dedicated to helping others,” her family wrote in a tribute.

She was born in Stony Creek, New York and, since she was one year old, lived in Guilderland. For 61 years, was the beloved wife of the late Frank E. Chesebrough Jr. who died before her.  She was a lifetime member of the Hamilton Union Presbyterian Church.

Early on, she worked at Babbitt’s as a comptometer operator doing payroll in Albany. She was a fixture of the Guilderland post office, including when it was in Ward’s Market, retiring after 28 years.

She was a Boy Scout den leader and charter member of the Guilderland Fire Department Ladies’ Auxiliary. For Guilderland, she was cofounder of the food pantry, founder of the Meals on Wheels program, and Coordinator of the United States government surplus food program.

She was a Sunday school teacher for 22 years, superintendent of Sunday school for five years, ruling elder for five years, on many church committees, and a member of the Interfaith Council. 

She received the Guilderland’s Citizen of the Year Award in 1987.

She is survived by her son, Ed Chesebrough, and his wife, Peggy, of Delanson, and her daughter, Linda Modica, and her husband, Harold, of Townsend, Massachusetts; and her four grandchildren, Kristie and Tracy Chesebrough and Eric and Steve Modica.

She also is survived by her brothers, Lewis, Jack, and David Ward, and her sisters, Kay Matson, Ella Armstrong, and Vera Ward.

A memorial service will be held Friday, Nov. 7, at 11 a.m. at the Hamilton Union Presbyterian Church in Guilderland, with burial following at Prospect Hill Cemetery. A reception will follow at Hamilton Union’s Doug and Pattie Gray Educational Building.

Arrangements are by the Fredendall Funeral Home of Altamont, and online condolences may be made at fredendallfuneralhoem.com.

Memorial contributions may be sent to Meals on Wheels of Albany, Senior Service of Albany Foundation 25 Delaware Ave., Albany, NY 12210 or to The Guilderland Food Pantry, Post Office Box 7, Guilderland, NY 12084.