EAST BERNE — Barabara Ann Roney-Genter, of East Berne, died at home on Monday, March 8, 2021, while surrounded by family and her cat Mimi-kins and golden retriever, Missy. She was 89.

Mrs. Roney-Genter was born on March 4, 1932, the daughter of Charles Martin Roney and Bernice O’Brien-Roney. After graduating from Berne-Knox-Westerlo, Mrs. Roney-Genter went on to Ellis Nursing School, earning her certification before taking a job at Marcy State Hospital, in Marcy, New York, eventually relocating to Albany County. After her retirement, she worked for Dr. Gary Kolanchick in his family practice in Berne.

“She loved being a nurse and helping people in the medical field,” her family wrote in a tribute.

Mrs. Roney-Genter was married to Richard R. Genter, who died before her. In East Berne, she was an active member of the former St. John’s Lutheran Church, and helped with sermons and roast turkey dinners. After St. John’s had closed, she was an equally active member of  St. Paul’s Lutheran Church. 

Outside of work and church, Mrs. Roney-Genter enjoyed quilting and sewing. 

“Barbara made lots of quilts from baby to wedding gifts,” her family wrote in a tribute. “You would find her at the Altamont Fair with Ruth Norray for several years. When she wasn't there, she would pack her car up with her projects and off Ruth and she would go for a retreat making quilts. Many weekends were spent up north with her quilting friends. Hot tea, a good fire, is what she loved to do.

“When she wasn't away, Barbara would make spaghetti sauce to freeze along with freezing vegetables from the family garden. She spent a lot of time with her great nephew Peter Kennedy, and great niece Jamie Lynn Kennedy-Pye. You could say they were spoiled by her. As they grew up, the neighborhood kids also visited ‘Aunt Sissy.’ She cooked many meals for them.”

Mrs. Roney-Genter received her nickname, Sissy, from her brother, Peter Roney, who died in 1966. She became Aunt Sissy to her niece, Barbara Roney-Kennedy.

Ms. Roney-Kennedy said she was named after Mrs. Roney-Genter, whom she described as being “like a mother to me” following the death of Ms. Roney-Kennedy’s father, her aunt’s brother.

“My dad died when I was only 5 years old,” Ms. Roney-Kennedy said, “and I went to her house on the weekends and she took me to camp. She filled in the spot where he wasn’t.”

When Ms. Roney-Kennedy had a son, Peter Kennedy, she named him after her late father. She said that Mrs. Roney-Genter and Mr. Kennedy enjoyed a close relationship until his death, owing in part to their bond over his name and his resemblance to her brother.

“He cherished her more than anything in the world,” Ms. Roney-Kennedy said of her late son. “He was named after my father so my aunt had a connection with him [through that] … When I named him after my dad, my aunt took to him because he reminded her so much of her brother. It was a very close connection.” 

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Barbara Roney-Genter is survived by her niece Barbara Kennedy; her great-niece Jamie Lynn Kennedy, and Jamie Lynn’s husband, Wayne; her stepdaughter Carol Theyer, and Carol’s husband, Tom; her grandson Patrick, and Patrick’s wife, Missy; her great grandchildren Ricky, Ainsley, Liam; and her cousin Nina Russell Taylor. Her nephew Peter Kennedy died in 2007.

A celebration of life will be held at a later date at Woodlawn Cemetery, in Berne.

Memorial messages may be left at www.altamontenterprise.com/milestones.

Memorial donations can be made to Schoharie Animals Shelter, 304 Howes Cave Rd., Howes Cave, NY 12092.