Ann Cesira Lapolla Moynihan, founder of the Capital Region computer consulting firm Documentation Strategies, died on Saturday, April 5, 2025, after a brief illness. She was 78.

Born in Peekskill, she was one of four children and the only daughter of the late Fred and Helen Lapolla. She grew up in Crugers and graduated from Hendrick Hudson High School in Montrose.

She graduated from The College of Saint Rose and received a master’s degree in technical writing from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute.

“She worked for the state Health Department at Griffin Laboratory before starting Documentation Strategies as a technical writing business in an incubator space at the Rensselaer Technology Park in North Greenbush,” her family wrote in a tribute. “The company relocated to the city of Rensselaer and expanded into a computer consulting firm with clients including several state government agencies and private corporations. She retired and sold the business several years ago.

“Ann married Martin Moynihan, a reporter and arts writer for the former Knickerbocker News and Times Union, in 1970. They traveled extensively in Europe, to Russia when it was still the Soviet Union, and on the Amazon River in Brazil. They enjoyed hiking and camping throughout the country, but particularly in the Adirondacks. Marty died in 1993.

“An adventurous spirit, Ann continued traveling to destinations including China, Egypt, Machu Picchu, and the Galapagos Islands. She enjoyed sampling different cuisines at home and abroad.

“Ann, who said gym was her favorite subject in school, was an avid tennis player and, more recently, pickleball. She played Mahjong weekly and enjoyed book club lunches with old and new friends.

“A dog lover, she owned several rescue dogs, and leaves behind two of her very favorite, Kindle and Kali.”

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Ann Cesira Lapolla Moynihan is survived by her brother Peter Lapolla and his wife, Elaine, and their sons Dan and Ben (Jenn) Lapolla and grand nieces and nephews Michael, Lilly, and Anthony; and her brother Richard Lapolla and his wife, Bobbi, and their children, Stacy (Michael) Spaulding and their children Rachel and Tyler and Michael (Ashley) Lapolla.

Her brother Fritz Lapolla died before her.

A Mass of Christian burial will be celebrated on Wednesday, April 30, at 10 a.m. in St. Lucy/St. Bernadette Church on Grand Street in Altamont followed by inurnment next to Martin in Fairview Cemetery in Altamont. Family and friends are invited and may visit with her family in the Fredendall Funeral Home at199 Main Street in Altamont on Tuesday, April 29, from 5 to 7 p.m.