Elizabeth Clarke O'Hanlon

Elizabeth Clarke O'Hanlon

EAST BERNE — Elizabeth “Betty” Clarke O’Hanlon died peacefully, the same way she lived her life, on Saturday, Oct. 10, 2015, at St. Peter’s Hospital after a long illness. She was 96.

Mrs. O’Hanlon was born on Oct. 6, 1919, the oldest child of Thomas and Emma Clarke of Rensselaer.

She graduated from Rensselaer High School in 1936.

She married David M. O’Hanlon in 1943, on the eve of his deployment to Europe during World War II.

Mrs. O’Hanlon was a career employee of the state’s Department of Professional Licensing and operated O’Hanlon’s Pine Grove on Warners Lake with her husband.

She was a “voracious” reader, said her daughter, Mary O’Hanlon, and, while working, took a variety of college courses that piqued her interest.

“She had eclectic interests,” her daughter said.

After her retirement, she explored her many artistic talents, including oil painting, furniture refinishing, chair-caning, and crocheting.

She and her husband had many friends and enjoyed many happy years with them in East Berne and in Homosassa, Florida, and Mrs. O’Hanlon also cherished her time with her grandchildren.

Mary O’Hanlon described her mother “fun loving” but also as a “calming influence.”

“There was very little in life that upset her,” she said.

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Mrs. O’Hanlon is survived by her daughters, Mary O’Hanlon and Patricia O’Hanlon, and her husband, Roy Lamberton; her sister, Mary (née Clarke) Ciprioni; her daughter-in-law, Linda O’Hanlon; her grandchildren, Colin O’Hanlon, and his wife, Colleen, Ryan O’Hanlon, Laura Lamberton, and her husband, Ryan Dunham, and Peter Lamberton.

She is also survived by seven great-grandchildren, Kennan, Shae, and Brogan O’Hanlon, and Brianne Borter and Caelan, Reilly, and Aisnley Lamberton Dunham.

Her husband, Dave O’Hanlon, died before her, as did her son, Michael, and her brother, Thomas Clarke.

The family thanks the staff at the Hospice Inn and especially the staff on 3A at the Teresian House who took “such great care” of Mrs. O’Hanlonm they wrote.

Calling hours will be held at the Fredendall Funeral Home in Altamont on Wednesday, Oct. 14, from 5 to 7 p.m. A Mass of Christian Burial will be held on Thursday, Oct. 15, at 10 a.m. at St. Lucy-St. Bernadette’s Roman Catholic Church in Altamont.

Memorial contributions may be made to the Alzheimer’s Association, 4 Pine West Plaza, #405, Albany, NY 12205 or to any no-kill animal shelter.

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