RoseAnne Fogarty

RoseAnne P. Fogarty, age 78 of Slingerlands, NY, passed away on Thursday, January 30, 2025, at the Loudonville Assisted Living Residence. RoseAnne was born March 17, 1946, in Rutherford, NJ, the daughter of Edward Fogarty of West Haven, CT, and Gertrude Schaefer Fogarty of Schenectady, NY. She was the loving wife of 36 years to Perry F. Smith; devoted mother of Margaret M. Smith; and beloved sister of Mary Flad (Harvey), David Fogarty (Sue), the late Beth Garcia (Ivan), Kate Fogarty, and Michael Fogarty. She is also survived by numerous nieces, nephews, grand-nieces, and grand-nephews.

 RoseAnne received her BA degree from the College of New Rochelle, her MA from the University of Pennsylvania, and her PhD in educational administration from The University at Albany. Her life-long career was devoted to education, starting in the Peace Corps as a teacher in Thailand. She taught high school at the Coxsackie-Athens Central Schools, directed the New York Energy Education Project of the State Education Department, researched and authored numerous publications for the New York State School Boards Association, taught and directed the Department of Counseling and Educational Administration at the College of Saint Rose, Albany, and served as the first executive director of the NYS PTA and as a board member and president of the local educators chapter of Phi Delta Kappa.

 RoseAnne was a strong advocate for women in business, winning awards for her work in the local and state Association for Women in Administration. She served four years as president of the board of the Friends of Five Rivers environmental education center in Delmar, NY, and authored a book on the history of Five Rivers. She played the guitar and had a beautiful voice, singing regularly with the Bethlehem Senior Choir, often performing solos. She also loved the outdoors, skiing and hiking, and spent many summers visiting the family camp in the Adirondacks.

 A memorial service will be held at the First Unitarian Universalist Society of Albany, 405 Washington Avenue, on Saturday, April 12, 2025 at 2:00 PM, followed by a reception. Donations in memory of RoseAnne may be made to the Alzheimer’s Disease Association (https://alzfdn.org/support-us/donate/), the Unitarian Universalist Service Committee (https://www.uusc.org/ways-to-give/), or to the Friends of Five Rivers (https://friendsoffiverivers.org/donate/).