Phyllis Ann Kew

HUDSON FALLS – Phyllis Ann Kew, 69, of Hudson Falls, entered the eternal gates of Heaven to be reunited with her son, Ray, on Tuesday, June 23, 2015.

She was born on October 23, 1945 to the late Laurence and Marjorie (Saunders) Harsha and was raised on the family farm in Adamsville.  She graduated from Hudson Falls High School and shortly thereafter, on August 11, 1963, she was united in marriage to Raymond Milton Kew at the South Glens Falls Baptist Church by Rev. Korb.  Raymond and Phyllis raised their children on Pine Street in Hudson Falls in the home they built together.

In addition to being a homemaker, Phyllis was the bookkeeper for Raymond’s auto businesses, their rental homes, and in later years for his excavating business. Their door was always open and the coffee pot was always on for family and friends, any time, day or night.  She lived for her children and mourned the loss of her son, Ray at age 23.  Her grandchildren brought her great comfort and joy over the years, and her great-granddaughter, Mia, was the light of her life.

Family time was the center of her world, whether it was cruising annually with her daughter’s family to Bermuda, the Bahamas, the Cayman Islands, Cozumel, Costa Maya, and Belize, or traveling locally to Busch Gardens, Virginia and Myrtle Beaches, or just spending time at home with the grandchildren, playing video games, building legos with them or swinging in the back yard.  She enjoyed shopping with her daughter and granddaughter, especially their annual 24-hour marathon Black Friday shopping trips, and she always looked forward to weekly visits with her dear friend, Olive Breault, and her friend and hair stylist, Laurie Cottrell-Orsini.

It recently came to light that for years Phyllis sponsored and corresponded with an overseas child, and subsequently adopted another after that child grew up.   Her daughter discovered this when mailing a check for her.  That was the kind of person she was – private, humble, generous, selfless, compassionate and above all, her daughter’s hero, being the best mother and friend anyone could ask for.

Besides her parents, she was predeceased by her son, Raymond M. Kew and her sister, Donna (Harsha) White.

Survivors include her loving daughter, Michele Langlois and her husband, John of Hudson Falls; her grandchildren, Jason Langlois of Los Angeles, California, Sgt. Kyle and Jackilyn (Winchell) Langlois of Jacksonville, North Carolina, Amber Langlois of Albany; her great granddaughter, Mia Perez; her brother, Richard Harsha (Odelie) of Adamsville; her sister, Debbie Pollack (Thomas) of Argyle; her brother-in-law, Orin White, Jr. of Hartford, and many nieces, nephews and cousins.

Friends may call on Monday, June 29, 2015, from 12 to 2 p.m. at the Carleton Funeral Home, Inc., 68 Main Street in Hudson Falls.

The funeral service will follow calling hours at 2 p.m. at the funeral home.

Burial will follow at Union Cemetery in the town of Fort Edward, where she will be laid to rest with her son.

In lieu of flowers, if you wish to honor Phyllis’s life, memorial donations may be made to St. Jude Children’s Hospital, 510 St. Jude Place, Memphis, TN  38105.