We lost a wonderful mother yesterday, August 9. So vibrant during her recent trip with family to the Woods Hole beach house she held so dearly. The salt water cured any ailment in her book and you could be in it for a swim or on it in a boat to take your therapy. She often spoke of sailing with her brother and three sisters in their cherished 25 foot Wianno, the “Whistle Wing” on Vineyard Sound.
Maria La Grange Kidder was born in Orange, NJ on January 7, 1920 to Henry Maynard Kidder and Maria La Grange Duryee. The family later moved to New York City in an age when single family homes were common. She grew up during the depression years and spoke of the shanty towns in Central Park and the great losses people endured. She attended The Brearley School in NYC and later went on to Radcliff College and Columbia School of Architecture.
Mickey, as she was called by her friends and family, would marry late for her day to Erskine Clark Rogers, Jr. on August 7, 1954. Her husband was the influence that brought her to Hudson Falls where she spent the majority of her life raising 6 children; Erskine III, Henry, Thomas, Anne, James and John. She would never stop caring for her children and 7 grandchildren as they were her great source of purpose. She became somewhat of a farmer, pasteurizing milk from the family dairy and growing tomatoes and other vegetables. At the end of every garden row she would plant Marigolds and other flowers for balance and to help fight the omnipresent pests.
Mickey kept her interest in art and architecture alive as a docent at the Hyde Museum of Glens Falls. An avid reader with a good memory for poems, she was a long time member of the American Association of University Women which hosted regular “book clubs”. She could also be counted on to help out at the Presbyterian Church rummage sales. Her love of water and tennis was nurtured at the Glens Falls Tennis and Swim Club where she was a founding member so many years ago. She continued playing tennis well into her 80’s, extending the short Adirondack season a few months each year through an annual trek to Singer Island, Florida.
We will all miss her mild manner and eagerness to please that made her our rock and compass. She brought so many memories into our lives that will live on within all of us who knew her.
Memorial Services will be held on September 1, 2013 at 2:00 PM at the First Presbyterian Church in Hudson Falls, New York, with the Rev. Michael Plank, pastor officiating.
Arrangements are under the direction of the Carleton Funeral Home, Inc., 68 Main St., Hudson Falls