QUEENSBURY –
Catherine (MacCarthy) McLenithan, 78, of Eagan Road, passed away peacefully and
privately on Sunday, April 28, 2024, following a courageous battle with cancer.
Born
November 2, 1945, in Yonkers, Katie was the daughter of the late John and Antoinette
(Dell’Accio) MacCarthy.
Katie was a
graduate of Pine Bush Central School in Orange County. Following high school,
she attended Albany Business College and graduated with an Associate Degree in
Accounting.
She married
Richard McLenithan on July 23, 1967, at the Church of The Infant Savior in Pine
Bush, New York.
Katie began
her longtime accounting career in the early 1970’s working for DeSantis Enterprise
as the assistant office manager. This was Katie’s first exposure to working in
a large office environment with the responsibility of managing and staffing
multiple Howard Johnson restaurants throughout the greater Glens
Falls/Queensbury area. It also included a restaurant in Herkimer, New York. Katie
considered this a great training job which prepared her for future
opportunities.
Prior to
working for DeSantis Enterprise, Katie worked many jobs that gave her the
confidence, experience, and knowledge she needed to be successful. She was so
proud of herself for starting out with a two-year degree in accounting. She
took advantage of every learning opportunity that came her way. She also
figured out that the only way to get a raise was to move on to a new job.
Katie’s
final job was working for Rick McClenning at Premier Dairy Service, LLC in
Argyle. When she joined Premier Dairy, Katie was the accounting manager for
Rick and dealt directly with the accounting firm that prepared the company’s
income taxes and yearly final statements. When the business sold to the Swedish
company, Delaval Inc. in 2014, Katie’s expertise with the company’s accounting
was recognized and she continued to work for them until retirement. When Katie
retired, she was the head bookkeeper and proud of it. Katie also found time to
help her husband with his law practice.
She loved
her profession and never considered her jobs as work. To her, they were her
hobbies. She also loved to cook. Katie could look at a recipe once and create a
dish without looking at the ingredients again. She loved to travel. Katie and
Dick travelled extensively in their lifetime throughout the United States and
Europe often accompanied by other couples. After retirement, Katie also traveled
extensively with her sister.
Katie was
the matriarch of her family. She always made sure the holidays were perfect
with beautiful decorations, lots of food, and making memories to last a
lifetime.
Even though Katie
was a very private woman, she was part of a group of women she had hired when
she was at Howard Johnson. In 1989 Rayna Henry approached Katie about meeting
once a month for dinner. The ladies, known as the “Ho-Jo Girls” who were there
at the start were Rayna Henry, the late Julie Malan, Kathy Durkee, Katie Mclenithan,
Ann LaRose, and Paula Pendergast. Several years later, they were joined by
friends Connie Rawlins and Susan Holbrook. The women are still meeting after
all those years.
In addition to her parents, Katie is predeceased by her brother, John MacCarthy.
She is
survived by her husband, Richard E. McLenithan of Queensbury; her children, Sarah
McLenithan (Nick Ignazio) of Glens Falls, and Daniel (Yaniris) McLenithan of
Lebanon New Hampshire; her grandchildren, Jeremiah Fenton, Anna Leah
McLenithan, and Henry McLenithan; and her sister, Antoinette “Toni” Gagan of
Pine Bush.
Katie is
also survived by the Ho-Jo Girls; her longtime childhood friends, Josephine
Dill and Marilyn D’Angelo and her longtime friend and Hudson Falls neighbor,
Irene Marshall.
Katie’s family would like to thank High Peaks Hospice for their support. They would like to especially thank Renee Belinger for her patience, guidance and compassion given to Katie in her final days.
Calling
hours will be held on Thursday, May 2, 2024, from 3 pm to 6 pm at Carleton
Funeral Home, Inc., 68 Main Street in Hudson Falls.
A funeral service for Katie will take place at 11 am on Friday, May 3, 2024, at the funeral home.
Memorial
donations in Katies name may be made to the CR Wood Cancer Center, 100 Park
Street Pruyn Pavilion, Glens Falls, New York 12801.