Marlene F. Shelmandine

LOUDONVILLE - Marlene F. Shelmandine, 84, of Loudonville, loving and devoted wife, mother and grandmother, died April 7, 2015 at St. Peter's Hospice Inn surrounded by her family. Marlene was a remarkable woman with zest for life and learning. Her passions were baking and ceramics, gardening and sewing, her cats, and her number one priority, her family.

Born in Amsterdam, NY to Carl and Florence Foss, Marlene graduated from Wilber Lynch High School, later attending Alfred State College and SUNY Albany, earning a Bachelor of Science degree.

Marlene also sang in the Mohawk Valley Chorus and church choirs in Amsterdam as a soloist.

She worked for Knolls Atomic Power Lab at Peek Street where the reactor for the USS Sea Wolf's prototype nuclear reactor was developed in the fifties and later as an analyst in West Milton at the K. A. Kesselring site. After raising her family, she worked for Tough Traveler, Earth Traveler and Kangaroo Koncepts.

A resident of Niskayuna for over twenty years, Marlene was active at her sons' Cub Scouts and Boy Scouts and was a leader of her daughter's Brownie troop. She was a member of Beta Beta Beta National Biological Honor Society and the AAUW.

Marlene, the widow of Arthur Shelmandine Jr., is survived by her sons Arthur Shelmandine(Laurel) and Paul Shelmandine(Monica), and her daughter Karol Spenard (Tom), and step-children deNise Ellison, Matthew Shelmandine and Kim Campbell. Cherished grandmother to Tyler and Justin Spenard, Annalise and Marikje Shelmandine, and Shawn Shelmandine, and step-grandmother to Matthew Cole and Melissa Day (Jesse), and great-granddaughter Lillianna Day.

Marlene was predeceased by her brother, Carl Foss Jr. during WWII, her parents and sisters Winifred Foss and Norma Thompson.

A funeral service will be held at 12 noon Monday at New Comer Funeral Home, 343 New Karner Road, Colonie. Calling hours will precede the service from 10 a.m. to 12 noon on Monday at the funeral home. Interment will follow at Green Hill Cemetery in Amsterdam, NY.

Contributions can be made to Green Hill Cemetery Association, Amsterdam, NY, Guiding Eyes for the Blind (guidingeyes.org) or Cat Tales Rescue (cattalesrescue.org).