Obituary of Francis C. Skelly

“It was a good life.” Francis C. Skelly passed away peacefully surrounded by family and led by the prayers of many on August 27, 2016. Frank, as he was known to his family and friends, was born in Wappingers Falls, NY on January 15, 1931 to Charles and Jenny Skelly. He graduated, as Valedictorian, from Wappingers Central High School in 1949. Frank attended RPI, graduating Summa Cum Laude with a Bachelor’s degree in Electrical Engineering in 1953. While at RPI, he was a member of the Alpha Sigma Phi fraternity, a member of the lacrosse team, participated in several intramural sports and the Newman Club. Frank was a Staff Specialist in the US Army from 1953-1955 during the Korean War and was stationed in Virginia. In 1955, after completing his military service, he returned to the Hudson Valley and was employed at Central Hudson Gas & Electric, retiring in 1991. Frank began his career at Central Hudson as an intern while attending RPI and retired as the Economic Development Director. During his tenure with Central Hudson, Frank’s journey posted him to offices in Poughkeepise, Catskill and Ellenville, residing in each location. Frank was an active community member and held roles in the Catskill Town Zoning Board, various PTA organizations, CYO, the Knights of Columbus, various Chambers of Coerce, Dutchess County Council of the Arts, the Central Hudson Golf League and many others. He was an all-around athlete, a lifeguard during his summers as a young man at Sylvan Lake, and taught his children to swim. He loved to water and snow ski, play basketball and was, until very recently, an avid golfer. His family vacations were days filled with sunshine on Long Beach Island or Cape Cod. He also obtained his private pilot license to fulfill his love of aeronautics. After his retirement, he and his wife Jean traveled to Ireland, Guatemala, Hawaii and visited family throughout the United States. Until his last days, Frank was lucky and loved games of chance and betting on the ponies. Parlaying his love of sports and his engineering knowledge, he combined the two and was instrumental in creating the first snowmaking electrical schematics at Hunter Mountain and later in Lake Placid in preparation for the 1980 Winter Olympics. He met Jean Moore at a fraternity-sorority dance at Oswego State Teachers College where Jean was pursuing her degree in elementary education. Unable to attend a function at RPI, Jean asked one of her sorority sisters to bring her back a tall, blond, blue-eyed Irishman. At the next dance, history was made. An unbreakable bond and a loving relationship was quickly formed, one sustained through a lifetime of joys and challenges. They were married in Utica, NY on September 4, 1954 and Frank was a devoted husband for 62 years. Their dedication to each other, so powerfully observed in the last few years, is and will continue to be a wonderful model for their children and grandchildren to follow. Frank was calm and confident in times of concern, with a quiet strength. He had the necessary fortitude to corral eight rambunctious children. Lest we forget, he also had a lively sense of humor and the Irish wit that stimulated and created most of the chaos! Frank was predeceased by his parents, brother Donald Skelly, and son-in-law John Avellino. Frank was a fair and firm father to his eight children: Bernard Skelly of Freehold; Colleen (the late John) Avellino of Clifton Park; Martin (Donna Mambrino) of Farmington, CT; Karen (John) Keane of Scotia; Mary Jean (Kip) Miller of Poughkeepsie; Edward (Amy) Skelly from Ashburn, VA; Margaret ( Marty) Tully of Kerhonksen; and Peter( Kristine) Skelly of Hoschton, GA. He was extremely proud of and loving to his seven grandsons, John Francis, Ryan, Andrew, Benjamin, Thomas, Connor and Aiden and six granddaughters, Serena, Jenny, Lauren, Courtney, Hannah and Millina. Frank is survived by 131 nieces and nephews from both his and his wife’s family. Frank will be remembered by his family and friends as an engaging and spirited storyteller who never met a person along his journey that he stayed a stranger to for very long. His gift of gab and love of life never left him. He will be missed by those that had the privilege to know him and especially by those who loved him. Calling hours will be held on Wednesday, August 31 from 4 to 7 p.m. at the Catricala Funeral Home Inc., 1597 Route 9, Clifton Park, with a memorial Mass on Thursday at 10 a.m. at Corpus Christi Church in Round Lake. Burial will be in the Saratoga National Cemetery at 12 Noon. In lieu of flowers, the family requests donations be made to the Alzheimer Association of NYS, 4 Pine West Plaza, Suite 405, Albany, NY 12205 or the Wounded Warrior Project.