The Honorable Katherine Skinner CARSKY dies at 74
Former Westchester County legislator Katherine (Kay) Skinner Carsky passed away on Saturday the 6th of February at 10:30 pm at Lawrence Hospital in Bronxville, NY. Kay learned she had metastatic lung cancer last August, and treasured the last months of her life with family and close friends. Kay finally accepted death as she lived her life… with courage and dignity. Her vivacity, and full engagement with the world will be sorely missed by family, friends and the community.
Kay’s life was a testament to good civic leadership and personal responsibility. She stood as a great example of what one woman with a powerful vision and willpower, backed by a loving family, can accomplish. While raising five children, Kay did two years post graduate study at Sarah Lawrence College and became active in local government and community affairs. This interest culminated in the appointive and elective offices in which she served from 1972-2001, including time on the Yonkers School Board, League of Women Voters, Yonkers City Council, and Westchester County Legislature. For more on Kay’s distinguished career in community and political life, please go to http://polhudson.lohudblogs.com/2011/02/07/kay-carsky-known-for-her-vision-attention-to-detail-dies/, and for tributes, see http://polhudson.lohudblogs.com/2011/02/08/more-on-kay-carsky-from-those-who-worked-with-her/. A progressive fiscal conservative, she constantly planned for the future in her public and personal life. For decades until her final months, she was fully engaged preserving and beautifying the Bronx River Parkway, actively supported the Westchester Arts Council, the Westchester Community College Foundation, and the Westchester Historical Society.
In addition to her work on the Board of Legislators, she was an active member of the National Association of Counties (NACo), serving in various capacities from 1989 to 2001, including as a member of NACo’s Board of Directors. Her meticulous records on the origins of affordable housing in Westchester County, the Bronx River Parkway Reservation, and the Westchester County Medical Center have been donated to the Westchester County Historical Society.Kay was born and raised on a farm in Herman, Nebraska where her family raised pure bred Shorthorn cattle. Instilled in her at an early age were the need for hard work, service, and integrity. These precepts remained her core beliefs throughout life. As a young adult, she had her own herd of cattle, which enabled her to pay for her education at the University of Nebraska. Upon graduation from college, Kay moved to St. Louis where she handled public relations and marketing for her employer, a national food company. In 1959 she married James B. Carsky, a school textbook publisher. They lived in Syracuse, New York and Minneapolis, Minnesota before moving to Yonkers, New York in 1969. She is survived by her children Laura Stout and husband Herald of Steamboat Springs, CO, Jack Carsky and wife Lisa of Walnut Creek, CA, Joe Carsky and wife Madeleine of Crestwood, NY, Cece Carsky-Schroeder and husband Wade of Denver, CO, and Meg Carsky-Wilson and husband Woody of Hopewell, NJ. She is also survived by thirteen happy grandchildren who love her dearly. Her husband of 28 years, Jim Carsky died at age 57 in 1987.
Kay’s wonderful liveliness made her delightful company for all sorts of people, who appreciated her interest in and sympathy with the variety of mankind. She was sincerely interested and concerned in affairs not only locally but all around the world. She loved music, the theatre, dancing, good company, good food and fine wine. The funeral mass will be held on Saturday at 11am, at Annunciation Church, 470 Westchester Avenue, Crestwood. Funeral arrangements will be handled by Fred McGrath & Sons of Bronxville, New York, and visiting hours will be from 2-4pm and 6-9pm Friday, February 11th. Donations in lieu of flowers to the Bronx River Parkway Reservation Conservancy at http://www.bronx-river.com/membership.htm would be greatly appreciated.
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