Kuivila, Nancy C.

COHOES - Nancy Corn Kuivila passed away peacefully on Sunday, October 24, 2021, at the age of 99, at the Eddy Village Green in Cohoes. Born on June 15, 1922, in Ironton, Ohio, she was the eldest child of Evaline McConnell Corn, a former schoolteacher and Clarence Corn, a mailman and Baptist minister. Nancy attended Ohio State University on a scholarship. A chemistry major, she first met her future husband, Henry Kuivila, in a chemistry laboratory class. They married in June 1943, and were blessed with nearly 61 years together. They continued to live in Ohio during World War II and subsequently moved to Cambridge Massachusetts, where Henry earned a Ph.D. in Chemistry from Harvard University in 1948. During this time Nancy continued to work as a chemist, becoming a full time homemaker when Henry accepted a teaching position at the University of New Hampshire. There she raised their three children and served as a den mother, Girl Scout leader, Sunday school teacher, chair of the children's bazaar and faithful member of the PTA and the League of Women Voters. She also found time to take college courses in math and Russian. In 1964, Henry was appointed chair of the Chemistry Department at the State University of New York at Albany and the family moved to Glenmont. There, Nancy became a residential real estate agent, rising to become the manager of the residential real estate office of Picotte Realty. She subsequently founded Nancy Kuivila Real Estate and later served as the president of the Albany County Real Estate Board. Nancy also continued her community service as a University blood mobile volunteer, a steward and a trustee at Westminster Presbyterian Church, literacy volunteer, an ombudsman at Good Samaritan Nursing Home and a member of the steering Committee of the Capital District Senior Issues Forum. She retired from real estate after Henry became disabled in 1994, and devoted herself to his care until he passed away in 2004.

Nancy is survived by her children, Henry (Elaine Terenzi), Nancy (Rob Maddin) and Ronald (Barbara Tsumagari); and her grandchildren, Mark, Lucas, and Cai Kuivila. Thanks to the loving care of Dorothy Roohan and Pat Harman, she lived independently until shortly before her 99th birthday. Her indefatigable optimism, humor and general friendliness allowed her to thrive until the moment she quietly slipped away.

A memorial service will be scheduled around the week of June 15, 2022, the hundredth anniversary of her birth. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to Westminster Presbyterian Church, 80 Chestnut St., Albany, NY 12210 or to the or to the Henry G. Kuivila Lecture Fund, The University at Albany Foundation, P.O. Box 761, Albany, NY 12201.