William Kasper (1938-2017)
William Lawrence Kasper, 78, a resident of Florida since 2004, died March 23, 2017, at his daughter’s home in Hyde Park. Bill previously lived in Poughquag from 1974 to 2005.
Born in Queens on June 21, 1938, he was the son of William and Anna (Steinhauser) Kasper. He was employed as an engineer for IBM in Fishkill for more than 35 years until his retirement in 1997.
Bill was a parishioner of St. Timothy’s Church in The Villages, Florida, and was involved with the Knights of Columbus in both New York and Florida. He was the Past Grand Knight for St. Mary’s Council No. 4065, Fishkill and the Past Faithful Navigator for Trinity Assembly in Beacon. He also served for five years as the Master of the 2nd New York District of the 4th Degree.
Bill’s family was always his first priority, and his grandchildren were the light of his life.
He married Anna M. Oaks on Nov. 28, 1959, in Queens. In addition to his wife, Bill is survived by his daughters, Nancy Verdichizzi (Joseph) of Lagrangeville and Kathleen Berry (Kenneth) of Hyde Park; his grandchildren, Ashley Calogero and her fiancé Derek Riley, Kyle Calogero, Andrew Berry, and Randall Berry of Hyde Park; and his sister, Madge Vogric of Valley Stream.
A Mass of Christian Burial will be held on Monday, March 27, at 1 p.m. at St. Denis Church, 602 Beekman Road, Hopewell Junction. Memorial donations may be made to St. Vincent de Paul Society.
Linda LaGoy (1940-2017)
Linda N. LaGoy, 76, of Beacon, died March 24, 2017, at Vassar Brothers Medical Center in Poughkeepsie. Born Dec. 4, 1940, in Beacon, she was the daughter of Herman C. and Eva M. Barker.
Linda was born and raised in Beacon, and raised her family there as well. In 1957 she met Robert LaGoy, and they were married June 5, 1960 at Dutchess Manor in Beacon. Linda and Robert started their family in 1961. In addition to staying home and raising her three children, Linda worked as a school aide and as an IBM technician. She was both a Girl Scout and Boy Scout leader and caregiver to her father in his later years.
Linda loved to make people laugh and had a wonderful sense of humor. She also loved (in no particular order) the Mets (especially in 1986), reading, puzzles, video games, her dog Terry, and her children, daughters and son-in-law, and all of her grandchildren.
Linda is survived by her children Robert “Glen” LaGoy (Randy) of Hyde Park, Robin Lucas (Mark) of Beacon and Daniel LaGoy (Anne) of Newbury, England; grandchildren Janine and Brittany Lucas, Andre and Trevor LaGoy, and Daniel, Jamie, and Nicole LaGoy; her brother Herman “Hank” Barker (Margaret), and her nieces. Her husband, Robert, died before her.
Memorial service hours will be held Wednesday, March 29, from 2 to 4 p.m. at the Robert H. Auchmoody Funeral Home, 1028 Main St., Fishkill. Memorial donations may be made to the American Breast Cancer Foundation.
Dinorah Mendoza (1931-2017)
Dinorah Mendoza, 85, a Beacon resident since 2015 and formerly of Kissimmee, Florida, and Manhattan, died on March 24, 2017, at Vassar Brothers Medical Center in Poughkeepsie.
Dinorah was born Nov. 9, 1931 in Havana, Cuba, where she was raised by her aunt, Dolores Perez, and her father, Alberto Perez. At 19 she emigrated alone to the U.S. to immerse herself in the English language and settled in Manhattan.
In 1954 she met Dagoberto Mendoza, also from Cuba, and on Dec. 17, 1955, they were married in New York City. He died in 2002.
Dinorah worked for the New York Telephone Co. for nearly 30 years until her retirement in 1997. After moving to Dutchess County, she became a member of St. Mary, Mother of the Church in Fishkill. She enjoyed many hobbies such as travel, movies, shopping, music, dancing, and attending Broadway shows.
Her vibrant personality will be remembered by all those who knew and loved her. She was an incredible woman, wife, mother and grandmother.
She is survived by her daughters, Rosemary Santiago (Reinaldo) and Clare Wegescheide (Richard), both of Wappingers Falls; her grandson, Paul Richard Wegescheide of New York City; and her granddaughter, Blair Marie Wegescheide of Pittsburgh.
A Mass of Christian Burial will be offered at 10:30 a.m. on Monday, March 27, at St. Mary, Mother of the Church, 106 Jackson St., Fishkill, with interment at St. Raymond Cemetery in the Bronx. Memorial donations may be made to the St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital.
