Sam Blasingame (1959-2026)
Sam W. Blasingame, 67, of Fishkill and formerly of Peekskill, died Oct. 1 at Columbia Presbyterian Hospital in New York City.
He was born April 7, 1959, in Valhalla, the son of Charles and Sylvia (White) Blasingame. On April 12, 2022, Sam married Nicole Christos.
Along with his wife, Sam is survived by his daughters, Shamikah (Joe) and Shayla (Nick); his grandchildren, Sydney and Jaden, his mother-in-law, Ruthanne; his sister-in-law, Andrea. His siblings, Charles (“Mike”) and Sharon (“Missy”) died earlier.
Sam was a carpenter with Allwood Stillwell Stair Builders, located in Goldens Bridge. He also loved football and coached and mentored the New York Bears semi-pro team in Beacon. He was also a San Francisco 49ers fan. Another one of Sam’s joys was riding his motorcycle. A service was held Oct. 18 at the McHoul Funeral Home in Fishkill.
Ginger DiPasqua (1941-2026)
Vincenza “Ginger” DiPasqua, 85, a resident of Beacon for 58 years, died Oct. 16 at Vassar Brothers Medical Center.
She was born May 27, 1941, in the Bronx, the daughter of Frank and Vivian (Tambori) Cerniglia. On June 11, 1960, Ginger married Hugo DiPasqua, at Immaculate Conception Church in the Bronx.
Ginger worked as an insurance underwriter for MetLife, beginning in Poughkeepsie and retiring from the Yorktown Heights branch.
She took great pride in hosting family holidays, filling her home with the wonderful aromas of cooking and baking. She served as class mom for her children and enjoyed playing cards and board games or trying her luck at the casino slots. She spent many a weekend at the Jersey shore throwing in a fishing line or pulling up a crab net.
Along with her husband of 66 years, she is survived by her children, Laura Triolo (Frank) and Frank DiPasqua; her grandchildren, Amanda Triolo (Durand Jackson) and Stephanie Devine (Stephen); and her great-granddaughter, Emma Devine.
She is also survived by her brothers-in-law, Frank DiPasqua (Barbara) and Lenny DiPasqua (Annette). Her sister-in-law, Phyllis DiPasqua, died earlier.
A graveside service took placed on Oct. 23 at St. Joachim Cemetery in Beacon. Memorial donations may be made to St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital (stjude.org).
Barbara Miller (1934-2026)
Barbara Ellen Miller, 92, of Mystic, Connecticut, a retired commander of the U.S. Navy Nurse Corps, died Oct. 13.
She was born on May 27, 1934, in Albany, the daughter of Floyd and Faith (Hommel) Miller. She grew up in Beacon and graduated from Beacon High School before entering the nursing program at Keuka College in Keuka Park and graduating with a bachelor’s degree in 1956. Soon after, she enrolled in the graduate program in nursing at the University of Maryland in Baltimore.
In 1962, Barbara entered the U.S. Navy Nurse Corps. After graduating from Officer’s Candidate School in Newport, Rhode Island, and assigned to the National Naval Medical Center in Bethesda, Maryland.
In 1964, she was sent overseas to the U.S. Naval Hospital in Yokosuka, Japan, where she cared for wounded Marines during the beginning of the Vietnam War. Barbara returned stateside for duty at Naval Hospital in San Diego, where she was supervisor of the Surgical Intensive Care Unit.
During her time at San Diego, she was assigned as the evening nurse for the Pueblo Crew upon their return on Christmas Eve 1968 to San Diego from imprisonment in North Korea. Barbara next went to Naval Hospital in Philadelphia, where she cared for many amputees and later became assistant supervisor/staff detailer for the Dependents’ Wards.
In 1972, she was sent to the Naval Medical Research Institute in Bethesda and helped develop programs for the Hospital Corps School, Great Lakes, Illinois. She was then assigned to the Health Science Education Training Command in Bethesda, where she was the technical advisor for Nurse Corps Educational Film and TV projects.
Her last duty station was the Naval Submarine Medical Center in Groton, Connecticut, where she retired as a full commander in 1982 after 20 years of service. She continued to serve as a volunteer on the submarine base for the Navy nursing service, Marine Corps Relief Society and for the Retired Activities Office (RAO), as well as RAO director for five years. Following her retirement, Barbara served in the education department at Lawrence & Memorial Hospitals from 1983 to 1999.
During her long nursing career, Barbara published articles for the American Journal of Nursing and the Journal of Continuing Education in Nursing. She also developed an orthopedic manual for the Nurse Corps in 1967. Barbara was also an American Red Cross nurse. She was a member since 1952 of the Melzingah Chapter of the Daughters of the American Revolution in Beacon. She was also a charter member of Women in Military Service of America and life member of the Girl Scouts of America.
Barbara has no survivors. A service was held on Oct. 21 at St. Mark’s Episcopal Church in Mystic, followed by interment with military honors at Elm Grove Cemetery. Memorial donations may be made to the Commander Barbara Ellen Miller Scholarship Endowment Fund, Keuka College, Division of College Advancement, P.O. Box 98, Keuka Park, NY 14478-9979 or St. Mark’s Episcopal Church, 15 Pearl St., Mystic, CT 06355.
Lavenia Reyes (1979-2026)
Lavenia Reyes, 47, of Middletown, a corrections officer at Fishkill Correctional Facility in Beacon, died Oct. 20.
She was born July 26, 1979, in Brooklyn, to Lavern Jackson and Vanessa Portis. Lavenia was a member of the Transformation Church in Middletown.
Along with her parents, she is survived by her husband, Damion Reyes; her children, Kevin Anderson III; Jayden Joseph; Dalani Carrington Reyes; Mikayla Berdecia (Luis Berdecia); her siblings, Vernon Jackson and Cheryl Portis-Kelley (Melvin Kelley); and her granddaughters, Luna, Solana and Stormi Berdecia.
Visitation will be held from 5 to 7 p.m. on Thursday (Oct. 29) at Smith, Seaman & Quackenbush Funeral Home, 117 Maple Ave., in Monroe. A funeral service will be from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. on Oct. 30 at the Transformation Church, 160 Blumel Road, in Middletown. Memorial contributions may be made to St. Jude’s Children’s Research Hospital (stjude.org).
Marion Terralavoro (1935-2026)
Marion M. Terralavoro, 91, died Oct. 10 at the Renaissance Nursing and Rehabilitation Center in Staatsburg.
She was born in 1935 and raised in Beacon, the daughter of Grace and Joseph Angelo. On Sept. 9, 1954, she wed Alfred “Alfie” Terralavoro. They were married for 25 years until his death.
Marion graduated from Mount St. Mary’s Academy and Krissler Business Institute. She was a member of the Mothers’ Guild and the Catholic Daughters of the Americas and a parishioner of St. Mary’s Wappingers Falls. She worked for the Spackenkill school district, Marist College and The Culinary Institute of America in Hyde Park before retiring.
Marion found joy in life’s simple and creative pleasures: Broadway plays, reading, shopping, ceramics, watching professional figure skating and traveling, especially trips to Cape Cod. She was renowned for her lemon meringue pies and black-and-white cookies. As a devoted grandmother, she never missed an event or milestone.
Marion is survived by her children: Debra (Keith), David, Steven and Jeffrey; her grandchildren, who called her “Mima,” Mitchell and Erika Hedgecock Zingaro (Domenick); and two great-grandchildren: Dante Alfie and Theo Domenick. She is also survived by her siblings, Dolores Vitanza and Joseph Angelo of Beacon.
Services were private, followed by interment at St. Mary’s Cemetery. Memorial donations may be made to St. Jude’s Children’s Research Hospital (stjude.org).
