The world lost a shining light when Katharine Mulford Lyon of Goshen passed away of natural causes on Saturday, Dec. 4, 2021, at Montgomery Nursing Home in Montgomery.
Wherever she lived she brightened people’s lives, and we will all remember her endless smile and heartfelt enthusiasm for life.
Born Katharine Sidway Mulford in Greenwich, Conn., on Feb. 1, 1927, to Marie Rising Mulford and Elmer Sidway Mulford, she charmed her three older brothers and enjoyed being the baby of the family while also enduring the shenanigans for which older siblings are famous.
The family moved to Little Falls, N.Y., in 1929 and it is there that Katharine spent most of her life, leaving for schooling, a year in Paris living with French cousins, working and living in San Francisco and eventually returning to the Mohawk Valley to raise her family.
Graduating from the Abbott Academy (now Andover) in 1946, she enrolled in Briarcliff College and received an Associate’s Degree. She had secretarial training in Utica and was employed by The Master’s School in Dobbs Ferry for several years and the antiquarian bookshop John Howell Books in San Francisco, California, for six years.
In 1961 she met the love of her life, the late Charles Maurice Lyon, whom she wed at Saint Mary’s Church (now Holy Family) in Little Falls on July 8 of that year.
Their daughter Caroline Sidway was born in 1962 and the family lived first in Herkimer, moving in 1965 to the Fink House in Fink’s Basin, just outside of Little Falls.
While working at the Martin Reel Company (a small manufacturer of automatic fly-fishing reels in Mohawk owned by her husband) as a secretary, she enjoyed serving her community by being on the Little Falls Hospital Board, (also volunteering in the hospital coffee and gift shop) and by being president of the Little Falls Historical Society. A lover of history, she wrote and presented papers as a longtime member of The Fortnightly Group.
She loved to entertain and as a dedicated “foodie” and consummate hostess, she founded the Gourmet Dinner Club and enjoyed many a culinary adventure with a great group of friends, without ever leaving her dining room.
Katie moved to Goshen in 2008 to live with her daughter’s family, and, true to the history buff in her, uncovered documentation that many of her ancestors had hailed from Goshen and the Minisink Valley, dating back to 1775, making the move all the more poignant.
She joined St. James Church, serving on the Altar Guild and running the jewelry table at the Christmas Fair; enjoyed playing bridge at Goshen’s Senior Center; was a member of the Goshen Garden Club, and happily cared for her (at the time) young granddaughters.
Because her enthusiastic personality was not dampened whatsoever by aging, she made many friends during her Goshen years, enjoying travel, more entertaining, and community service.
After a health setback, she moved to Braemar Living at Wallkill in April 2021 and was transferred to Montgomery Nursing Home only two weeks ago after a short hospital stay.
The caring nurses and staff at Montgomery Nursing Home were able to sense Katie’s outgoing spirit even though she had lost her ability to speak.
Surviving are her daughter, Caroline Lyon Tippin of Goshen (married to Chris Tippin), granddaughters Sara Parnell Tippin (attending Lafayette College, Pa.) and Riley Tirzah Tippin (attending The Storm King School, Cornwall); step granddaughter Alicia Christine Tippin of New York City; sisters-in-law Sally Lyon Lundstrom of Utica and Jean Palmer Mulford of Chester, Conn. She also leaves behind many beloved nieces, nephews, cousins and friends all around the globe.
Visitation will be Saturday, Dec. 11, from 2 to 4 p.m. at the Donovan Funeral Home, Inc., 82 South Church St., Goshen.
A memorial service was performed by Father Carl Lunden at St. James Episcopal Church, Goshen, on Jan. 8.
Internment will be at Armory Hill Cemetery in Ilion in May 2022.
In lieu of flowers, donations may be made in Katie’s name to St. James Episcopal Church.
Arrangements are with Donovan Funeral Home of Goshen. To leave a condolence visit www.donovanfunerals.com.