Mary T. Angerame

 COLONIE – Mary Angerame – also known as “The Nanster” and “Tall Slender Mary” – died Monday, May 12 at her home. She was 95.

Revered (and occasionally feared) by her children and worshipped by her grandchildren, she was the matriarch of a large and loving group of people she considered family.

She was born in Coxsackie, NY on Aug. 8, 1929 and was salutatorian of the Coxsackie High School Class of 1947. The first in her family to attend college, she went on to earn bachelor’s and master’s degrees from the College of Saint Rose and the New York State College for Teachers (now the University at Albany). After graduation, she began teaching at the former West Albany School, where she met and married the principal, Patrick Angerame.

Throughout her life, she was a fierce advocate for civil and human rights. She believed in speaking out against injustice and being a voice for the powerless, and she and her husband instilled these values in their children.

Nanster was brilliant and well-read and had a great sense of humor. She was an avid gardener, reader and take-no-prisoners Scrabble player. And she enjoyed doing jigsaw puzzles and New York Times crossword puzzles with her family and playing cards with her friends. Although she denied it, she was a fabulous cook (“Any idiot can follow a recipe!”).

She is survived by four children of whom she was immensely proud: Mary C. Angerame, Tina Hogle (Richard), Angelo Angerame (Terree) and Lisa Angerame (James Ketterer); eight grandchildren, Charles Hogle (Lisa Geiger), Beth Callahan (Dan), Thomas Hogle (Marty Lea), Amelia Rettmann (Ryan), Joseph Hogle (Blake Goodman), Molly Ketterer, Patrick Angerame and Jack Angerame; and 4.5 great-grandchildren and several cousins.

Nanster had too many family members of choice to list, but her children are particularly grateful to longtime neighbors Dave and Janice Stewart for their love and support through the years.

Her son Bobby died in 1993 and her husband Patrick died in 2000. She also outlived her parents, Frank and Leontine Tarallo, and her brothers, Jack and Charles Tarallo.

Calling hours will be held Monday, May 19, 2025 from 4:00 p.m. to 6:00 p.m. with a service to follow at 6:00 p.m. at New Comer Cremations & Funerals, 343 New Karner Road, Colonie, New York 12205. At her request, she will be cremated and her family will scatter her ashes in Cape Cod.

The family would like to thank the staff at Community Hospice for their support during Nanster’s last months on earth.

In lieu of flowers, please celebrate Nanster by donating to one of these organizations: Community Hospice, 310 S. Manning Blvd., Albany, NY 12208; Regional Food Bank of Northeastern New York, 965 Albany-Shaker Road, Latham, NY 12110; Doctors Without Borders, PO Box 5030, Hagerstown, MD 21741-5030; or the ACLU, 125 Broad Street, 18th Floor, New York, NY 10004.

They don’t make them like the Nanster anymore. The world lost a great one.