Patricia Jean (Patty) Smith Holbrook Cerniglia died peacefully on October 1, 2024, surrounded by her family and friends. Up until the end of her life, Patty maintained her kindness, grace, strength and compassion for others. She will be missed deeply but will continue to live in the hearts and memories of those whose lives she touched.

Patty was born in Englewood, New Jersey on January 4, 1949 to Josephine Jasinski Smith and George P. Smith. She grew up on the family-owned Smith Farm in New City, New York, where she developed her strong work ethic that she carried throughout her life. Patty graduated from Clarkstown High School in 1966 and attended the University of Vermont, where she received a degree in elementary education. Upon graduation from Vermont in 1970, Patty began a long career in teaching, highlighted by 25 years in the Clarkstown School District. Patty was a beloved teacher of all elementary grades, as well as having a brief stint as an art teacher. She made all of her students feel cared for and loved as she taught them lifelong lessons and skills. During her career, she mentored several young teachers and developed lasting friendships with many of her colleagues. After her retirement, Patty served as a mentor for student teachers at Marist College from 2005 to 2024. Her student teachers were fortunate to benefit from her insight, love, and compassion as she guided them toward a career in education.

Anybody who knew Patty was a better person for having known her. She truly cared about others and was a devoted friend who was always willing to be there to lend a helping hand. She was an inspiration and role model for how to treat other people and how to overcome life’s challenges. In her free time, she loved playing tennis at the Poughkeepsie Tennis Club and treasured the years she spent there. She adored traveling the world with her late husband Donald Cerniglia. Together they visited over thirty countries, enjoying delicious food, tennis and bird watching. Most of all, Patty was the rock of her family. She was a devoted mother, grandmother, wife, sister, mother-in-law, aunt, niece, and cousin, and was exceptional in all of those roles.

Patty Cerniglia is survived by her daughters Sarah Holbrook and Margaret Holbrook and partner Johnny McBride; her son Matthew Holbrook; her daughter-in-law Susan Holbrook; her son-in-law Thomas Sebald; her stepsons Adam Cerniglia and David Cerniglia and wife Michael-Ann Cerniglia; her grandchildren Sophia Sebald, Emma Sebald, Desmond Holbrook, Sydney Holbrook, Emerson Cerniglia, and Auden Cerniglia; her sister Kathleen Daberkow and brother-in-law William Daberkow; and her partner Peter Wilkie; and many nieces, nephews, and cousins.

She is predeceased by her daughter Rebecca Anne Holbrook, her parents George and Josephine Smith, her brother George Vincent “Vinny” Smith, and her husband Donald Cerniglia,

We miss you mom. “To live in hearts we leave behind is not to die.”

Visitation will be held on Friday, October 4, 2024 from 4PM-7PM at the Wm. G. Miller & Son FH, Inc., 371 Hooker Ave, Poughkeepsie, NY 12603. A Mass of Christian Burial will be celebrated on Saturday, October 5, 2024 at 10AM at St. Paul's Catholic Church, 82 Lake Rd, Congers, NY 10920. Burial will follow in the family plot in Gethsemane Cemetery. 

Arrangements are under the direction of the Wm. G. Miller & Son FH, Inc.  If you wish to leave an online condolence, please visit our website at www.wmgmillerfuneralhome.com