Obituary of Korleen Lemay

Korleen L. Lemay, 80, passed away Thursday, September 24, 2009 at Tidewell Hospice Care in Port Charlotte following complications from a stroke. She spent the last 5 years in Englewood in an assisted living home. She was born March 28, 1929 in E. Dickinson, NY to Henry J. and Eva M. (Gorrow) Lemay. She was the 9th of 13 children. Her family ran a dairy farm. She graduated from Chateaugay, NY high school in 1946 and married her first husband Robert Sprague that same year. In 1962 she married Dr. Fred Gross and they lived on a horse farm in Poughkeepsie. From 1946 to 1952 she worked at Harlem Valley State Hospital as an attendant in the infirmary ward. From 1953 to 1960 she was a dental assistant and receptionist in private practice. She attended college at Danbury State, Columbia University and Univ. of San Francisco and obtained her B.S. degree from Columbia in 1965. She was active in the NAACP and had an article published in Crisis, their National Magazine. She was also an active member in AA for over 30 years. She was an avid reader and loved gardening. She moved to Port Charlotte in 1989 from Poughkeepsie, NY and lived there until 2004. She will be greatly missed by her two brothers; Harding (Gloria) Lemay of New York City, Everett (Ellie) Lemay of Ashville, NC: her two sisters; Sheila (Sam) Ferry of Port Charlotte and Janet (Stuart) Berliner of Las Vegas, NV and 30 loving nieces, nephews and numerous cousins. There will be no funeral services per her request. She directed that her body be donated to the Florida State Anatomical Society in Gainsville for Research & Education.