Obituary of Jean M. Collender

Jean “Jeannie” Mitchell Collender, 85, of Buchanan, NY passed on peacefully in the early hours of the morning on Saturday, March 26 surrounded by family members.

The youngest of five, Jean was born on September 17, 1936, in Peekskill, NY. She graduated from Peekskill High School in 1954 and married Richard Patrick Collender, Jr. in 1957. She enjoyed a storied career, which included working in various dental offices. She spent time at Domenic’s Cleaners and also spent the bulk of her working life as a home health aide for Dominican Sisters of Sick Poor. After retiring from Dominican Sisters, Jean took a job with the Hendrick Hudson School District, working with young children at Furnace Woods Elementary School as an aide. Her love for helping others never faded; it was only due to the COVID-19 pandemic that she ceased work at Furnace Woods. 

Jean was known by all as a woman of rich character and deep compassion. Her love for her family, friends, and strangers alike was a defining trait that made her the person everyone knew and adored. Community- and service-oriented, Jean was involved in a variety of different organizations and clubs, in addition to her duties to motherhood and her career. She enjoyed assisting voters at town polls on Election Day and playing bingo with anyone who would join her. Since joining in 1967, she regularly participated in the Woman's Club of Peekskill & Cortlandt and was, at one point, its longest active member. Jean was a devoted participant in the Buchanan Senior Citizens Club and served as its “Little Miss Sunshine” chair, which included providing regular updates on absent members and sending candy and care packages to those who needed them. Jean was also an active member of Al-Anon for 46 years and maintained countless friendships forged by her participation in the program.

The matriarch of her family, Jean was instrumental in shaping her children and grandchildren's lives. She is sorely missed and will be always remembered.

Jean is predeceased by her brothers, Robert Mitchell, Charles Mitchell, Alvin Mitchell, and Smith Mitchell; her parents, Robert Mitchell and Jesse Spock; and her husband, Richard P. Collender, Jr. She is survived by: her three children and their spouses, Sharon Hall and Tom Hall, Richard P. Collender III and Sarah Ashkinaze, and Mary Jean Collender Merando and her late husband, Robert Merando; her grandchildren, Kristen Hall Delaney, Sophie Ashkinaze-Collender, Olivia Ashkinaze-Collender, Nicholas Merando, Jonathan Merando, and Jacob Ashkinaze-Collender; her great-grandchild, Liam Delaney; and many other relatives and dear friends.

Visitation will be held on Tuesday, March 29, 2022, from 3:00 pm to 7:00 pm at Joseph F. Nardone Funeral Home, 414 Washington Street, Peekskill, NY.

Funeral Mass will be offered on Wednesday, March 30, 2022, at 10:00 am at St. Patrick's Catholic Church, 240 11th Street, Verplanck, NY.

Interment to follow at Assumption Cemetery, 1055 Oregon Road, Cortlandt Manor, NY, where she will be laid to rest alongside her husband

Friends and family are invited to a lunch reception at Paradise Restaurant in Verplanck following the service at the cemetery.

The family encourages donations to be made in Jean’s honor to the American Heart Association, the American Stroke Association, or a charitable organization of your choosing. You may also make a one-time “memorial contribution” to Al-Anon Family Groups.