Hoosick Falls – Anne (Kovage) LaFlamme, 96, passed away on Friday, May 16, 2014, at the Emeritus at Fillmore Pond in Bennington, VT.
Born on October 23, 1917, in Hoosick Falls, NY, Anne was the daughter of Anna (Lugas) and Stanley Kovage. She attended St. Mary’s Academy in Hoosick Falls. In 1936 she married Anthony LaFlamme of Bennington, and they made their home in Burlington, VT.
While in Burlington Anne attended the Elie Academy of Beauty Culture and became a licensed beautician in 1963. After a brief internship, she opened Anne’s Beauty Shop, which she operated until 1998 from the basement of her long time residence on Pearl Street in Burlington.
Anne was an advocate of physical fitness long before it became a trend. She walked daily, practiced yoga and started downhill skiing in her fifties. She took great pride in her Lithuanian heritage and, after studying the Russian language at UVM, made a trip to Vilnius, Lithuania in 1988 to explore her parents’ homeland.
A devoted Catholic, Anne received her Holy Sacraments from the Immaculate Conception Church in Hoosick Falls, which she rejoined after her return to the Village in 1998. While in Burlington she was a faithful communicant of the Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception, where she sang in the choir and was a long time member of the Third Order of Franciscans.
She was the last surviving member of her generation, pre-deceased by her brothers, Stanley, John, Charles and Anthony. She is survived by her nieces and nephews, Susan Ratzan, M.D., Charles Kovage, Jr., Karen Arnold, Michael Kovage, Kimberly Hayden, Joan Kay, Katherine Reed, Constance Newell, Paul Kovage, Anthony Kovage, Jr. and Thea Hambright, as well as many grandnieces and grandnephews.
A Mass of Christian Burial was offered on Monday, May 19, at noon from the Immaculate Conception Church on Main Street in Hoosick Falls. Burial followed the Mass at St. Mary’s Cemetery in Hoosick Falls. There were no calling hours. Arrangements were under the care of the Mahar Funeral Home, 43 Main Street, Hoosick Falls, NY, 12090.
Memorial contributions may be made to either St. Mary’s Academy or the VNA and Hospice at Southern Vermont Health Care through the funeral home.