Rita C. DiBenedetto

It is with profound sadness that we announce the passing of Rita Concetta Bencivengo DiBenedetto on June 19, 2025. She passed away peacefully just one day shy of her favorite/longest day of the year, five months after celebrating her 95th birthday, and 15 years plus nine days after the passing of her beloved husband, Eugene William DiBenedetto.

Born on Jan. 10, 1930, in Beacon, New York, to Richetta Nuccitelli and Angelo Bencivengo, Rita loved growing up as a proud Italian American in the Hudson Valley, where she remained strongly connected to the community as a devoted mother, wife, cousin, aunt, friend and parishioner at Our Lady of Loretto Catholic Church.

Rita was the first in her family to graduate from college, earning a Bachelor of Science degree from Ladycliff College in Highland Falls, New York. She enjoyed her career as one of the first female chemists at IBM and met “Genie” while working there. Rita and Gene married on Nov. 22, 1958, in Beacon, where they resided until moving to Garrison in 1962 to the house they built together with Rita’s Uncle Joe, with a beautiful view overlooking the Hudson River.

Later, she became an on-call substitute teacher for the Haldane and Garrison school districts while working as a registered real estate rep at Century 21 Country Bumpkin in Garrison. Inspired by her husband Gene’s 50-plus years of service as a Zoning Board commissioner, in 1986 Rita ran for office and was elected as assessor for the Town of Philipstown; she was later appointed as a council member for the Town of Philipstown in 1988.

For many years, Rita had also been an elected officer of the Philipstown Rotary Club, an active member of the Philipstown Garden and Republican clubs, a long-time volunteer for the Catholic Daughters and a tireless helper during the Saint Anthony’s Feast and other celebrations at Our Lady of Loretto.

Over the span of five decades, Rita and Gene raised their two daughters and cherished the time they spent with extended family and friends. Rita was a tireless hostess and famous for her delicious cooking, especially her ricotta-stuffed shells with tomato sauce and pork. She loved all animals and delighted in the wildlife and birds as well as the family dogs, cats, ducks, goose and horses. Known for her incredible energy, resourcefulness and green thumb, in her free time she tended her vegetable and flower gardens, read voraciously, and could handily finish the Sunday New York Times crossword.

She was multi-talented as both artist and athlete: She loved playing piano and teaching her daughters her favorite show tunes, painting in watercolors and oils, just as much as she enjoyed playing tennis and badminton and swimming. She loved spending time beachcombing, especially in North Beach and Harvey Cedars in Long Beach Island, New Jersey. She had an insatiable intellectual curiosity and loved traveling to places across Europe (of course, Italy!), the North and South Pacific, and the Caribbean.

Rita is survived by her two daughters – Lisa, her eldest lives in New York, and Carol lives in California – and a host of relatives and dear friends. She leaves behind a legacy of love-of-family, strong work ethic, community-mindedness, and a life well-lived.

A Catholic Mass in honor of Rita’s life will take place at 11 a.m. on Monday, Sept. 15, 2025, at Our Lady of Loretto in Cold Spring, New York. Rita’s final resting place will be next to her husband at the Cold Spring Cemetery in Nelsonville, New York. May her gentle soul rest in peace and may her memory forever be a blessing to all who knew her.