Obituary of Renie May Federighi

Schenectady, NY Renie M. Federighi, 90, born on June 30, 1932, passed away peacefully on June 23, 2023, in Manassas, Virginia, with her daughter by her bedside. Born in Wilmington, Delaware, Renie was the daughter of the late Owen W. and Irene C. (Ring) Rideout. Aside from the war years, which took her chemical engineer father to other parts of the United States, she grew up in Wilmington, but had many happy memories of summers with relatives in Maine, where her family’s roots are. Renie graduated from Oberlin College, where she met her late husband, Francis D. Federighi. The young couple moved to Schenectady in 1959, where they had two children. Renie worked at WMHT for a number of years, holding positions as Auction Director, then as Manager of Educational Services. She and her family lived in Switzerland for a year in 1963-64 and travelled extensively after that. In addition to travel, Renie enjoyed gourmet cooking and fine dining and had a modest art collection. Renie was a skilled and passionate bridge player and, in retirement, was a key member of multiple bridge groups. She also was a very active long-term member of the Schenectady Chapter of the American Association of University Women and the Zonta Club of Schenectady, of which she was a past president and, at her death, the longest serving member at over 50 years. After her husband’s death in 1997, she helped create and funded the Francis D. Federighi Professorship in Natural Science at Oberlin College. She continued travelling into her later years, enjoying trips to Australia and the South Pacific, the Amazon, and Alaska, as well as a memorable Segway tour of Washington, D.C. Renie was preceded in death by her husband and by her son, David, and is survived by her daughter Carol (Brian Coss), as well as cousins and a nephew. A graveside service will be held at 11:00am Monday, July 3 at the family plot at Parkview Cemetery, 40 Fehr Avenue, Schenectady, NY. All are invited to attend. Arrangements are by Jones Funeral Home, 2020 Central Avenue, Colonie. To leave a condolence for the family, please visit www.jonesfh.net.