Obituaries

– Compiled by Peter Jovanovich –

Quetita Ulke Glassman

Quetita Ulke Glassman died peacefully March 27 at The Osborn in Rye. She was 101 years old.

Born May 18, 1907 in San Teresa, Puerto Rico, she was the daughter of Countess Olga Lansdorf and Coast Guard Cmdr. Henry Ulke. Her paternal grandfather, Henry Ulke, was a noted artist, whose portrait of President Grant hangs in the White House, and who painted Lincoln's Cabinet, and many prominent Washington D.C. notables of the 1860s and 1870s.

In the 1920s, she won the title of “Miss Personality” for NY State, and represented New York in Atlantic City. She married George Glassman in March 1928, and the newly married couple migrated from New York to San Francisco.

Mrs. Glassman was a self-made woman of independent thought and action; she embodied the entrepreneurial spirit. Because it was unpopular to have married women in the workforce during the Depression, she adopted the professional name of Q. Zaun. In the early 1930s, she was a partner in the Duane/Zaun studio of dance in San Francisco. Later in that decade she became a representative for Ruben Cosmetics on the West Coast, and also opened and operated Quetita's Dress shop in San Leandro, Calif.

In 1939 the family moved back to New York City, and she became affiliated with Harriet Hubbard Ayer and Milk Maid Cosmetics. By the late 1960s she formed and was president of her own cosmetic company, Q Zaun Associates.
Mrs. Glassman was a longtime (1951-1997) resident of Port Washington, N.Y. In 1997, she moved to The Osborn.

Known for her outgoing personality, Mrs. Glassman had, according to her family, the rare ability to bring out the best in all who knew her. She had a genius for finding optimal views and defusing contentious situations; she always had the biggest smile and the brightest eyes.

Mrs. Glassman is survived by two daughters, Olga Weiss of Lenox, Mass., and Mignon Peters of Rehoboth Beach, Del.; ten grandchildren; and 17 great-grandchildren. She was predeceased by her husband, George Glassman, in 1975; and by her three sisters, Anita Zwingman, Verona Hill, and Olga Johnson, and two brothers, Carl Ulke and Vincent Ulke.

A celebration of Quetita Glassman’s life will take place at the Osborn Chapel, 101 Theall Road, Rye Saturday, April 11, at 11 a.m. Memorial donations in her name may be sent to Hospice and Palliative Care of Westchester, 95 South Broadway, White Plains, NY 10601.

James Patrick O’Brien

James Patrick O’Brien passed away March 28, surrounded by his loving family. He was 77 years old.

Born in Port Chester, Mr. O’Brien was the oldest child of the late Patrick Francis O’Brien (Waterford, Ireland) and the late Beatrice Towey O’Brien (Roscommon, Ireland). He was predeceased by his wife of 45 years, Maureen Brigid Shortt O’Brien.
He graduated from Our Lady of Mercy Elementary School, Port Chester, Blessed Sacrament High School, New Rochelle, and The Maryknoll Seminary, Ossining, N.Y. After graduation from Maryknoll, Mr. O’Brien felt he could best serve his faith as a member of the lay community. He pursued a career in teaching and earned a Master’s degree in mathematics from Fordham University.

Mr. O’Brien taught mathematics in Peekskill High School and Edgemont High School, Scarsdale, where he taught for the last twenty-five years of his career. In retirement, he continued to teach at the Immaculate Heart of Mary School, Scarsdale, and was recently tutoring children at the Holy Rosary School, Port Chester.

He was an active parishioner at Immaculate Heart of Mary Church, Scarsdale, for over twenty-five years. He served as a lector and as a Eucharistic Minister, delivering communion in church and to homebound individuals. He also worked with the Boy Scouts at IHM, mentoring boys as they pursued the Ad Altare Dei religious award.

Mr. O’Brien’s faith and family were the centerpieces of his life. He touched many lives and was always willing to lend a hand or offer words of support, friends said. All who met him saw his kindness and were blessed to have known him.
Mr. O’Brien is survived by his three sisters, Betty Weihs, Old Greenwich, Terry Heller of Rye, and Ginny Stoeffel of Ridgefield; and his three children:, James J. O’Brien of Loudonville, N.Y., Andrew J. O’Brien of Bedford, and Elizabeth A. McGrath of Rye.

He was the proud grandfather of eleven grandchildren: Molly Jane O’Brien, Haley Fallon O’Brien, James Patrick O’Brien, Claire Elizabeth O’Brien, Christopher James McGrath, Erin Elizabeth O’Brien, Aidan Joseph McGrath, Caroline Grace O’Brien, Grace Elizabeth McGrath, Bridget Jayne McGrath and Rory Patrick O’Brien McGrath.
A Mass of Christian Burial was held at the Church of the Resurrection in Rye March 31. Donations should be sent to the Maryknoll Missionaries, Ossining, NY.

Madeleine Whitely Delohery

Madeleine W. Delohery, a 30-year resident of Rye, passed away March 17.
She was born November 3, 1920 in Brooklyn, N.Y., the daughter of John A. and Madeline R. Whitely. Educated at Our Lady of Wisdom Academy, Ozone Park, N.Y., she graduated magna cum laude (1942) from Marymount College in Tarrytown.

She married Michael F. Delohery III at St. Bernard Church in White Plains on July 2, 1947 and moved to Rye in 1949. The couple loved sailing and boating; her favorite pastimes revolved around the water. She was also a member of Westchester Country Club. Mrs. Delohery worked for a 25 years for the Westchester County Department of Social Services, where she rose through the ranks to become head of its family protective unit.

Friends and family members remember Mrs. Delohery as an outgoing, energetic person, always caring for others. One of her children recalls she would leave early on Christmas Day to give presents to the children hospitalized at Grasslands Community Hospital in Valhalla. Active in the 22nd Twig, she also volunteered her time to support Marymount College. After she retired, Mrs. Delohery worked to make sure the needs of the retired nuns were met.

“She taught us how to navigate life,” her daughter, Susan, recalled. “She lived her life by example: give back more to your community, and always help those less fortunate than you.”

Mrs. Delohery is survived by two daughters, Susan Kirby of Atlanta, Ga., and Holly Delohery of Greenwich, Conn.; two sons, Peter C. (Dona) Delohery of Port Chester and John R. (Mary Ellen) Delohery of Denver, Colo.; two grandsons, Thomas M. Kirby Jr. of Jefferson, Texas, and Oliver C. Kirby of Atlanta; a brother, John T. Whitely of Palm Springs, Calif.; and a sister, Teresa W. Ruane of Uniontown, Pa.

Mrs. Delohery was predeceased by her husband, her son Michael F. Delohery IV, and her brother William L. Whitely. A memorial mass was celebrated March 27 at the Church of the Resurrection. Interment followed at Greenwood Union Cemetery in Rye.

Memorial contributions in memory of Madeline W. Delohery may be sent to Religious of the Sacred Heart of Mary, 50 Wilson Avenue, Tarrytown, NY 10591.