Ann M. Godesky, 75, of Pawling, New York, passed away at home on December 5, 2024 after a long illness.
Born on April 29, 1949 to Robert and Mary Sidney (Burk) Godesky, Ann was the youngest of four children (Robert Jr., Mary, and Kathleen). Her childhood on Long Island was full of many activities she and her siblings enjoyed: beach picnics, horseback riding, basketball, and volunteering in the community.
Ann excelled at educational and artistic pursuits from a very young age. She graduated from Sacred Heart Academy high school in Hempstead, NY (1967) and earned a B.S. in Art Education from the College of Mount Saint Vincent (1971) and a master’s degree in Special Education from Manhattan College (1976). She continued to hone her skills with course credits at the University of Vermont and the State University of New York.
She was thus a lifelong learner, but more significantly a lifelong teacher. After college she accepted a position teaching Art at Pawling High School, and served generations of students there across 41 years of teaching, advising, leading, and mentoring. Known affectionately as “GoGo” to her students and colleagues, she was exceptionally gifted and versatile as an educator. Ann was advisor to many clubs, coach to numerous teams including tennis and cheerleading, and Athletic Director. She deeply impacted students’ lives in and beyond Pawling through her dedication to the Peer Leadership program and as Consultant for the Northeast Regional Center for Drug-Free Schools and Communities. In just her fourth year of teaching she was recognized as the Pawling Jaycees’ Outstanding Young Educator, and in 1998 she was a finalist for New York State Teacher of the Year. These are only a few of a long list of examples of her dedication to students and to Pawling.
Indeed, her accomplishments as an educator were matched by her involvement in the community. In 2022 the Pawling Community Foundation awarded Ann the Lifetime Commitment to the Pawling Community Award. By that time she had served as President of Pawling Rotary, Co-Chair of the Pawling Resource Center, and Chair of the Dutchess County Youth Board. These are just a few highlights of the service to her community that marked her entire adulthood.
On top of her many responsibilities at the high school and within the community, Ann was an accomplished artist and businesswoman. She sold her original soft sculpture designs at craft shows and owned Homestead Farm Antiques, a shop in Patterson, NY. Working primarily in oils and watercolor, she was featured in the ArtEast studio tour for many years and held exhibits at the Great Swamp Art Show and at McKinney & Doyle. She generously donated her paintings to nonprofit organizations for their fundraisers, and illustrated the children’s book First Adventures of the Wee She Warriors by Lori McGrath.
Ann had rich and lively relationships with family and friends. Among her family were the animals she cared for over the years. She supported guide dog programs and owned golden retrievers, rescued cats, and was indispensable helping with the sheep on her sister Mary’s Homestead Farm in Red Hook. Ann competed in English dressage with her horse Sunny (show name Shady Character). She loved traveling with friends to Europe, New England, the Caribbean, and various American national parks. As the youngest of the Godeskys, Ann was the beloved “fun aunt” to her nephews and nieces, always attending their events, taking them on adventures, and spending every holiday with them and her siblings and late brother-in-law Jim Glenister. Ann taught everyone that she met in some way; inspiring young people was her life’s passion.
Ann was honored with the title “Treasure of Pawling” from 2002-2003, but all who knew her would agree that she was a treasure for all the 53 years that she lived there and to her family and friends as well. All benefited from her creativity, her leadership, and her sense of adventure. She was extraordinarily talented in all her pursuits, but matched that talent with dedication and hard work that is rare even among the best of professionals. She maintained her desire and capacity to serve others in spite of a long illness and continued to do so even until days before her death. She left a legacy to generations of families in Pawling and beyond, and she is loved, admired, and appreciated by countless people whose lives she touched.
Ann is survived by her brother Robert Godesky Jr.; her sister Kathleen Glenister; her nieces and nephews Jim (Tresha) Glenister, Mike (Becky) Glenister, Dave (Helen) Glenister, Amy (Chris) Godesky Ogren, Kathleen (Cannon) Glenister Roberts, Christopher (Liz) Godesky, Timothy (Jean Marie) Glenister, and Michael (Catherine) Godesky; fourteen grandnephews and grandnieces; and many, many beloved friends and Pawling neighbors.
In lieu of flowers, donations to the Pawling Resource Center, Pawling Community Foundation, and/or Pawling Rotary are appreciated.
