Arlene Francis Patierno

Arlene Francis (Ferraioli) Patierno passed away peacefully on February 18, 2026. She was born 1931 in Schenectady, New York, the daughter of Italian immigrant parents, Nicola and Augusta (Gemi) Ferraioli, and beloved sister to Doris (Ferraioli) Ciarmello.

She grew up in a home built by her father on Curry Road in Rotterdam and attended Draper High School, graduating in 1949. After working for the New York State Department of Tax and Finance and for the Mohonasen Junior High School Food Service, she was trained in the Nursing field for the opening of the Silver Haven Nursing Home in Rotterdam, NY in 1959. With that training, she joined Ellis Hospital in 1965 and served with distinction until she retired in 2007. For at least 25 of those years, she worked in the maternity ward and took care of countless families and newborns.

Arlene met her husband, Dominick Richard Patierno in 1949. They married in 1951 and recently celebrated their 73rd anniversary in April, 2024. Together they raised two children, Linda (Patierno) Phillips (Charles) and Steven Patierno (Kim Koch). They have six grandchildren, Jennifer (Phillips) Cremins, Christina Phillips, Kaitlyn Patierno, Nicole (Patierno) (Minsu) Son, Brendon Patierno (Christina Covington) and Justin Patierno, and two great-grandchildren, Risen Cremins and Xander Cremins. She was a gourmet Italian cook and made it a point to serve her family with traditional Italian food and pass on those family recipes, and be engaged as much as possible with her grandchildren.

Arlene was known by family and friends as a tireless caregiver. She was always the one to show up when you were sick, cook you meals, drive you to doctor’s appointments, and invite you into her home and feed you more than you could comfortably eat. Family dinners, holiday feasts, church bake sales, dinner parties – each were amazing and delicious and prepared with loving care. She was also a well-known neat-freak, even when on travel adventures – there is a well-documented story that she once swept the dirt campsite on a camping trip to Sacandaga Lake. She was supportive of boating excursions and neighborhood parades and block parties, and the first in the neighborhood to have an in-ground pool with non-stop summer swim visits and parties for family and friends. And then there were the many Florida winter trips that she loved and enjoyed, especially when family was able to be with them and visit. She was also an accomplished dancer – she and Dom were competitive jitter-buggers, even bringing home a trophy, as well as being a pleasure to watch them with their dance talent.

Arlene was active in the Home Bureau of Rotterdam, in Saint Gabriel’s Church Women’s Club and the Rotterdam Elks. She was a selfless, giving person who tirelessly cared for others. She will be fondly and lovingly remembered as a wife, mother, grandmother, great-grandmother, aunt, co-worker and friend.

Relatives and friends may call at DeMarco-Stone Funeral Home, 1605 Helderberg Ave., Schenectady, NY, on Monday, March 16, 2026, from 4-7 PM.

A Mass of Christian Burial will be held Tuesday, March 17, at 10:30 AM, at St. Gabriel's Church, 3040 Hamburg St., Schenectady, NY.

Interment will follow at St. Joseph's Cemetery, 100 Kings Rd., Schenectady, NY.

If you would like to honor Arlene’s memory, contributions in her name can be made to Kingsway Arms Nursing Center, 323 Kings Rd., Schenectady, NY 12304.