Obituary

Infante, Amaryllis A.

ALBANY-Amaryllis (Amy) Alice Robinson Infante, 91, died on May 13, 2012 after a long illness at her daughter’s house in Leicester, NY.  Amy was born in Amarillo, Texas on April 20, 1921 to Marvin Robinson and Ethel Sullivan. She had three brothers, John, Oval and CM and one sister Helen Lee.  Her grandparents emigrated from Ireland and settled as farmers on the Texas Panhandle. Her father was a railroad fireman and her mother a homemaker who was progressive for her time and was devoted to women and temperance issues. (Her mother owned and drove a car in the 1920’s.) Amy graduated from Wichita Falls High School, Harding Junior College and earned a Bachelor’s Degree with teaching certification from West Texas State Teachers College (now Texas A&M) majoring in Physical Education and Art. She was active in sports during college as she was recruited to play basketball and volleyball, a significant accomplishment for a woman in the 1940’s. Amy met her husband George while he was stationed in El Paso, Texas at a USO dance.  They were married in a private ceremony in Juarez, Mexico on January 27, 1944. After George was discharged from the Army, George and Amy settled briefly in Brooklyn until he was accepted into the State Police in 1946. At this time they moved to Albany.
In addition to raising six children, Amy was active in Girl Scouts, coached softball, volunteered at St. James School and Church and at St. Peters Hospital and was a board member at the Academy of the Holy Names. She loved arts and crafts and was a member Home Bureau including Eastern District, Albany County and Handicrafters for many years often serving in various officer positions. Amy was a skilled seamstress who made wedding dresses, communion dress and the like for family and friends. Throughout her life she maintained a strong interest in all types of sports and enjoyed playing them in her younger years and watching them in her older years. She was an avid Mets fan.  Being raised in a very rural area, Amy always enjoyed outdoor activities such as gardening, lawn care and raising flowers.
Amy is survived by five of her six daughters, Julianna (Daniel) Ball of Cary, N.C., Linda (Thomas) House of Leicester, N.Y., Jean (Ken) Cilione of Katonah, N.Y., Teresa (Douglas), Danielson of Grandville, Mich. and Alicia (Hugh) Leimgruber of Rockford, Mich. She is predeceased by her husband (of 68 years) George, her daughter, Rosemary and her brothers and sister. She is also survived by her 12 grandchildren and one great-grandchild, Stephanie and Daniel Ball, Amy (Douglas) Covell, Alison House, Megan and Michele Infante, Robert Sanchez, Erik and Hannah Danielson, Nicholas, Sophia, Jared Leimgruber and Zoe Covell. She is also survived by nieces, nephews and many dear friends.
A Mass of Christian Burial will be celebrated on Friday May 18, 2012 at 11:00 am in St. Francis of Assisi Church, 391 Delaware Ave., Albany. Relatives and friends are invited and may also call at the Daniel Keenan Funeral Home, 490 Delaware Ave. Albany on Thursday May 17, 2012 from 4-7 pm.
Interment, Gerald B H Solomon Saratoga National Cemetery, Schuylerville, N.Y. at 1:30 pm Friday.
In lieu of flowers donations may be made to the Boys and Girls Club of Albany, 21 Delaware Ave., Albany, NY 12210.