Darlene L Pfeiffer

Darlene Pfeiffer, a generous philanthropist, renowned business leader, and community leader, passed away in Deerfield Beach, FL, on April 6, 2023. She started her professional career as a Flight Attendant with TWA Airlines. When she married in 1967, she had to leave her glamorous dream job since married women couldn't work as flight attendants. Darlene is one of the first women to own franchise restaurants and served as a leader for her KFC family, from helping; to lead the franchisees' successful lawsuit against the corporate owner, to protect their franchisees' territorial rights to initiating a national expansion of the KFC Colonel Sanders Scholarship program.

As a community leader in the Hudson Valley, Darlene served on the Boards of the SUNY Ulster Foundation and the Community Foundations of the Hudson Valley, as President of the YMCA Board, as President of the Kingston Kiwanis, and as Adviser to the D&H Canal Historical Society. Her passion was to serve others. She did this work most prominently through her work at SUNY Ulster, where she instituted the Darlene L. Pfeiffer Scholarship program and created a center for entrepreneurial studies and a Technology and Innovation Lab. She furthered her service to help women by spearheading the "New Start" program: an innovative program to help talented women in Ulster County and Kingston who do not have access to or cannot take advantage of educational opportunities because of economic circumstances, overwhelming barriers, or life challenges.

The Hudson Valley will miss Darlene's dynamic presence at the numerous community events she attended, where her glamour, moxie, and joy energized any event. Some have called her the "Chicken Queen of the Hudson Valley" because she owned and operated her KFC stores for over 50 years in the area. Her legacy is forever etched in this community.

Darlene is predeceased by her husband, Wallace Pfeiffer. She is survived by her partner, Paul DeLisio, daughter Beverly Hung, son Nicholas Pfeiffer and his husband, Joey Longo. The family will announce a celebration of life at a later date.

In lieu of flowers, contributions in Darlene’s memory may be made to the following charities:

SUNY Ulster Foundation

The Community Foundations of the Hudson Valley

D & H Canal Historical Society