Rosemary L Kriescher

Rosemary L. (Kearney) Kriescher passed away in the pre-dawn hours of July 11th with the full moon as her guide. She was 82. Although her conditions were a bit of a medical mystery for the past 10 years, her final diagnoses were Stiff-person Syndrome, Frontotemporal Dementia, and complications from lingering Lyme disease and co-infections. Thank you to Hospice of St. Lawrence Valley and Health Services of Northern New York for allowing her to transition at home in Potsdam, NY.

Rosemary was born in Glen Cove, New York on March 23rd, 1943 to Margaret (Oswald) Kearney and Thomas Kearney.

She earned her bachelor’s degree from Marywood University in Scranton, Pennsylvania.

She worked as a volunteer teacher on Pine Ridge Reservation in South Dakota where she met Henry Kriescher and adopted many aspects of the Oglala Sioux culture into her own spiritual beliefs alongside her Christian foundation.

She was the founder and owner of Perceptions, originally a greeting card company and then a cottage industry of a family of rabbits called the Herzlappen.

She was a prolific writer and creator, a traveler and photographer. She had a deep reverence for nature and animals, feeling most at home in her woods where the quiet beauty of the seasons inspired her. She was uniquely real in her connections with people, offering a sympathetic and non-judgmental ear to her friends and family. She loved to eat from the land and feed us all with fresh vegetables, milk, and eggs. She will be remembered by many for her warm loaves of fresh bread.

She is survived by her children Kevin Kriescher and Amy (Kriescher) Carey; her siblings Thomas Kearney and wife Loy Kearney, Robert Kearney, and Meg (Kearney) Shantz; her grandchildren, Lyle and Opal, and son-in-law Christopher; the Wisconsin Kriescher family; as well as many nieces and nephews and extended family who surrounded her with love from near and far in her last days. She was pre-deceased by her ex-husband Henry who passed away from cancer in 2012.

A celebration of life will be held in the autumn in Potsdam. Thank you to our friends, family, and community for your love and support. Donations can be made in her memory to OneSpiritLakota.org, harkening back to the time she would collect factory seconds of warm winter layers and send gift boxes to families of her previous students. Arrangements are with the Garner Funeral Service. Condolences for the Kriescher family can be shared @www.garnerfh.com.