Kristine E. Haney, 73, of Boston, MA, died Tuesday July 28, 2020, after a courageous years long battle with pulmonary hypertension. A graduate of Cass Technical High School, Michigan State University for her Bachelor of Arts and NYU for her PhD in Art History, Kris grew up in Detroit, MI. She lived across the world in her life,
with great adventures living in New York City, London, Belgium, Vienna and multiple places in France.
Kris was a professor of art history who spent 35 years teaching at The University of Massachusetts, Amherst. She also wrote 2 books, and most recently wrote The Winchester Psalter Miniature Cycle.
A quick search on Google Scholar reveals her scholarship and its impact. A 42 year resident of Westminster, MA Kris was an active community member there. She volunteered with the Forbush Memorial Library for more than a decade; where she poured great energy into cataloguing all of the artifacts owned by the library, restoring those with damage and organizing their display to the public.
In their retirement Kristine and her husband moved into Boston, where they were able to enjoy the city they loved so much—wandering the streets of every neighborhood to take in the architecture, enjoying the Symphony, the Handel and Hayden society and
the Museum of Fine Arts. In addition to all these things, in her retirement Kris fulfilled her lifelong dream of becoming an avid horsewoman, taking riding lessons in Princeton,
Brewster and Townsend; she was also able to ride horses on many of her travels: in Petra, Wyoming, Yosemite, Central Park and Prospect Park. She was actively
engaged in the planning processes for Franklin Park. She dreamed that a stable there near Fredrick Law Olmstead’s bridle paths would allow the children of Boston to enjoy
horseback riding just as much as she did as a daughter of Detroit. When not traveling, Kris split her time between her Jamaica Plain home and her cherished Cape house.
She was a skilled gardener, whose yard was filled with day lilies, phlox, hydrangea, setum and many roses. Beyond all of these things, she was a devoted wife,
mother, sister, aunt, and daughter. Kris was also a beloved friend and teacher to many.
Born June 26, 1947, Kristine is predeceased by her father and mother, Joseph and Sophie (Buliga) Votta, as well as her brother, Jim Votta.
Kristine is survived by her husband of 42 years, Walter Haney; and daughter, Elizabeth Haney of Somerville. Kristine is also survived by her brother Mike Votta and
his wife June, of Ferndale, Michigan; sisters-in-law and brother in law Deborah and David Batten and Sally Puterbaugh; and many nieces and nephews.
A private funeral mass will take place at St. Joan of Arc in Orleans, MA. A burial service that is open to the public will follow at Orleans Cemetery at 11AM on Monday,
August 3. 2020. Due to Covid-19 restrictions, masks and social distancing will be enforced.
In lieu of flowers, Kristine’s family asks that you send your favorite memories of Kristine to her family at https://www.memories.net/page/7593/kristine-haney. In addition, contributions to City to Saddle's work making horseback riding more accessible to all young Bostonians are deeply appreciated: https://citytosaddle.org/donate-now/
For online condolences, please visit www.nickersonfunerals.com
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