Obituary of Cynthia Kershner

Clinton – Cynthia Z. Kershner, 71, of St. Mary’s Avenue, died Thursday, April 2, 2020, in the comfort of her own home. She was born in Kearny, New Jersey on March 27, 1949, to the late Charles and Sonia (Fauceglia) Zetkus. When she was in high school, the family moved to Montpelier, Vermont, and she later attended Trinity College in Burlington, where she studied History and French. While in her junior year, she met Charles (Chuck) J. Kershner; the two were married on October 10, 1970 and remained so until his death in 2013. After graduating, she and Chuck moved to New York City, where she began working at Time Inc.; this led to a job at HBO but she was laid off in 1984, when she was also eight months pregnant. Shortly after, the family moved from Pelham, New York to Arlington Heights, Illinois (a suburb of Chicago), where she enjoyed the next seven years as a stay-at-home mother to the couple’s only child, Charles James (C.J.), and worked as a substitute teacher in some of the nearby schools. In 1991, the family moved to Clinton, New York, where they purchased The Clinton Courier. Cynthia took over as Publisher for the historic bi-weekly newspaper, and ran it for the following 22 years, during which time the publication received numerous awards and accolades from the New York Press Association and the National Newspaper Association. She became deeply involved in the local community; over the years she served on the board of the Kirkland Town Library and helped to organize the village’s Fourth of July parade, with particular attention to the children’s bicycle decoration contest. She survived a battle with breast cancer in 2000, and eventually retired after selling the Courier in 2015… for about two months. She opened The Two Ewes Yarn and Fiber shop on Meadow Street and subsequently hosted a Thursday night knitting group, which she helped transition to the library when the shop closed in 2017. In 2019, Town Supervisor Robert J. Meelan proclaimed September 9 of that year “Cynthia Kershner Day” in the town of Kirkland in recognition of her contributions. The honor came as a complete surprise. Cynthia is survived by her son, Charles James (C.J.) Kershner; her sister-in-law, Penny Craig; uncles Pat and Ted Fauceglia; and cousins Trish Novak, Robin and Jodi Fauceglia. She was predeceased by her husband, Charles; and her sister, Suzi Zetkus. A celebration of Cynthia’s life will be held at a later date (to be announced). In lieu of flowers, please consider donations in Cynthia’s name to the Clinton Fire Department and/or the Kirkland Town Library.