Theresa Kerbelis

Theresa Kerbelis of Amsterdam, passed away on July 30, 2025 at the age of 96 years old. She was born at home in Hagaman, N.Y. on Hammondtown Road to Sylvester and Nellie (Polinski) Alisauski (Alaska) on January 8, 1929

Theresa was one of ten children. Beside their factory jobs, her parents had a working farm complete with chickens, pigs, cows, geese and horses. Because she had only two much-older brothers, who were in the service at the time, Theresa often helped her father in the fields leading the horse while her father followed along with the cultivator. It was also her job to care for the chickens and collect eggs from the chickens and geese.

Theresa, at age 7, attended Manny Corner's one room school house that had one teacher who taught grades one through five. Theresa graduated and from there went to Cranesville School for 6th, 7th, and 8th and then went on to the former Theodore Roosevelt Junior High School in the 9th grade where she excelled in all of her subjects. She went to the former Wilbur H. Lynch Senior High School for grades 10, 11, and 12 and graduated with honors in 1947.

After graduation she went to work as a teller at the City National Bank. On weekends, she and her sisters would go roller skating and one of her brothers-in-law would take the sisters to square dances.

It was one of these future brothers-in-law that introduced Theresa to Valentine M. Kerbelis, whom she married on May 22, 1949. They celebrated nearly 72 years of devoted marriage before his passing on March 11, 2021. She has two daughters, Patricia Eileen Arnold (Gerald) of Hagaman and Cynthia Jean Jones (Lyndon) of Galway.

Theresa enjoyed working in her backyard planting flowers and feeding her many feathered friends. She and her family also had large vegetable gardens at her mother’s farm, growing bountiful beans, cucumbers and the best sweet corn during the summers.

Theresa also enjoyed traveling with her husband, Val, where they went to the Bahamas and Caribbean Islands when her daughters were small. She also loved bowling and reading as she subscribed to a book club and gardening magazines. She was a superb homemaker and baked great apple pies from apples picked from orchards every fall with her husband and daughters who climbed the trees to pick the biggest and best Northern Spy apples.

In addition to her husband, Theresa was predeceased by her parents, Sylvester and Nellie, her sisters, Julia Alisauski, Edna Tarnowski, Amelia Jablonski, Florence Eaton, Bernice Vitus, Frances McCoski, and Martha Barejka; and her brothers Sylvester “John” Jr, Alisauski and Francis “Freddy” Alisauski.

She is also survived by many nieces, nephews.

Calling hours will be Monday, August 4, 2025 from 9am to 11am at the Riley Mortuary, 110 Division Street, Amsterdam, followed by a Mass of Christian Burial at 11:30 am at St. Stanislaus Church, with The Very Rev. O. Robert DeMartinis E.V. and Rev. Michael Jablonski concelebrating. Father DeMartinis will be conducting a prayer service at the funeral home prior to the funeral Mass. Burial will follow at St. Casimir’s Cemetery, Amsterdam.

To send condolences please visit www.rileymortuary.com