Donna L. (Larrabee) Rigali

CONCORD- Mrs. Donna L. (Larrabee) Rigali, 94, of Concord, passed away peacefully surrounded by her loving family on May 30, 2018.

Born in Brooklyn, NY, Donna was the daughter of the late Carroll and Kathryn (White) Larrabee.  She was raised and educated in Old Greenwich, CT.  She attended Swarthmore College for two years before enlisting in the United States Navy during World War II.  She proudly served her country for two years. During that time, while serving at the Philadelphia Navy Yard, she met her future husband, Henry A. Rigali when he returned from serving in the Pacific. Upon her discharge as Chief Yeoman, she returned to her studies and graduated from Swarthmore. After marrying, the couple lived briefly in Durham, NC, and then settled in Seaford, New York, where they raised their five children.

Mrs. Rigali was very active in civic, political and professional organizations, including the Seaford PTA, the Nassau County Library Association, the Nassau County Democratic Club, and the American Legion. She was selected as the first chairman of The Friends of the Seaford Library, a community effort instrumental in the founding of the Seaford Public Library in 1956 and served on its board of trustees for nine years.

When her youngest son entered kindergarten, she returned to school herself, and graduated with a Masters Degree in Library Science from C.W. Post College in New York.  She then went on to a 35-year career she adored as a reference librarian with the Wantagh Public Library. 

A voracious reader throughout her life, her other hobbies included traveling with her husband, sewing and needlework, playing the piano and badminton, a sport she played from her earliest years. As a teen, she won several regional championships, and played all four years at Swarthmore.

Her beloved husband of 60 years, Henry, predeceased her in 2008.

She is survived by her sister, Elizabeth Nelson of Arlington, VA and her children: Carol Locke and her husband Doug of Brookdale, CA, James Rigali and his wife Patricia of Seattle, WA, Clare Fennessy and her husband Brian of Hernando, FL, Kathryn Amar and her husband Matt of Pembroke, NH and John Rigali of Wantagh, NY.  She is also survived by four grandsons, Jesse Locke, Ben, Kristopher and William Amar, along with two great grandsons, Tate and Jax Locke.

Assisting the family with local arrangements is the Petit-Roan Funeral Home of Pembroke, NH. Visitation will be held between the hours of 2 to 4 and 7 to 9 pm on June 6th at the Charles Schmitt Funeral Home in Seaford, NY.  Services will be held at the funeral home at 10:30 am on June 7th followed by burial in St. Charles Cemetery in Farmingdale, NY.  Donations in her memory may be sent to the Association for the Blind. To share a memory or offer a condolence, please visit www.petitroan.com

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