No. Castle Pays Tribute With Honor for One of its Most Cherished Citizens

One of North Castle’s most beloved public figures was fittingly honored on Saturday for a lifetime of service and devotion to her community.

Town officials unveiled a plaque at the gazebo at Wampus Brook Park in Armonk before last weekend’s final summer concert to recognize the late former councilwoman Becky Kittredge’s 32 years on the Town Board and her love for North Castle. Kittredge, who was first elected in 1979 and served eight consecutive terms on the board through 2011, died from cancer on Aug. 25, 2013, at 69 years old.

Aside from her public service, it seemed everyone who knew Kittredge had only fond, loving and humorous remembrances of her.

“If you didn’t know Becky, I will tell you she was a friend to so many people,” said longtime friend Sue Miller, who pressed Supervisor Joseph Rende and the Town Board to move ahead with the long-overdue honor. “(She was) smart, loving, funny; a million Becky stories. So this has kind of been my project to make sure this didn’t stay on the back burner but was going to get done.”

The plaque will soon be mounted on a large stone that was donated from Kittredge’s garden at the house where she lived for many years by its current owners. The plaque reads “In Memory of Rebecca ‘Becky’ Kittredge North Castle Town Board 1980-2011, Deputy Supervisor 2002-2009. The stone will be set on the right side of the gazebo.

Councilwoman Barbara DiGiacinto, who had been friends with Kittredge since high school and was a neighbor of hers for many years, said in addition to her friendship with Kittredge, she was an enthusiastic supporter of her service on the Town Board.

“And yet, we had our disagreements where a couple of times we didn’t speak for days – only days,” said DiGiacinto, who came up with the idea to mount the plaque on the stone. “She was a force. No one loved this town more than Becky.”

Diane Balboa, who along with her husband, Gene, own the home where Kittredge lived, said they were happy to help the town provide what was needed for a proper honor.

“It’s a great thing,” Balboa said. “It sounds like she was a very admired lady and meant a lot to a lot of people, so this is a wonderful tribute to her. I think she’d be thrilled.”

Rende said while he didn’t know Kittredge for long, he concurred that “she always went above and beyond” to help the town.

“Her accomplishments that she made in the town were many,” he said. “I don’t think there was another person that we can honestly say loved North Castle as much as Becky did.”

Over the years, it has been repeatedly noted that one of her greatest accomplishments was to be a driving force in converting the old Armonk firehouse into the Hergenhan Recreation Center.

Bill McClure served with Kittredge on the Town Board for 20 years and recalled that her family had made an impact in town. Her uncle was Harold C. Crittenden, whose has the middle school named after him. Although so many have wonderful memories of her, Kittredge was never a pushover, he said.

“She was a townie, but she had a passion for this,” McClure said. “She was tough when you had a tough meeting. She didn’t wilt.”

Another friend, Ed Woodyard, said if a task needed to get done, you went to Kittredge and it would happen.

“Becky’s love for North Castle was as boundless as her belief in its citizens,” Woodyard said.

DiGiacinto summed up that Kittredge was one of a kind.

“They’ll never be another Becky,” she said.

Martin Wilbur

Martin has more than 30 years experience covering local news in Westchester and Putnam counties, including a frequent focus on zoning and planning issues. He has been editor-in-chief of The Examiner since its inception in 2007. Read more from Martin’s editor-author bio here. Read Martin’s archived work here: https://www.theexaminernews.com/author/martin-wilbur2007/