Energy propels this volunteer in many different directions

St. Francis of Assisi said, "Start by doing what's necessary, then what's possible, and suddenly you're doing the impossible."

RoseMarie Kotansky cuts to the chase: Whatever needs to be done, she believes, is "do-able."

Volunteer work is usually its own reward, but Mrs. Kotansky's can-do philosophy recently resulted in her receiving the de Marillac award for distinguished service from Seton Health Foundation, which runs St. Mary's Hospital in Troy.

Energy to burn

"I'm a person who has energy that never runs down," explained the vibrant senior, who numbers being a buyer for the gift shop at St. Mary's Hospital in Troy and volunteering in its spiritual care department among her whirlwind of activities.

A sporadic sleeper, she claims she doesn't know what it feels like to be tired.

The sixth of ten children brought up two blocks away from the hospital, Mrs. Kotansky has been associated with it since her earliest days.

Much to do

When you hail from a family of 12, caring for others starts young, she said, adding: "My family was such that you always looked out for your brother or sister. It was kind of in-bred. The railroad tracks used to run through Troy, and hobos would come to our door. My mother would always feed them, even though she had 10 kids."

As a teenager, she worked the afternoon shift in the "diet lab," preparing and delivering meals to patients; in the early 1990s, as a widowed retiree, she tired of gardening and returned to St. Mary's to volunteer.

Mrs. Kotansky thought she'd work just a couple of nights each week. But former gift-shop manager Rose Cronin took one look at the new volunteer and said, "You're going to be the next manager of the gift shop."

"And I was right!" Ms. Cronin told The Evangelist gleefully -- 12 years and 6,000 volunteer hours later.

Gift shop

Mrs. Kotansky originally brought Communion to patients. She started working in the gift shop. Then she agreed to take over buying cards for the shop -- just one rack, mostly of the "get well soon" variety.

But when the shop moved to bigger quarters, Mrs. Kotansky had more space; so she added another rack of cards, and a spindle for the ones that didn't fit there. Anniversary, birthday and "thinking of you" cards soon filled the racks, and the buyer became an expert at perusing catalogs of cards and picking out the less-expensive ones to purchase.

She never stopped doing that job.

"Now, we sell more cards than we've ever sold," she boasted. "I keep the prices low -- from 60 cents to $1.25 -- and people come in and buy $8, $10 at a time."

Body and soul

Volunteering in the spiritual care department also became an ongoing effort. Mrs. Kotansky now brings the Eucharist to the terminally ill in the oncology department.

"Spiritually, it's very powerful," she said of the experience. "If someone's dying, the nurses will say they can't receive [Communion], but maybe you can go in and pray. I have experienced praying with a person and their family while the person died right during our prayers."

On a more cheerful note, Mrs. Kotanksy is now social chair for Seton Auxiliary. Past auxiliary president Kay McCarty refers to her as "the Cecil B. DeMille of the Auxiliary" for the stage productions she cajoles other members into participating in each year, and retired Daughters of Charity at DePaul Provincial House in Menands enjoy the annual picnic she organizes.

Still more

Many other seniors are the recipients of special treatment by the volunteer, too. For example, Mrs. Kotansky manages the business affairs of a 95-year-old friend with dementia, helped a desperate elderly couple find senior housing when they were ready to commit suicide and leads a prayer group at Hudson Shores senior housing in Watervliet.

All that occurs as she also keeps active in her parish, Sacred Heart of Mary in Watervliet. She graduated from the diocesan Formation for Ministry program in 2002 and now sits on a parish board planning the future of the five parishes in Watervliet.

"Once a month, we meet to talk about consolidation," she explained. "It's painful, because you are planning the future of the churches. Nobody wants to see their parish close."

How old?

Mrs. Kotansky also brings Communion to senior parishioners. In fact, it's difficult to remember that she herself is a senior citizen.

Evasive about her age, she said simply, "I've been over 65 for quite a while now, but God has been good to me."

Besides, she added, not all her time is devoted to volunteering: "I take Saturdays to clean the house. I travel, too! I've been to Turkey, Greece, Ireland nine times, Spain...."

(A new event is being added to RoseMarie Kotansky's schedule this year: The Auxiliary is holding a "springfest" May 2, with a dinner at the Century House in Latham and a raffle. For information, call 268-5505.)

(2/4/04)