Harriet Corsiglia

ASHBURNHAM - Harriet Corsiglia was born March 28th, 1922 in Washington, D.C., the third child of Emma Dreher Sommer and Francis Sommer. The Sommer family began coming to Ashburnham from Washington in 1913 when Harriet’s father became affiliated with the Watatic Club, a private resort. After serving as proprietor of the Central House in Ashburnham, he acquired the Watatic Club in 1926, which he, and then subsequently his wife, ran until 1939. He also purchased a farmstead on an adjacent property in North Ashburnham, which later became the Corsiglia family home until it was sold in 2004. Harriet briefly attended the Lane Village School in Ashburnham, and was then educated at the National Cathedral School in Washington, from which she graduated in 1940. She received a B.A. from Smith College in 1944. After briefly working for Macy’s in New York, Harriet joined the American Red Cross as a staff assistant in the Military Welfare Service and was stationed in Le Havre for two years until returning home in 1946.  She married James Corsiglia of Gardner (who died in 2002) the following year and they raised five children in Ashburnham, Catherine of La Grange, IL, Anne of Boca Raton, FL, James Jr. of Groton, MA, Christina of Princeton, NJ and Andrew of Ashburnham. An active member of her community, Harriet served many years on the Oakmont School Committee, the Ashburnham Planning Board and the Parent Teacher’s Association. She was President of the St. Denis Guild where she also sang in the choir, was a member of the Board of Trustees of Henry Heywood Hospital, a reporter for the Fitchburg Sentinel, and also served as a volunteer for the American Red Cross and the American Heart Association. Harriet was an accomplished ceramist as well as an avid horsewoman and tennis player, a passionate gardener and birdwatcher and an ardent advocate for the conservation of Ashburnham’s lakes and open spaces. In 2006, the wooded island at the intersection of Cross, Lake and East Rindge Roads in North Ashburnham was restored with new ornamental plantings and dedicated as Hattie’s Garden in recognition of her devotion to and efforts on behalf of local preservation. Since leaving Ashburnham in 2003, Harriet was a resident of the RiverMead retirement community in Peterborough, NH. There will be a funeral mass at St. Denis Church on Wednesday, August 22, 2012 at 11 a.m., followed by a private burial in New Cemetery, both in Ashburnham. There will be no calling hours.   Harriet’s life will be celebrated at a memorial service and reception in the Babbitt Room of the Harris Center for Conservation Education in Hancock, NH on Saturday, September 22nd at 11:30 am (directions at: http://www.harriscenter.org) In lieu of flowers, donations in her name may be made to the Ashburnham Conservation Trust, P.O. Box 354, Ashburnham, MA 01430 (http://www.ashburnhamconservationtrust.org/). To sign the online guest book please visit www.mackfuneralhome.com. Mack Funeral Home, 91 Vernon Street, Gardner is in charge of arrangements. $(document).ready(function(){ });