John Battistoni, 88, of Stanfordville, died at his home on March 15.
Battistoni was born in Poughkeepsie on April 25, 1935, to John and Kathleen (Boyles) Battistoni. He married Barbara Grant on Sept. 1, 1956, in Lake George, N.Y. They were married until her death in 2021.
Battistoni grew up in Stanfordville and graduated from high school in Pine Plains. He received a bachelor of arts degree from Hartwick College in 1957, and a master’s degree in public administration in 1971, from the Rockefeller School of Public Affairs at what is now the University at Albany.
He began work as a caseworker for the Dutchess County department of social services, and was appointed county commissioner of social services in 1978, a position he held until retiring in 1995.
Battistoni served as president of the New York State Public Welfare Association and chaired its Mental Health and Legislative Committees. He served on the New York Association of Counties, including many years on its Task Force on Welfare Reform. He was later elected president of the National Association of County Human Services Administrators, and was on a number of its task forces, including those studying work and welfare reform, AIDS/HIV, and human services and education.
Battistoni was also on the board of directors of the Dutchess County United Way, a member of the championship Red White Softball Team and was inducted into the Dutchess County Fast Pitch Hall of Fame in 2001. He was a lifetime member of the National Grange and in 1988 was named the Dutchess County Grange Community Citizen of the Year.
He was a member and chairman of the board of deacons and board of trustees of the Stanfordville United Church of Christ, and a trustee of the Stanford Cemetery Association. He served on the Town of Stanford planning board, recreation commission and zoning commission.
Battistoni is survived by four children: Lori (Edward) Conklin of Parsonsburg, M.D.; Debra (Gary) MacElveen of Poughkeepsie; Mark (Catherine) Battistoni of Millbrook; and Carol (Eric) Waldschmidt of Verbank; 10 grandchildren (Christofer, John, William, Joseph, Daniel, Nicole, Joseph B., Ema, Samuel and Anna), and four great-grandchildren (Giovanni, Lillianna, Aaliyah and Talia). He is also survived by his brother Richard Battistoni, a niece and three nephews.
Services will be private. Interment will take place in Stanford Cemetery. The family requested that donations in Battistoni’s memory be made online to the Hudson Valley Hospice or mailed to the United Church of Christ, P.O. Box 424, Stanfordville, N.Y. 12581.