Janet C. Hiser

Castleton- Janet Beth Cooperman Hiser, Best of Wives, Best of Women, Best of Friends, passed away on Saturday, September 7, 2024 at St. Peter's Hospital Hospice after a two year fight with recurring breast cancer. Born in Brooklyn, raised on Long Island and Queens, she proudly retained and burnished her Downstate "edge"-that is, intelligence, quick wit, and inability to back down from anyone, anytime, anywhere-to the end. A graduate of SUNY Binghamton, she went on to obtain her Masters in Social Work at Washington University in St. Louis, before beginning a career primarily in the national and local not-for-profit fundraising and development world, with a stop or two in consulting and the advertising world. In seven years at the National Academy of Sciences in Washington, D.C., she worked with some of the nation's top scientists, which she then translated to her work at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute. In Albany, she joined with and much enjoyed (most of) her time at MediaLogic-calling several of her years there the most fun she had in her career. Her last full-time work was at the Austin Riggs Institute in Stockbridge, Mass., where she doubled giving in the first year, and from which she was pleased to retire. Janet's final consulting work, ending in the last year, was with Beth Hershenhart and colleagues at the Innovative Resources Group, whose Monday morning virtual staff meeting may well be named in her honor (Beth, she loved it). Janet made and retained good friends at her various positions, and the family has gratefully heard from so many since news of her passing was made public. 

Janet was predeceased by her parents, Mildred and Sidney Cooperman, her sister Harriette Sacklow, brother-in-law Stewart Sacklow, and brother-in-law Harold Mandel. She is survived by her loving husband of 39 years, Michael Hiser, and her children of whom she was so justifiably proud, son Seth Hiser (Katherine Wood), daughter Loren Hiser (Simon Kent), and wonderful granddaughter, Mabel Grace Wood Hiser, as well as her sister Sandy, and members of the Hiser family-in-law parents Glenn and Marilyn Hiser, Vickie Jones, Susan Hiser (Dee Seidenschmidt) and Scott Hiser. 

Janet would surely want the family to thank the staff at St. Peter's Hospital Oncology Unit for their close and attentive care over the past two years, in particular Dr. Elena Theodosiou, and Amanda. 

Relatives and friends are invited to visit with Janet's family on Friday, September 13, 2024, from 4:00-7:00 p.m., at the Castleton Funeral Home, 59 Seaman Ave. Castleton, NY 12033.

In lieu of flowers, Janet would have appreciated donations to the Anchor Food Pantry, 35 Boltwood Ave, Castleton-On-Hudson, NY 12033. Her ability to feed others is one of her many enduring legacies. Janet also had a love for her community, donations can also be made to the Castleton Volunteer Ambulance, 1700 Brookview Rd, Castleton-On-Hudson, NY 12033 or to the Castleton Fire Department, 11 Green Ave, Castleton-On-Hudson, NY 12033.