Sarah (Sally) Anne Bailey Light passed away on Saturday, September 23, 2017 at Berkshire Medical Center surrounded by her family.

Born in Rochester, New York on December 20, 1942 to Walter A. Bailey and I. Dorothy Jillson Bailey.

As a young woman she was a talented musician and studied at the Eastman School of Music. She holds a Bachelor of Arts from Wells College, a Masters in Spanish from the University of Amherst. She also did post graduate studies at Suny Albany. She lived for a time in Bucaramanga, Colombia where she worked as an English professor at the Universidad Industrial de Santander . Upon her return to the United States, she taught Spanish and English as a second language at Cohoes High School and at Emma Willard School.

She also had a passion for history and became an expert in researching house histories. She is the author of House Histories: A Guide to Tracing the Genealogy of Your Home, which is still considered the most comprehensive book of its kind. She researched many of the oldest houses and buildings in Columbia County through her company, House Histories, which provided historical research services.

Amongst her proudest accomplishments was her post as the Austerlitz Town Historian for 20 plus years during which she amassed a wealth of knowledge. She thoroughly archived local events during her time as historian, and built a large collection of literature covering Hudson Valley as well as Columbia County. The books will be made available to the public for future research.

She was commissioned by Bishop Howard Hubbard to write the history of the Albany Catholic Diocese for the Sesquicentennial in 1997. The book is entitled Canals & Crossroads A Sesquicentennial History of the Albany Diocese.

In lieu of flowers, donations in her name can be made to Roswell Park Alliance Foundation for cancer research in Buffalo, NY or to the Columbia County Health Consortium in Hudson, NY www.columbiahealthnet.org who provided much needed rides to treatments.

She is survived by her former husband, Richard Light, sister Julia Monastero (Robert), brother Christopher Bailey (Noreen) children Lisa Light Rugen (Glenn), James A. Light (Laura), grandchildren Olivia, Grace, Maisie Alice, Emily, James, Madelynn, and Charlotte.

A celebration of her life and accomplishments will be held 10:30am Saturday, September 30th at St. James Church in Chatham followed by a reception in Austerlitz. For on-line condolences visit wenkfuneralhome.com