Darlene Pfeiffer, then vice chairwoman of the Ulster Community College Foundation, speaks in 2017 during the groundbreaking ceremony for the Pfeiffer Technology and Innovation Lab at SUNY Ulster in Stone Ridge. (Tania Barricklo/Daily Freeman, file)
DEERFIELD BEACH, FLA.— Darlene L. Pfeiffer, a longtime entrepreneur, philanthropist and SUNY Ulster supporter, died on April 6, 2023. She was 85.
Pfeiffer, formerly of Port Ewen, donated heavily to SUNY Ulster. After joining the Ulster Community College Foundation’s Board of Directors, her contribution developed the Darlene L. Pfeiffer Center for Entrepreneurial Studies. Pfeiffer donated over $2.8 million to the school in her lifetime and her donations allowed countless students to continue their education at the college level.
Pfeiffer’s donations helped fund the annual SUNY Ulster’s OWN It! Entrepreneurial Women’s Conference in 2015. She was a donor for SUNY Ulster’s Pfeiffer Technology and Innovation Lab. Her scholarship donations have topped $110,000 and have helped more than 100 students, the college has said. In 2019, the college launched the New Start for Women program thanks to her seed donation and funding from the NoVo Foundation.
“Our community mourns the passing of Darlene L. Pfeiffer,” said Alison Buckley, president of SUNY Ulster, in a Facebook post. “A stalwart supporter of SUNY Ulster students, Darlene was a fierce believer in the power of education to transform lives and her community. She was exceptionally generous in her support of women, parenting students, young entrepreneurs, and our President Challenge Scholars.”
“Darlene was an active and engaged member of our college community, who served in a leadership role on the Foundation Board,” Buckley wrote. “She was always eager to connect with students, attend a college event, or celebrate student successes at commencement. Many of us will feel her loss personally and acutely in the months ahead. We extend our condolences to her partner Paul DeLisio, her children Beverly Hung and Nick Pfeiffer, and countless friends.
“Her mantra, ‘Giving is Living. The more we give, the more we live … and we live eternally,’ has inspired and motivated others to do the same and will continue to be her legacy along with her incredible philanthropic support touching the lives of many through education,” Buckley wrote.
“Darlene was a force with which to be reckoned. She was a beacon for women leaders, a pioneer, a friend, a mentor, a breaker of glass ceilings, and a helping hand up to so many. Literally THOUSANDS of lives have been indelibly changed for the better through her generosity, strength, management and candor,” Ulster County Comptroller March Gallagher said in a Facebook post.
“The world is a little dimmer today as we contemplate her loss but we will carry on in her honor and strive to hold ourselves to her standard,” Gallagher said. “I know I will and I will never forget her.”
Born Oct 6, 1937, Pfeiffer owned a Kentucky Fried Chicken franchise in Kingston and one other location after initially buying five in 1966. The Kingston location won a customer service award in 2016 after a competition that included over 4,000 other franchises. While opening the stores, Pfieffer attended and eventually graduated from SUNY New Paltz with a bachelor’s degree.
Pfeiffer eventually rose to become president of various KFC corporate councils that oversaw practices at hundreds of stores.
Pfeiffer was survived by partner Paul Delisio and children Beverly and Nick.
Funeral arrangements are by Kraeer-Becker Funeral Home.
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