Born March 21,1928 in Bay Ridge, Brooklyn NY to Ethel Hay and Francesco Ernesto Tutino, Miriam Harvey Acciani passed away at home on March 10, 2019 just eleven days shy of her 91st birthday. Her high school years were spent in Vermont at St. Johnsbury Academy and she graduated with a BA in 1949 from St. Lawrence University in Canton, NY. After getting her teaching certificate she worked at a kindergarten in New Hyde Park on Long Island before marrying Dr. Alfonse Acciani and moving to Columbia County to open his Hudson dental practice and raise three children, Susan, Stephen and David. Miriam was instrumental in helping to start Family Survival, and volunteered her time with various other local organizations such as Meals on Wheels, as a staff member on the region's Girl Scout council and was a leader for years, and did conflict mediation with Common Cause. She served two decades on the board of The Payn Home in Chatham and was their representative to the NYS Legislature when the State tried to adapt regulations to a not-for-profit retirement residence. She loved gardening and bird watching, but spent most of her free time reading, and was a founding member of her Book Group that has met monthly since 1979. Besides her children she is survived by four grandchildren, Emma, Maria, Anna and Alice and her nieces and nephews who called her "Aunt Mim." In addition to her parents, she was pre-deceased by her sister Doris Hay Miller. Memorial donations in Miriam's memory may be made to The Friends of Chatham Public Library, Woodbridge Avenue in Chatham, or The Chatham Area Silent Pantry located in the Tracy Memorial building. A service will be held at the First Reformed Church on Park Row, Chatham, NY on Saturday, March 16th at 11:30am with The Rev. Ned Wight officiating with interment immediately after in the Ghent Union Cemetery.