Death Notice - Merrily Silverson (nee Alberti), 72, of Riverdale, NY, died peacefully with her family at her side on February 13, 2016 after a ferocious 25 year battle with COPD.  Born in 1943 to Adele and Andrew Alberti, Merrily was the oldest of two children. She received her Masters of Education from Fordham University and then taught kindergarten for 31 years at St. Gabriel School in Riverdale, New York before retiring in 2011.  In 1965 she married childhood sweetheart, Robert ("Bobby") Silverson with whom she recently celebrated 50 years of marriage alongside their friends and family in the Outer Banks of North Carolina. Merrily enjoyed reading, shopping and spending time with friends but her greatest accomplishment in life and her most precious enjoyment were her two daughters, Samantha and Meredith Smith. To Know Merrily was to know her family. She is survived by her beloved husband of over 50 years, Robert, Her mother Adele, brother Andrew and daughters Samantha and Meredith, sons-in-law Matthew Hanley and Richard Smith, and grandchildren, Victoria (16), Kayla (14), and Matthew (10) Hanley and Aidan (9) and Ryan (6) Smith, numerous Serpentini/Alberti cousins and too many friends to name. Visitation will be held Monday and Tuesday, February 15 and 16 from 4-8 PM at Riverdale-on-Hudson Funeral Home in Riverdale, NY. Mass of Christian Burial will be on February 17, 2016 at 10AM at St. Gabriel’s Church, Riverdale, NY. Interment at Gate of Heaven Cemetery, Valhalla, NY. In lieu of flowers, the family requests donations be made in Merrily’s name to the children of St. Gabriel’s school. Checks should be payable to St. Gabriel School, attention Anthony Naccari, Principal, 3250 Arlington Avenue, Bronx, NY 10463.