Mike Citrin of Ancramdale, New York, passed away on August 9, 2026. Many in our community knew him as a friend and a man of uncommon virtue. I knew Mike as his physical therapist of many years, and he was one of the most remarkable and heroic persons I will ever meet.
Mike developed Parkinson’s disease more that 30 years ago. A few years back, he lost all his strength and mobility, coming close to death. Deciding he needed to get out of the clinic and back into nature, we turned to the Harlem Valley Rail Trail. There, he regained his ability to walk and found another chance at life. Remarkably, at age 80, he recovered such stamina with his walking aid that he eventually could outlast me on the trail.
But this was not enough for Mike–he wanted to ride a bike again. We found a three-wheeled bike that fit his bent-over posture perfectly, and took to the trail once more. He became so adept that soon he was a low-riding and ubiquitous figure, soloing all over the roads of southeast Columbia County.
He graduated from physical therapy, and I became his biking partner. It was an exhausting role;even at the very end, in his mid-80’s, I was never able to keep pace with him. When Parkinson’s nearly killed him a second time, he recovered yet again. Soon he was riding the Rail Trail 12 miles to Millerton for lunch, and 12 miles back home.
Mike regained several robust years of his life from the healing graces of the Harlem Valley Rail Trail, and I experienced this remarkable grace alongside (and far behind) him.
I have cast six stones with Mike’s name, and placed them alongside the Rail Trail to honor him. They are hidden, and some may never be found. It is my hope that the stretch of the Rail Trail between Millerton and Copake Falls will forever be imbued with his spirit, and will henceforth be known as the Mike Citrin Path.
Ken Rude
Red Hook, New York
