Alli Conte Morgan

Alli Conte Morgan, 33, of New York City and formerly of Whitesboro, passed away suddenly from complications of her chronic medical conditions on Tuesday, May 21, 2024. Alli was born in New Hartford, NY, on September 14, 1990, the daughter of Robert and Cathleen Conte Morgan. She was educated in Whitesboro Schools and furthered her education at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, where she earned Bachelors, Masters, and Doctoral degrees. On December 7, 2019, she married her soulmate, Kara Snyder, in Troy, NY. At the time of Alli’s death, Alli and Kara resided in New York City, where Alli was a third-year medical student at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai.

Alli lived her life with unmatched passion, strength, and resilience. An arduous medical battle through her teen and early adult years eventually culminated in the loss of her leg. Having endured dozens of surgeries and hospitalizations and countless missed opportunities, the following years found Alli, in her words, “striving for normalcy.” However, she far surpassed anything of the sort. Instead, she kayaked through the Florida Keys, competed in adaptive sled ice hockey and biathlon, ran the Utica Boilermaker, and became the first woman to compete with the U.S. adaptive skeleton team. Impressive as these achievements were, she was particularly proud of the inspiration that her strength and courage had on others.

A tenacious dedication to service and advocacy was a central pillar of Alli’s life. While a student at RPI, Alli was a volunteer paramedic and served as the President of the RPI Ambulance Officer Board, provided victim support services for a domestic abuse and rape crisis hotline, and helped disenfranchised patients navigate health care systems. At Mt. Sinai, she led the Disabled Medical Students Association and LGBTQ organizations, while also working in a mental health clinic for the East Harlem Health Outreach Program. Her ability to share unique perspectives on a host of topics equipped her as a talented teacher, and she was awarded Mt. Sinai’s Medical Student Excellence in Teaching Award.

Alli’s academic success, highlighted by her three degrees from RPI and her matriculation at Mt. Sinai, was a byproduct of sheer determination to improve the world around her through truly understanding its vulnerabilities and weaknesses. At RPI, she was a Rensselaer Medal recipient and a founding member of a research group focused on the cultural dimensions of environmental health. Her doctoral thesis, inspired by her own experiences, focused on the failures of our health care system to care for patients with uncertain diagnoses. She planned to pursue a career in Child and Adolescent Psychiatry. 

Above all else, Alli lit up the room with her warm presence and sharp wit. She was an empathetic listener, a generous friend, and a loving wife, daughter, sister, and aunt. She will be profoundly missed. 

Surviving are her beloved wife, Kara Morgan of New York City; her parents, Cathi and Bob Morgan of Whitesboro; her brother and sister-in-law, Ryan and Miriam Morgan of Philadelphia; adoring nephews and niece, Jacob, Noah, and Leila Morgan; her in-laws, Stephen and Stephanie Snyder of Averill Park, NY; her brother-in-law, Eric Snyder of San Francisco; her aunts and uncles, Donna DeRocco, Victor and Eileen Conte, Michael Conte, Mary Jo and Larry Fredsell, Carolyn and Kevin Latimer, Susan Conte and Charlie Green, Richard and Janet Morgan, John and Pat Morgan, Diane and David Swanson, and Nancy and Tim Butkus; many cousins, and countless dear friends and colleagues. She was predeceased by her sister, Heather Morgan; her grandparents, Elizabeth Morgan, Glenn Morgan, and Alfonse and Lois Conte; and two uncles, Alan Conte and Frank DeRocco.

Relatives and friends are invited to attend her Mass of Christian Burial on Tuesday May 28th at 12:00 Noon in Mt. Carmel/Blessed Sacrament Church, Utica. 

Visitation will be held on Monday from 3-6 pm at The Scala & Roefaro Funeral Home Inc. 1122 Culver Ave., Utica. 

In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to Project Athena Foundation, 989 S. Main Street, Suite A #425, Cottonwood, AZ, 86326-4602, or online at projectathena.org.

Arrangements by Scala & Roefaro Funeral Home are under the guidance of David Roefaro and Stephen Karboski, Directors.