Obituraries Archives — The Altamont Enterprise, July 20, 2006
Joseph Patrick Dowd
NEW SCOTLAND — Joseph Patrick Dowd was a family man — in a big way.
He came from a family of 11 children and fathered a family of nine children. He had hundreds of nieces, nephews, and cousins.
"Uncle Pat remembered not only their names, but their birth dates and even the color of their eyes," wrote his son and daughter-in-law, Kelly and Margaret Dowd in a tribute. "He was the unofficial keeper of The Dowd Family Vital Statistics."
"He loved them all," said his son-in-law, R. Mark Dempf, of New Scotland. "He had a huge heart."
Mr. Dowd died on Sunday, July 2, 2006. He was 83.
He was born on March 24, 1923 in Livingston, N.J., the son of Thomas A. and Margaret (Foley) Dowd. He was one of 10 boys and one girl and is survived by his youngest brother, Peter.
He grew up on his family’s farm in the Newark area. "One of the family stories goes that they lived next door to Thomas Edison and one of the kids was around when he was doing his experiments," said Mr. Dempf.
"Pat proudly served his country during World War II and came home to begin life as a contractor," wrote his son and daughter-in-law, Kelly and Margaret Dowd. "He designed and built beautiful houses, partnered in a restaurant business, and ran a boarding house. The family called many dwellings home and were blessed to survive a house fire which took their belongings but left them all unharmed."
In the early 1970’s, Mr. Dowd and his wife, the late Fedela (Angelotti) Dowd bought a farm on Rau Road in New Scotland to raise quarter horses, said Mr. Dempf.
The Dowds wrote, "Pop taught his children many things. He taught all his sons how to build thus giving them a valuable life-long skill. He taught them the art of hunting and welcomed all comers to the farm every hunting season when corn-fed deer were plentiful. Pop taught the boys to play hockey and headed up the local league team himself.
"He taught them to never back down from a fight; never to be afraid to stand up for what’s right even if the other guy is bigger than you; never hit a girl; always respect your mother and love your wife; always celebrate birthdays on the actual day (even if it’s inconvenient)"
"With Pop, there was no gray area — only black and white — and so he quoted the scripture that says, ‘But since you are like lukewarm water, I will spit you out of my mouth!’"
Mr. Dowd’s nephew, Donato Angelotti, wrote about how he loved visiting the farm in the summer and on weekends. He loved the feeling of freedom there and the way his favorite uncle "would hold our attention for hours with all his stories."
"He was a hard-working farmer and the first to show me how to shoot a rifle," said Mr. Angelotti. Mr. Dowd was also tender and loving, he said, recalling the time he saw his Uncle Pat "coming up from the stream with a bunch of wildflowers" to give to his beloved wife.
"It made me feel good to see they were still in love after all those years," said Mr. Angelotti.
Toni-Marie Dempf described her father with a series of poetic contrasts: "Pop was so beautifully handsome, yet rugged; gentle, yet strong; strict, yet carefree; a devoted Catholic, yet devilish; worldly, yet innocent; unbending, yet forgiving "Pop loved many, was loved by many, yet was in love just once."
The Dowds were married for more than half a century. Mrs. Dowd died two years ago, said Mr. Dempf. The Dempfs had purchased the Rau Road Double D farm from the Dowds and the Dowds lived there until they died.
"He’d been looking for her for two years — all day, every day, searching," said Mr. Dempf. "On July 2, he finally found her."
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Mr. Dowd is survived by his nine children: Patrice Shenn and her husband, Fred; Joseph Dowd II and his wife, Mary; Kelly Dowd and his wife, Margaret; Liam Dowd and his wife, Mary; Timothy Dowd; Toni-Marie Dempf and her husband, R. Mark; Bartholomew Dowd; Carmine Dowd; and Katherine Bryson and her husband, James.
He is also survived by 15 grandchildren— Joseph, Rebecca, Elizabeth, Joseph III, Jacqueline-Francis, Luca, James, Devon, Megan, Liam, Tracey, Emily-Ann, Hannah-Mae, Kellie-Ann, and Alyssa — and by two great-grandchildren — Joseph IV and Zachary.
He is survived, too, by hundreds of cousins, nieces, and nephews. Memorial contributions may be made to the Onesquethaw Volunteer Ambulance Squad, care of the Town of New Scotland.
— Melissa Hale-Spencer
George E. Lemieux
VOORHEESVILLE — George E. Lemieux, a long-time postal worker, died Wednesday, July 19, 2006, at the Community Hospice of Albany Inn at St. Peter’s Hospital. He was 80.
Born in Plattsburgh, Mr. Lemieux had lived in Voorheesville for the past 46 years.
He was a veteran of the United States Army, serving during World War II.
He worked for 33 years for the United States Post Office and retired as a postal carrier from the Voorheesville Post Office in 1981.
He is survived by his wife, Alice Macnab Lemieux; his sons, George Lemieux and his wife, Rochelle, of Noblesville, Ind., Emery Lemieux and his wife, Patricia, of Voorheesville; and his grandchildren, Christopher, Alysen, Kortney and Emery Lemieux and Katie Sisson; and his brother, Donald Lemieux, of Plattsburgh.
His daughter, Myra Alice Lemieux, died before him as did his brothers, Homer and Jim, and his sister, Marge.
Relatives and friends are invited to attend his funeral services at 11 a.m. Friday morning at the New Scotland Presbyterian Church, 2010 New Scotland Road in Slingerlands. Burial will be in the Saratoga National Cemetery in Saratoga. There will be no calling hours. Arrangements are by Reilly & Son Funeral Home of Voorheesville.
Memorial contributions may be made to the New Scotland Presbyterian Church or the Community Hospice of Albany Inn, 315 South Manning Blvd., Albany, NY 12208.
Roger W. Lounsbury, Sr.
GUILDERLAND — Roger W. Lounsbury Sr., an avid card player and outdoors enthusiast, died on July 12, 2006, at St. Pe-ter’s Hospital in Albany. Mr. Lounsbury loved to play cards and visit casinos and he also enjoyed bonfires and family pic-nics. He was 56.
Born on March 11, 1950, Mr. Lounsbury was the son of Lena (Fisher) Lounsbury and the late Theodore Lounsbury.
Mr. Lounsbury worked for Donna Pool Service in Albany.
His two sisters, Janet Berk-hoffer and Marjorie White, died before him as did his five broth-ers: Theodore, Clyde, Thomas, Harold, and C. Lloyd Lounsbury.
Mr. Lounsbury is survived by his wife, Donna (Svingala) Lounsbury of Guilderland; two sons, Clyde Lounsbury and Caroline Morris, and Roger Lounsbury and Jennifer Car-rigan; his daughter, Wendy Jean Lounsbury and Tommie Kettles; and his granddaughter, Keira Morris.
He is also survived by his five brothers, John, Patrick, Dennis, Terrance, and William Louns-bury; and four sisters, Harriet Peck, Janice Lounsbury, Betty Jean Mueller, and Sandra Ross.
The funeral service was held last Sunday at the Cunningham Funeral Home, in Greenville. As Mr. Lounsbury wished, he was cremated.
Memorial contribution may be made to the Western Turnpike Rescue Squad, at 200 Center Dr., Albany, NY 12203, or to the Dormansville U.M. Church Me-morial Fund, at 923 County Road 401, Westerlo, NY, 12193.
Frances Emily Swart
WESTERLO — Frances Emily Swart, of Dormansville, died on July 16, 2006 at the Good Samaritan Lutheran Home in Delmar, N.Y. She was 96.
She was born on March 16, 1910, daughter of the late Channing and Ethel (Stanton) Swart and lived her entire life in Dormansville.
She attended the one-room schoolhouse in Dormansville through the eighth grade, then attended Ravena High School, graduating in 1927. She attended New Paltz Normal School, graduating in 1930.
She began teaching in the one-room schoolhouse in Dormansville (grades one through six), that she herself had attended, and which had become part of the Greenville Central School District.
In 1944, she left to teach middle grades in South Bethlehem, a part of the Ravena-Coeymans-Selkirk School District. She taught in Feura Bush fourth and fifth grades until the Becker Building was finished and then she taught the same grades until retiring in 1965.
Following her retirement, Miss Swart was a substitute teacher for an additional 10 years.
She was a lifelong member of the Dormansville United Methodist Church and a member of the United Methodist Women; holding many offices in both. She was active in many phases of the church program including the Sunday school and the youth group. For several years she was church organist.
She was a member of the Hiawatha Grange for 78 years and held several offices in the Grange.
She is survived by her sister, Beatrice Stewart; a niece, Valerie Overcash, and her husband, Wayne; grandnieces, Elizabeth Overcash and Victoria Montelongo; and a grand-nephew, Jonathan Rueda.
Funeral service will be Friday, July 21, at 1 p.m. at the Dormansville U.M. Church in Dormansville. Interment will be in the Greenville Cemetery. Arrangements are by the Cunningham Funeral Home in Greenville.
She wished that, in her memory and in lieu of flowers, friends would remember the Dormansville U.M. Church, support it, and attend it.
Joseph Tinning
DUANESBURG — Joseph Tinning, a General Electric machine operator and a tree farm truck driver, died at St. Clare’s Hospital on Monday, July 17, 2006. He was 94.
Born in Pattersonville, Mr. Tinning was the son of the late William D. and Mary Elizabeth McKinley Tinning. He lived in Quaker Street for the past 19 years; before that, he had lived in Princetown and Duanesburg.
Graduating from Cobleskill Tech in 1935, Mr. Tinning worked as a machine operator for General Electric for 32 years before working as a driver for the Blue Spruce Experimental Farms for another 17 years.
Mr. Tinning was a member of the former Florida Presbyterian Church and also a member and past deacon and elder of the Princetown Evangelical Presbyterian Church.
As an active community member, he attended the Delanson Meal Site, and was a member of the Princetown Seniors, Gifford’s Grange, Duane Grange, and the Duanesburg Historical Society. He also served on the Schenectady Boy Scout Council for over 20 years and was a life member of the Duanesburg Volunteer Ambulance Corp.
Mr. Tinning married his wife, Edna E. Eaton, on Oct. 1, 1937. She died on Aug. 1, 2005. His brother, Wilbur Tinning, of Colorado, and his sister, Harriet E. Tinning, of Long Island, both died before him, too.
Mr. Tinning is survived by his sons, Joseph A. Tinning and his wife, Marybeth, of Quaker Street, and Andrew J. Tinning and his fiancee, Kathleen Kaiser, of Altamont; his sister-in-law, Helen W. Matthews and her husband, Wesley, of Tucson, Ariz.; and his cousin, Alfred McKinley and his wife, Anna, of Pattersonville.
He is also survived by his granddaughters, Carol M. Konazewski and Amanda Walco, both of Rotterdam; two great-granddaughters, Selena and Chloe, as well as many nieces and nephews and cousins.
A memorial service will be held at 1 p.m. on Friday, July 21, 2006 at the Princetown Evangelical Presbyterian Church at the corner of Gifford’s Church Road and Route 20 in Duanesburg.
Arrangements are by the Van Buren Funeral Home of Delanson. Memorial contributions may be made to the Princetown Evangelical Presbyterian Church Scholarship Fund, 3662 Gifford’s Church Rd., Duanesburg, NY 12056.
Dorothy Udell
Dorothy Udell, who worked as the deputy town clerk in New Scotland, died on July 14, 2006, at the Good Samaritan Lutheran Nursing Home in Delmar. She was 85.
"She really liked dealing with people," said Mrs. Udell’s daughter, Roxanne Horlacher, recalling that the people were Mrs. Udell’s favorite part of the job.
She started work at the town hall in 1972, when her husband, Russell Udell, died; she stayed until her retirement.
"I can’t name all the places she went," said Mrs. Horlacher of the trips Mrs. Udell took with the New Scotland Senior Citizens after she retired. "They did a lot of traveling," she said.
Mrs. Udell was born in Dormansville on Oct. 29, 1920, the daughter of the late Herbert and Edith (Hannay) Woodruff.
Growing up, Mrs. Udell pumped gas and worked inside at her parents’ general store. They owned Woodruff’s general store in Westerlo and "everybody pitched in" said her daughter.
When she married, Mrs. Udell moved to Clarksville, where her husband owned a dairy farm.
Mrs. Udell was very involved with the Clarksville Community Reformed Church; she belonged to the church’s women’s guild. She was always doing fund-raisers and bake sales, her daughter said. "If she didn’t show up with her cinnamon rolls, people would get mad," said Mrs. Horlacher.
Mrs. Udell made the wedding cakes for both her daughter’s and her son’s weddings, said Mrs. Horlacher. She decorated cakes as a hobby as well as making crafts, including stained glass.
"She didn’t have a mean bone in her body," said her daughter. "She’d always be smiling."
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Mrs. Udell is survived by a daughter, Roxanne Horlacher and her husband, Michael, of Westerlo, and a son, Dennis Udell, of Westerlo.
She is also survived by a brother, Gerald (Pete) Woodruff, of Westerlo, and by six grandchildren and two great-grandchildren.
Her husband, Russell Udell, died before her as did her son, Darrell Udell, and a brother, Burtus Woodruff.
A funeral service was held on July 18 at the Cunningham Funeral Home, Greenville. Burial was in the Onesquethaw Cemetery in Clarksville. Memorial contributions may be made to the Clarksville Community Reformed Church, Route 443, Clarksville, NY 12041.
— Saranac Hale Spencer