Published: 1/10/05

PLATTSBURGH — Samuel Heyman, 76, died Jan. 8, 2005, at CVPH Medical Center in Plattsburgh.

Sam was born March 1, 1928, in New York City. After attending Horace Mann High School, he entered Harvard University in 1944. Sam completed his bachelor’s degree in June of 1947 and achieved a master’s of science in engineering in 1949, specializing in soil mechanics.

As a professional engineer, Sam worked on the design of the New Jersey Turnpike before going to Alaska with the Army Corps of Engineers. He then received a commission with the U.S. Air Force during the Korean conflict. During his career, Sam helped design many projects, including the San Francisco naval dry dock and the foundation of Coney Island Public Housing, which rated an Engineering News Record cover story.

March 21, 1954, Sam married Ellen Hewett, with whom he celebrated his 50th wedding anniversary last year. In 1960, Sam and Ellen moved to Plattsburgh to develop vacation homes on Juniper Hill in Wilmington. Shortly thereafter, he was asked to perform soil studies for the missile silos that surrounded Plattsburgh during the Cold War. Sam then became a licensed land surveyor and opened his own engineering firm and testing lab. In 1983, in search of new challenges, Sam went to Bangladesh and Egypt with the U.S. Agriculture Industrial Development Corporation to work on several projects including a water and sewer system for the cities along the Suez Canal.

Sam was a dedicated volunteer. He served as president of New Industries for Clinton County, now called the Industrial Development Corporation, and the Plattsburgh YMCA as well as the Public Library. Sam also served on the board of directors of the Kent-Delord House and was a long-time member of Rotary.

Sam was an avid outdoorsman and free spirit. After graduating from college, he twice rode a bike of his own design through Europe. While in Alaska, Sam kayaked down the Copper River and saved his friend’s life when their kayak overturned. A skier, Sam made "first tracks" after being flown to a remote drop site outside Fairbanks with his skis strapped to the wing of a plane. Undaunted, this adventure seeker marked his 65th birthday by piloting a solo sled down from the top of the Olympic Luge Run in Lake Placid.

More than anything, Sam loved his family. He is survived by his wife, Ellen, and his sons, Richard and Anthony. Richard and his wife, Betsy, have two children, Matthew, 14, and Chloe, 11. Anthony and his wife, Terese, have three children: Allison, 11; Samantha, 6; and Anthony Jr., 4. Sam was preceded in death by his son Charles Douglas as well as his parents, William and Lydia.

Memorial donations may be made to Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center, P.O. Box 27106, New York, NY 10087-7106, or the Kent-Delord House Museum, 17 Cumberland Ave. Plattsburgh, NY, 12901. A memorial service will be held at the Valcour Educational Conference Center, approximately six miles south of Plattsburgh on Route 9, on Saturday, Jan. 15, at 11 a.m.

LORETTO W. LEONARD, 92, of 15 Park Ave., Saranac Lake, died Wednesday, Jan. 5, 2005, at her home.

Visitation will be held at Fortune-Keough Funeral Home from 2 to 4 p.m. Tuesday. A Bible vigil will be held 3:30 p.m. Tuesday. A Mass of Christian burial will be held Wednesday, Jan. 12, 2005, at 11:15 a.m. at St. Bernard’s Church with the Rev. Thomas Kornmeyer officiating. Burial will be at St. Bernard Cemetery in May.

KENNETH FOSTER LEE, of Lakeshore Road, Willsboro, died Sunday, Jan. 9, 2005, at CVPH Medical Center in Plattsburgh.

Services will be held at Huestis Funeral Home in Willsboro. Arrangements are incomplete at this time. A full obituary will be in Tuesday’s Press-Republican.

ALBERT MONETTE, 87, of Waterhouse St., Plattsburgh died Sunday, Jan. 9, 2005, at CVPH Medical Center in Plattsburgh.

Funeral arrangements are incomplete and will be announced by Brown Funeral Home, Plattsburgh.

STEPHEN H. PRESCOTT, 47, of Fort Lauderdale, Fla., died Thursday, Jan. 6, 2005, at his home.

He was born in Plattsburgh on April 30, 1957 the son of William H. and Joan (Marble) Prescott.

Funeral arrangements are incomplete and will be announced by the Brown Funeral Home, Plattsburgh.

KNUD HOGH, 83, of Cumberland Head, died Sunday, Jan. 9, 2005, at CVPH Medical Center in Plattsburgh. He was born in Denmark on Dec. 7, 1921.

Funeral services will be private and at the convenience of the family. Friends wishing to do so may make donations to the Fitzpatrick Cancer Center. Arrangements are by Brown Funeral Home, Plattsburgh.

JOHN L. HESLIN, 60, died Wednesday, Jan. 5, 2005, at his residence.

He was born in Brooklyn, N.Y., on July 8, 1944, the son of Edward J. Heslin Sr. and Rose Ann Heslin.

A memorial service will be held in St. Peter’s Chapel on Tuesday at 10 a.m.

Burial will be in St. John’s Cemetery in Middle Village, N.Y.

The R.W. Walker Funeral Home is in charge of arrangements.

To contact the Press-Republican, Phone: (518) 561-2300 or send mail to:
Press-Republican, 170 Margaret St., P.O. Box 459, Plattsburgh, NY 12901

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