01/03/2006

Obituaries: 01/03/06

Michael J. Keyes

PLATTSBURGH -- Michael J. Keyes, 25, of Weed Street, Plattsburgh, died Sunday, Jan. 1, 2006, at the CVPH Medical Center in Plattsburgh.

He was born in Plattsburgh, April 23, 1980.

Michael was currently attending Clinton Community College. He was employed at ORC Macro International in Plattsburgh.

He was an avid Red Sox fan and enjoyed drawing and music but his love was making friends and family laugh.

Survivors include his mother, Marion Keyes of Plattsburgh; his maternal grandparents, James and Mildred Keyes of Peru; aunts, uncles and spouses, Debbie and Brad Eaton of Erie, Pa., Sue and Rolland Tromblee of Peru, Orville and Debbie Keyes of Peru, John and Liz Keyes of Burnt Hills, Jeff and Liz Keyes of Peru and Sara and Lonnie Armes of Peru; his companion, Chantelle LaTour of Plattsburgh; and cousins and spouses, Kerri and Jason Leboeuf, Jason Eaton, Rolland, Sarah, Avery and Madison Tromblee, Jennifer Tromblee, Katie, Ben, Jimmy Tommy, Megan and Sara Keyes and Tyler and Nathan Armes.

He was predeceased by his great-grandparents, Lillian and Henry Russell and Orville and Phyllis Keyes.

Calling hours will be held Wednesday from 5 to 8 p.m. at the Hamilton Funeral Home in Peru. A funeral service will follow at 8 p.m. at the Hamilton Funeral Home with the Rev. William G. Reamer, CVPH chaplain, officiating.

Donations in his memory may be made to the Conifer Park of Plattsburgh or the Clinton County D.A.R.E. program.

Susanna M. Valach

PROCTOR, Vt. -- Susanna M. Valach, 95, died Sunday, Jan. 1, 2006, at Starr Farm Nursing Center in Burlington.

She was born on Feb. 14, 1910, in Kokava in what is now the country of Slovakia, daughter of Andrew and Julia (Zdut) Macek.

Susanna came to this country in 1921 and attended school in Florence, Vt. She was a long-time resident of Proctor. On May 11, 1929, she married Victor Valach who was employed at the Vermont Marble Company for 55 years. He predeceased her in 1990.

Susanna was a member of the Union Church of Proctor and was active in the Women's Association. She enjoyed knitting, crocheting and rug braiding, donating much of her craft work for sale at the Union Church of Proctor Bazaar each year. She was a seamstress and was employed at Rosenblatt's Dress Factory in Rutland for several years. She was an excellent cook and was well know in the area as the Jelly Roll Lady for her jelly roll specialty.

Survivors include her daughter, Mrs. Richard (Jean) Pulsifer of St. Johnsbury; a son, Victor and wife Ethel Valach of Champlain, N.Y.; three sisters, Mrs. Donald (Helen) Howe of Proctor, Mrs. Lawrence (Judith) Kelley of Rouses Point, N.Y., and Mrs. Marie Pomainville of Rutland; one brother, Andrew and wife Arlene Macek of Glen, N.Y.; eight grandchildren, Susanne Pulsifer of Danville, Timothy and Terri Pulsifer of Plattsburgh, N.Y., Victor Pulsifer of Albany, N.Y., Thomas Pulsifer of Kennett Square, Pa., Steve and Mary Valach of Mystic, Conn., Linda and Brian Donahue of Essex Junction, Holly and Christopher Hanley of South Burlington and Tami Flaherty of Chazy Lake, N.Y.; ten great-grandchildren and nieces and nephews.

She was predeceased by a sister, Julia Cawley in 1983.

There will be no calling hours. Private burial will be in South Street Cemetery in Proctor at a later date.

Memorial contributions in Susanna's memory may be made to the Union Church of Proctor, 5 Church Street, Procor, Vermont 05765 or to Starr Farm Activities Fund, 98 Starr Farm Road, Burlington, VT 05401.

Arrangements are under the direction of the Barnard Funeral Home in Pittsford.

Bernard A. Lashway

STANDISH -- Bernard A. Lashway, 77, of Standish, died Monday, Jan. 2, 2005, at the CVPH Medical Center in Plattsburgh.

He was born in Standish on Sept. 11, 1928, the son of Lucius and Stella (Macey) Lashway.

He retired from Republic Steel in Buffalo after 30 years of service. He enjoyed fishing and snowmobiling.

He is survived by his wife, Marie (Drollette) Lashway; his children and spouses, Bernard Jr. and Kathy Lashway of Mooers, Stella and Michael Colgan of Scotia and Stanley and Candie Lashway of Mooers; two half brothers, Armand and Nancy Lashway of Amenia, N.Y., and Kenneth Lashway of Buffalo; two sisters, Theresa LaDuke of North Hero, Vt., and Betty King of Standish; a half sister and spouse, Arma and Daniel Bradfield of Spokane, Wash.; three grandchildren; five great-grandchildren; and several nieces and nephews.

Four brothers, Roswell, Maynard (his twin), Edward and Elmer Lashway; and two sisters, Eleanor Miller and Anna Dubray, all died earlier.

Calling hours will be held on Tuesday from 2 to 4 and 7 to 9 p.m. at the O'Neill-Redden-Drown Funeral Home in Plattsburgh. A Mass of Christian burial will be celebrated at 1 p.m. Wednesday from St. Joseph's Church in Dannemora. Interment will be in the parish cemetery in the spring.

Loraine Smart

PLATTSBURGH -- Loraine "Lurline" Smart, passed away peacefully in her sleep on Jan. 2, 2006, at Champlain Valley Physicians Hospital.

Lurline was born on March 12, 1913, in Kitson Town, St. Catherine Parish, Jamaica, W.I., to Ellen (LeRay) and Richard Rivett.

As a young child and throughout her life, Lurline faced and overcame many challenges - childhood malaria, a tracheotomy and a brain aneurism. As a young woman, she worked as a postal clerk to help support her family and to take care of her father, who was blind. As an avid tennis player and dancer, she caught the eye of the late David Barrington Smart. They were later married and had three sons. In 1942, Lurline moved to Montreal, Canada, to follow her husband who joined the Royal Canadian Air Force. Not afraid of work, Lurline held many positions during and following World War II, while raising her sons. She worked on an airplane assembly line for Northern Electric, was a licensed hair dresser at Holt Renfrew, a coat checker at the Mount Royal Hotel and a food quality inspector at Ruby Foo's, to name just a few.

Lurline and David later purchased a house on Guy Street where Lurline opened her home to students from Jamaica and Europe studying at McGill University. In search of new opportunities, they moved to Brooklyn, N.Y., in 1961. Here, Lurline operated a home-based daycare center where she provided both physical and intellectual nourishment to numerous children. In 1983, she retired and relocated to Mooers, N.Y., where she dedicated her time to beautifying her home and street through gardening and recycling. She was a member of the B'hai faith.

Lurline was passionate about life, a strong, spirited, and proud a woman - a woman of style and sophistication. She lived for her children and grandchildren; she enjoyed cooking, gardening, reading and traveling. She also loved to discuss any topic ranging from current events and politics to gardening and race horses. She was a caring individual who would much rather give than receive. She will be greatly missed by her family and friends.

She was preceded in death by her husband on Nov. 21, 1965.

She is survived by her three sons, David Smart Jr., Jonn Morlin and Douglas Smart; five grandchildren, Leon Smart, Ronald Smart, Helen St. Louis (Smart), Ann Smart, Julie Smart and Peter Smart; six great-grandchildren, Ronald Smart Jr., Kariamu Samples-Smart, Khari Smart, Akil Smart, Hubert St. Louis and Theodore St. Louis.

Calling hours will be held on Thursday from 4 to 7 p.m. at the O'Neill-Redden-Drown Funeral Home in Plattsburgh. Funeral service will be held at 6 p.m. Thursday from the funeral home chapel with Rev. Dr. Robert Fry, pastor of the Bible Baptist Church officiating.

Julius Otto Baisch

PLATTSBURGH -- The long, eventful life of Julius Otto Baisch came to a peaceful end in the early morning of New Year's Day, 2006, in the skilled nursing facility of CVPH, where he had resided for the past year. His daughter, Diana Cron and his grandson, Jonathan Cron, were with him when he died.

Julius was born Oct. 28, 1909, in Hedelfingen, Germany, the youngest of seven children of Gotthilf and Wilhelmina Baisch.

He apprenticed as a cabinet maker in Stuttgart, where he was awarded the designation of master cabinet maker on April 23, 1927.

At age 19, in 1929, Julius came on his own to the United States on a 10-day trip on the Deutschland. Carrying his tools and ready to work, Julius went first to Buffalo, where his two brothers were living. He fulfilled his promise to his wife-to-be, Lina Weinmann and came to New York City when she arrived from Germany in 1931. He and Lina were married there on Feb. 4, 1933.

Julius worked as a cabinet maker and foreman for the New York City Transit System for 39 years. He retired in 1970, after which he and Lina moved to Deltona, Fla. Lina had a severe stroke in 1982, and Julius cared for her in their home for the last 17 years of their 67 year marriage.

When Lina died in 1999, Julius moved to Plattsburgh to be near his daughter, Diana Cron.

In addition to Diana, Julius is survived by his grandsons, Alan Baisch and his wife Sharon, David Baisch and Jonathan Cron; and his great-grandchildren, Christopher, Alyssa and Eric Baisch.

He was predeceased by a son, Wilfred Baisch in 1987.

Calling hours will be at O'Neill-Redden-Drown Funeral Home in Plattsburgh on Thursday, Jan. 5, from 2 to 4 and 7 to 9 p.m. A memorial service will be led by Father John Sorensen of Trinity Episcopal Church at the funeral home at 8 p.m. that evening. Julius will be buried with his wife Lina in Florida on Saturday.

In lieu of flowers, those wishing to make donations in Julius's memory may give to Skilled Nursing Facility at CVPH, where he was cared for lovingly and well, or to St. Helen's Ministry of Trinity Episcopal Church, whose people brightened the last years of his long and well-lived life.

All of those who surrounded him in his years in Plattsburgh will remember his strong determination, his quick wit, his sense of humor and his winning smile.

Deaths: 01/03/06

RUTH M. STOWELL, 80, of Scanlon Road, Bombay, N.Y., died Sunday, Jan. 1, 2006, at the Alice Hyde Medical Center in Malone, N.Y.

She was born in Bombay, June 27, 1925, the daughter of the late Vernon and Maria Charette Felix.

Calling hours will be Wednesday from 2 to 4 and 7 to 9 p.m. at the Cappiello-McKenzie and Cosgrove Funeral Home in Fort Covington. A Mass of Christian burial will be celebrated Thursday at 10 a.m. at St. Joseph's Church in Bombay, Rev. Joseph Elliott officiating. Burial will be in the parish cemetery in the spring.

AVERY THOMAS GREGOIRE, infant son of Andrew and Sarah (Nickerson) Gregoire, of Prospect Avenue, Plattsburgh, died Saturday, Dec. 31, 2005, at the CVPH Medical Center in Plattsburgh.

A Mass of Christian burial will be celebrated at 11 a.m. on Wednesday, Jan. 4, 2006, in St. Peter's Church. Burial will be in the parish cemetery.

A full obituary will appear in tomorrow's Press-Republican.

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