RICHARD L. BENEDICT
RUSHVILLE — Richard Benedict, 72, of Castle St., died Sunday, April 19, 2009 at Geneva General Hospital.
Friends may call Wednesday, April 22 from 6 to 7 p.m. at the Kenneth J. Perkins Funeral Home in Gorham. A funeral service will follow at 7 p.m.
In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions may be made to the American Heart Association, 3500 Winton Pl., #4, Rochester, NY 14623.
A retired Marcus Whitman Central School bus driver, Mr. Benedict had also been a carpenter and truck driver. He enjoyed motorcycles and trains, and had been a race car driver.
He is survived by four sons, Richard (Margie) Benedict, David (Barb) Benedict, Nevin (Kim) Benedict, and John Benedict; two daughters, Cathern (Terry) Boylan, and Beth (John) Roncone; 12 grandchildren; five great-grandchildren; former wife, DeEtta Hayward; and several cousins.
RONALD J. BURD SR.
PENN YAN — Ronald Burd, 59, of Elm Street, died peacefully at his home on Saturday, April 18, 2009.
Friends and family may call at the Weldon Funeral Home, Inc. 102 East Main St., Penn Yan from 1 to 3 p.m. Thursday, April 23. Services will follow visitation at 3 p.m. with Pastor Paul Malles officiating. Burial will be at the convenience of the family.
Ronald was born in Wayland, on April 25, 1949 to Albert and Dorothy Burd. He attended school in Canandaigua and was the proprietor of Burdie's Painting in Penn Yan for several years.
He is survived by his wife of 38 years, Dora (Kennedy) Burd; sons Ronald Jr. and Tmmy (Angie Laursen) of Penn Yan; a daughter, Tina Lass of Penn Yan; grandchildren Rondald III, Courtney, Amber, Corissa, Jakob, Eric, Kameron and Maison; brothers, Donald (Karleen) Burd Sr. of Penn Yan and Albert "Lex" Burd of Dundee; a sister, Judy Jones of Penn Yan; his mother, Dorothy Wren of Florida and several nieces and nephews.
He was predeceased by his son, Jason, in 1971.
JEAN MARIE MILLER KINSEY
DUNDEE — Jean Marie Miller Kinsey, 85, died on Good Friday, April 10, 2009 at The Homestead in Penn Yan.
The family plans to have a private burial service for Jean this summer in Manton, Mich.
Jean was born in Bay City, Mich. in 1924. She was the daughter of the late Foster and Ida Miller.
She married Paul Kinsey on June 12, 1941 in Manton, Mich. Together Jean and Paul pastored a church in Pennsylvania before moving to Hammondsport in 1962. They raised four children: Edwin (Linda) Kinsey of Watertown, Michael (Jeannie) Kinsey of South Bend, Ind., Timothy (Arlene) Kinsey of Dundee, and Susan Kinsey of North Port, Fla. They had eight grandchildren and nine great-grandchildren.
Jean was predeceased by her husband, Rev. K. Paul Kinsey in 2001 and by two children.
Local arrangements were entrusted to the Kenneth J. Perkins Funeral Home in Gorham.
DOUGLAS J. MATTISON
PENN YAN — Doug Mattison, 57, died April 15, 2009 at his home.
Friends may call at the Weldon Funeral Home, 102 East Main St., Penn Yan from 4 to 6 p.m. Wednesday, April 22 where a celebration of Doug's life will begin following visitation at 6 p.m.
Memorials may be considered to the Yates County Humane Society, St. Michael's School in Penn Yan or the "Just Say No" committee at the Penn Yan Elks Lodge.
Doug was born in Penn Yan on Oct. 21, 1951 to John and Lillian "Betty" Mattison. He graduated from Penn Yan Academy in 1969. In 1970 he joined the U.S. Army and did his basic training at Fort Dix, N.J. He recently retired, after 37 years, from NYSEG. He started his career at Greenidge Station and worked in UC&M as a pipefitter first class in Geneva. Most recently, he worked out of the Penn Yan Service Center in a customer service position, answering calls for natural gas leaks and other customer or contractor needs.
For many years, Doug piloted the powder-blue #91 Big Block modified car on area D.I.R.T. tracks and some in Pennsylvania. He also occasionally drove sprint cars, his true passion, whenever the opportunity arose. He was awarded the Sportsman of the Year Award by the Kodak Employee Booster Club.
For many years, he co-hosted WFLR's weekly race show, Chasin' Racin'.
Doug's other love was bass fishing throughout the Finger Lakes region and he repaired reels, and traded and sold them over the Internet.
He was a member of the Penn Yan Elks Lodge, the Quarter Century Club at NYSEG and B.A.S.S.
Doug is survived by his wife of 34 years, Mary Ellen (Donnells) Mattison, a son, Matthew (Erin); daughter, Sarah Marie; his father, John; two brothers, Barry (Kathi) and Kevin (Kristine) and their children, Becky, Aaron and Kyle and many nieces, nephews, aunts, uncles, cousins and brothers and sisters-in-law. He will be missed by his loyal yellow lab, Teo.
Doug was predeceased by his mother, Lillian "Betty" (Nielsen) Mattison.
MARK L. SCHER
DRESDEN — Mark L. Scher, 64, of Dresden, passed away on Sunday, April 19, 2009
in the compassionate environment of the Keuka Comfort Care Home, P.O. Box
107, Penn Yan, after a months-long struggle with pancreatic cancer. He undertook this struggle with the gentle care of his wife, Nancy, with whom he fell in love at first sight in 1966.
A memorial service for Mark will be held at the Penn Yan United Methodist Church, Main St, Penn Yan on Saturday, April 25, 2009 at 1 p.m. In lieu of calling hours, a reception and celebration of
Mark’s life will be held in the Memorial building immediately following the service.
In lieu of flowers, he and Nancy ask that memorial gifts take the form of performing random acts of kindness.
Mark was born on Dec. 9, 1944, the son of Carl and Regina (Turpil) Scher, of New York City. He earned his BA from Queens College, where he was elected to Phi Beta Kappa, a national honor society. He went on to receive his MA from Cornell University. After teaching at Keuka College he, with the encouragement of Nancy, earned his Ph. D. from the University of Rochester. He always wanted to teach and thoroughly enjoyed working with college students. However, as an
occasional substitute in Penn Yan schools while he worked on his Ph.D. dissertation, he discovered the joy of teaching younger students.
Within six months, he had achieved NYS certification as an English teacher. Mark accepted a position at Dundee High School at the secondary level, where he remained for the rest of his career. He served as department chair for some twenty years. Even after retirement, he was still proud of his former student’s accomplishments. One of his proudest moments came when the senior class in the year of his retirement asked him to speak at their graduation. For 10 years before his retirement, he also taught as adjunct staff for FLCC.
He believed strongly in volunteering for public service, serving on village and county planning boards and on Dresden’s zoning board, as President of the Dresden Fire Department, and as a trustee for the Penn Yan Public Liberty. As a Master Mason, he served as Master of the Penn Yan lodge and maintained memberships in a number of Masonic organizations. Recently, he served on the board of the Finger Lakes Chamber Music Festival and as a volunteer for Keuka Comfort Care Home.
At the heart of his most recent service however, was his participation in the Penn Yan Area Volunteer Ambulance Corps, where he found many mentors and friends. Mark was recently honored and humbled to receive the Yates County 2008 EMS Provider of the Year Award.
Additionally, PYAVAC awarded Mark their first Spirit Award, recognizing outstanding care, compassion, and concern for the community. This yearly award will be known as the Dr. Mark Scher Spirit Award.
He leaves behind his wife of 41 years, Nancy, his brother Steve, his uncle, aunt, cousins, and many friends
Arrangements are with the Townsend-Wood Funeral Chapel, Penn Yan Family and friends may sign Mark’s on-line guestbook at townsendwoodfuneralchapel.com
WOOD, RAYMOND A.
JOLIET, ILL. — Raymond A. Wood, 58, passed away on Good Friday, April 10, 2009.
According to his wishes, Ray’s body was cremated by the Illinois Cremation Society and services will not be held.
Ray was born Dec. 18, 1950 to Robert Sr. and Anna (Rumsey) Wood in Penn Yan.
Ray was grounded by deep rooted seeds of faith and family. He loved animals and the outdoors and enjoyed fishing and hunting. His favorite pastime was to tell animated tales of his life, sharing his adventures, mishaps, losses and loves.
In addition to his parents, he is also preceded in death by his beloved wife, Donna L.(Lavazza)Wood, and brothers, Nolan (Cindy), Louie (Tootie), and John (Bonnie). He worked at Seneca Foods in Geneva, and remarried before moving back to Illinois to spend the remaining years of his life.
Ray leaves behind his beloved and loving, wife, Deloris“Dee”(Hathaway); brothers, Robert,Jr.(Stella), and Jessie (Debby); sisters, Hazel (Chuck) Pym, Donna (Chago) Torres, Wilma (Robert) Robinson, and Theresa Kiegal; children, David (Linda) and Tina (Steven) Brown, and David (Jackie) and Chuck (Vonnie) Hathaway; grandchildren, Jamie (Dan)Urban and Kimberly Hathaway; Ryan and Justin Mostyn, Andrew Yeager, and Reese, Raace, and Raythen Brown; Devin and Dustin Hathaway; and Alexander, Benjamin, and Christian Wood and one great-grandchild, Kiley Urban. He is also survived by numerous nieces and nephews.
