Obituaries

On December 26, 2022, Claudia Elizabeth Wood Baldwin passed away from a very short battle with cancer. She will forever be missed by all who know her.

Ernest DeWaters, 93, of Penn Yan passed away December 27, 2022, in the comfort of his home. The family will receive friends and relatives at Weldon Funeral Home, 102 E.

Esther Marie (Hart) Young passed from this life to the next on December 21, 2022. She was reunited with her husband of 70 years and the love of her life in time for Christmas.

Doug Davis, 65, of Penn Yan passed away on Christmas day from complications due to Marfan Syndrome. The family received friends at Emmanuel Baptist Church, 332 Main St., Penn Yan on Tuesday, January 3 from 12-2 p.m., followed by a funeral service at 2 p.m.

David R. Firmstone, 82, of Penn Yan, N.Y. passed away Monday, December 26, 2022, at Geneva General Hospital. David was born in Honesdale, Pa. on January 14, 1940, the son of the late Herbert and Helen (Brock) Firmstone. David worked as the Vice President of S J Groves in Minneapolis, Minn. for 35 year and for Buffalo Crushed Stone in Alfred Station for 25 years. David and his wife Allison owned and operated Torrey Ridge Farm in Penn Yan. He bred, raised and raced horses. David is survived by his wife, Allison J. (Smith) Firmstone; daughter, Stacy (Mark) O’Brien; son, Scott (Ann Marie) Firmstone; stepsons, Richard (Lori) and Robert (Jill) Berry; and five grandchildren. A memorial service celebrating his life will be held on Thursday, January 5, 2023, at 11 a.m. at Townsend Wood & Zinger Funeral Home, 201 E. Elm St., Penn Yan, NY 14527. In lieu of flowers, memorial donations may be made in David’s memory to Purple Haze Standardbred Adoption Program, 544 County Rd. 4, Oxford, NY 13830. Memories of David may be shared with his family and friends at townsendwoodzinger. com.

 Billie Catherine Potts, 101, of Penn Yan passed away at Penn Yan Manor nursing home on Saturday, December 24, 2022. After 48 years apart, she was reunited with her husband, William…

Ellen Logan Martin, 95, of Penn Yan, N.Y. passed away November 24, 2022, peacefully in her sleep after a long illness. She was born October 1, 1927, to John Edwin and Ethel Moses Logan of Urbana, Ohio. She lived in Penn Yan since 2005 after living 45 years in Horseheads, N.Y. In childhood, Ellen was interested in sports, especially swimming. She became a lifeguard when the local Red Cross coordinator, looking for a recruit, asked at the local swimming place which boy was the best swimmer. The reply was that the girl there was better than any of the boys, and Ellen was chosen. Later, she was so accomplished at water safety that an official overlooked her age to send her to the Red Cross national water safety facility on Chesapeake Bay. Ellen was probably the youngest Red Cross female water safety instructor in the country then. In Horseheads, she helped organize lifeguarding and instruction at the municipal pool. At Keuka Lake, Ellen swam until not long before her illness. In the 1970s, Ellen was the owner with her husband of Rent-a-Cruise of the Finger Lakes, a fleet of four five-ton rental houseboats operating from Watkins Glen, N.Y. During winters, she taught skiing at Addison Pinnacle and western NY resorts. She was also a publicist and membership coordinator for the then-named Finger Lakes Association, and became widely known by communications media in this part of the U.S. and Canada. She was a holder of the FLA’s Crane Award. Ellen had a decidedly artistic and creative side. Her grandmother, Annettie Logan, with whom she was close, encouraged her, particularly in studying fine arts and art appreciation under Alice Archer Sewell James, an artist and the leader of the Urbana Movement. Ellen had a love of architecture, too, which manifested itself in home renovations as well as various crafts, from braiding rugs to caning chairs to refinishing antiques. She was particularly adept in the needle arts, foremost knitting. Ellen was a graduate of Denison University,

Mary Geo Nikolas David Weaver Soule, MD, 90, of Penn Yan (formerly of Rochester) passed away peacefully at home December 13. He is survived by Peggy, his wife of 58 years; children Cathy, Peter, David, Elizabeth, Mark; grandchildren Aquiel, Alix, Joseph, Danielle, Joey, Jacob; great-granddaughter Mercedez.