The Altamont Enterprise

Sunday 19 May

Ed Cowley

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Carol T. Moore

obit carol t moore-web Carol T. MooreBERNE — The bees wouldn’t bother Carol Moore. As a keeper of many pets, she had taken in strays since she was a child and looked after people in need, too.

She was a member of the Boyd Hilton Veterans of Foreign Wars Ladies’ Auxiliary in Altamont and helped prepare meals for the elderly. Friends, neighbors and family knew her as “Mom” or “Grandma.”

Her own grandchildren were idealized in her eyes, her daughters said.

“She didn’t want us crying. She wanted smiles, no tears,” her daughter, Sylvia Moore, said of her mother during a May 2 hospital visit from her grandchildren.

Mrs. Moore died on Friday, May 3, 2013, at St. Peter’s Hospital, “in the embrace of her loving daughters and granddaughter,” her family wrote in a tribute. She was 70.

At Mrs. Moore’s request, she saw her grandchildren that Thursday. She told them to pray, finish school, and to always make careful decisions. Her daughter Holly Moore said her mother was at her happiest then, when she was with her family.

René M. Girodias

obit giordias -web René M. GirodiasKNOX — An engineer and a family man, René M. Girodias was always thoughtful of others.

“One thing about him, he was very, very polite, even up until the end, when he was in pain,” said his daughter, Susan Von Haugg. “He would always, always say ‘thank you’ and ‘please’ and ‘God bless you.’ My mother said that was the French culture.”

“He was a good husband and father, a good provider. He took care of us,” said his wife, Barbara Girodias.

Mr. Girodias died on Wednesday, May 1, 2013. He was 87.

“He went peacefully at home with his family around him,” said Mrs. VonHaugg. May 1 was her daughter Tarah’s birthday. “She’s a strong person, only 10. She usually won’t cry. My sister-in-law told her, it’s OK to cry. She did,” said Mrs. Von Haugg. “It was like everything fell into place.”

Mr. Girodias, an only child, was born in New York City on June 1, 1925. He grew up in the Bronx, and attended City College of New York.

Marion Gibbs

ALTAMONT — A memorial service for Marion Gibbs will be held at 1 p.m. on Saturday, May 25, at St. John’s Lutheran Church at 140 Maple Ave. in Altamont.

She grew up in Altamont and graduated from Altamont High School. After she married Francis Gibbs, she became a farmwife and homemaker, raising two children.

Before spending her last four years at the Guilderland Center Nursing Home, Mrs. Gibbs was active volunteering at the village museum and also in collecting the history of St. John’s Church.

She died one week short of her 93rd birthday on Feb. 7, 2013.

Her family invites all who knew her to join in a celebration of her life on May 25.

After the service, she will join her late husband at Prospect Hill Cemetery in Guilderland.

George J. Albert Jr

George J. Albert Jr. died in Port Charlotte, Fla. on Monday, April 29, 2013. He was 75.

He was born in Albany on Sept. 24, 1937, to George J. Albert Sr. and Elizabeth Kubish Albert.

Mr. Albert is survived by his wife of 25 years, Jean Albert of North Port, Fla.; his children, Thomas Albert and Susan Price; his brother, William Albert and his wife, Mary.

His brother, Edward R. Albert, died before him.

Memorial services will be Sunday, May 5, at 11 a.m. at Kays-Ponger & Uselton Funeral Home, 2405 Harbor Blvd, Port Charlotte, Florida.

Mourners may go online to www.kays-ponger.com

Arrangements are by Kays-Ponger & Uselton Funeral Home and Cremation Services Port Charlotte chapel.

Traci M. Slingerland-Lee

obit traci slingerland-lee-web Traci Slingerland-LeeBERNE — As a mother of three and a strong athlete, Traci M. Slingerland-Lee had a determination about having a good time, whether she was partying or relaxing with her boys at home.

“A rock. She was there to make sure everything was set and ready for whatever we had prepared or doing,” said her eldest son, Brandon Lee.

Traci M. Slingerland-Lee died on Sunday, April 28, 2013, at home, surrounded by her loving family. She was 48.

Mr. Lee listed softball, bowling, basketball, and track and field among the sports his mother played in high school at Berne-Knox-Westerlo. Ms. Slingerland-Lee continued bowling and softball in her later years, and played on a softball league with co-workers at the New York State Thruway Authority.

Her nickname, “Animal,” came from her high school days, with her reputation as an aggressive athlete and partier.

“If there was a party to be had, she was either going to go to it or throw it,” said Mr. Lee.

Euretha ‘Beebe’ Ensminger Shufelt

obit euretha shufelt-web Euretha ShufeltRENSSELAERVILLE — Euretha Shufelt was a twin, one half of a set. She liked the outdoors, and her sister, nicknamed “Tiny” because of her diminutive size, liked the indoors.

Mrs. Shufelt’s daugher Ardis Fritz is not sure where her mother got her nickname, Beebe, but that is what everyone called her.

“The twins, very typical twins, they would finish each other’s sentences. I don’t remember telling their apple pies apart,” said Ms. Fritz.

Mrs. Shufelt died on Tuesday, April 16, 2013, at her Rensselaerville home with her family at her side. She was 98.

She spent her life in the Helderberg Hilltowns. She was born on a farm in West Berne on Feb. 1, 1915, the daughter of the late Burton and Flora Bell (née Dennison) Ensminger.

She lived a hard life, through the Great Depression, and was a hard worker.

“She had to walk to school,” said her daughter. She went to the Waldenville schoolhouse. “They used to wear long dresses, and they used to put newspapers under their skirts to keep them warm,” she said.

“Between the two twins, she was always the one who worked outside. It was all girls. She was the one who always worked in the fields. They went nutting,” said Ms. Fritz.

Paul Francis Engel

obit fr. paul engel-web Fr. Paul EngelALTAMONT — The Reverend Father Paul Francis Engel, a man who “enjoyed the gifts of God’s creation,” according to his family, died on Tuesday, April 9, 2013, at the Teresian House in Albany, where he had been cared for since February. He was 82.

The Rev. Engel was born on April 23, 1930, in Troy, the son of the late Francis Joseph Engel and Cecilia Katherine (Murphy) Engel.

He graduated from the former Vincentian Institute, in Albany, in 1947, and later, The Seminary at St. Andrew’s in Rochester; St. Joseph’s, in Yonkers; Siena College, in Loudonville; and Newman Chaplain’s School at the University of Colorado.

He served, throughout his lifetime, at St. Francis de Sales, in Troy; St. Brigid’s, in Watervliet; Catholic Central, in Troy; Little Sisters of the Poor, in Troy; Our Lady of Victory, in Troy; Hudson Valley Community College, in Troy; LaSalle Institute, in Troy; Newman Apostolate, Blessed Sacrament, in Albany; Marion Lodge, St. Joseph’s Seminary, in Yonkers; the former St. Catherine’s, in Middleburgh, and St. Joseph’s, in Schoharie.

He also served as the director of the Diocesan Permanent Deacon Program and Camp Program and the Dean of Schoharie County, and, in his retirement, he continued to serve at St. Lucy’s, in Altamont; St. Bernadette’s, in Berne; and Our Lady of Fatima, in Delanson.

He enjoyed taking walks, hiking, snowshoeing, canoeing, and simply being outdoors, wrote his family in a tribute. He was an avid reader, planned and provided nature retreats at Pyramid Life Center, and led scripture groups for many years.

John P. Armstrong

obit dr. john paul armstrong -web Dr. John P. ArmstrongJohn Paul Armstrong, a World War II veteran who worked in special education for the state, died peacefully on Wednesday, April 3, 2013, at the Stratton Veterans Affairs Medical Center in Albany. He was 90.

Known to his friends and family as “Jack,” Dr. Armstrong spent time in Albany, Thompson’s Lake in the Helderberg Hilltowns, and Cocoa in Florida.

Dr. Armstrong was born and raised in Buffalo, N.Y. He was the son of the late Mildred and Louis Morton Armstrong. He served in the United States Marine Corps 4th Division during World War II where he saw action in the battles of Saipan, Tinian, Roi Namur, and Iwo Jima.

After honorable discharge, he graduated from the State University of New York at Buffalo with bachelor’s and master’s degrees in education. He then attended the University of Illinois (Champagne-Urbana) to continue his studies in advanced research in education. Dr. Armstrong earned his Ph.D. in research and administration at the University of Ottawa, Canada.

In 1955, Dr. Armstrong joined the New York State Education Department as an associate in the Special Education Department in Albany, and worked there until his retirement in 1981.

He is survived by his wife, Clara, and his two children, John C. Armstrong, and his wife, Ann, of Mims, Fla., and Dr. Kathleen Armstrong-Bernhard and her husband, John, of Glen Lake, N.Y.

Dr. Armstrong was remembered at a memorial Mass on Monday, April 8, at the chapel in the Stratton Veterans Affairs Medical Center in Albany.

Interment with full military honors was held in Buffalo at the St. Stanislaus Roman Catholic Cemetery on Saturday, April 6.

Arrangements are by the Hans Funeral Home of Albany. To leave a message of condolence for the family or to send a sympathy card, go online to www.HansFuneralHome.com.

Memorial contributions may be made to the Hospice at the Stratton Veteran Affairs Medical Center, 113 Holland Ave., Albany, NY 12208. The family extends its sincere appreciation to the Military Order of the Purple Heart, the medical/support staff at the Stratton Veterans Affairs Medical Center, and Reverend Joseph Grasso.

Anna J. Willsey

obit anna willsey-web Anna J. WillseyBERNE — Even with her smile, Anna Willsey was uplifting. With her woodstove, she was hardworking.

A homemaker on a dairy farm with a historic round barn, Mrs. Willsey was overjoyed as a mother of seven, her children said, and lived in a tangible world of immaculate needlework and being outdoors with her family.

“She loved her kids, that was her whole world, us kids were her whole world,” said her daughter, Priscilla Schaap, who, with sisters Rachel Haley and Karen Murrell, said Mrs. Willsey had a powerful ability to share her warm humor.

Anna Julia Willsey died at Good Samaritan Nursing Home on Saturday, March 30, 2013. She was 85.

She was born in Horicon, N.Y. on Nov. 18, 1927, and settled in Berne as an adult with Morris Willsey, who was born and raised in the rural Hilltown. They were married in the early 1960s, having met when Mr. Willsey, working for a moving company, helped her mother relocate from Florida to New York.

The children and Mrs. Willsey helped on the farm, the site of the second largest round barn in the state until, in 1976, it burned to the ground. The barn was built in 1912 using trees from the property.

On Sundays, Mrs. Willsey, with a supply of wood chopped year-round by hand, cooked meals for the family. A common favorite was her spaghetti with meatballs made from scratch. Strawberry shortcake was another Sunday classic in the Willsey home, for which the children would pick the berries.

Any hot water was heated on the woodstove, along with stones heated all day to warm beds at night. Early in the morning, the stove warmed pots of oatmeal, Wheatena, or cream of wheat.

Breakfast and homework were regimented and required, but Mrs. Willsey’s daughters said she would often make sure they got out to a swimming hole or to take a trip.

“She always made sure us girls had good times,” said Ms. Schaap.

Mary C. Schaible

A graveside service will be held for Mary C. Schaible on Friday, April 19, 2013, at 10 a.m. at Prospect Hill Cemetery on Western Avenue in Guilderland.

A long-time Altamont resident and selfless member of the community, she died on Sunday, Sept. 26, 2010, at the age of 89.

Ms. Schaible served the Altamont Reformed Church as an ordained deacon, the coordinator of the clothing exchange, and the overseer of the church library. She worked extensively on the behalf of the Altamont Free Library, and had a lasting interest in the history of Altamont and its environs. Ms. Schaible donated her body to Albany Medical College for the purpose of medical research.

The Rev. Robert Luidens will conduct the service. All family members and friends are welcome to attend.