Deputy Mayor Hotaling mourned

VOORHEESVILLE — Always a leavening presence, William Hotaling was part of the village’s bedrock.  He died on Monday, May 2, 2011 at St. Peter’s Hospital surrounded by his family.  He was 69.

“As loud as he could be… his whole life started and ended in Voorheesville,” Chad Hotaling said of his father, describing his commitment to the community.

Mr. Hotaling recently celebrated his fortieth year volunteering at the Voorheesville Fire Department and was serving his third term on the village board.  He was also the deputy mayor.

He was always there to help people, said his wife, Patricia Hotaling.  “Him and his father were a lot alike,” in that way, she said.

Mr. Hotaling also followed in his father’s footsteps, becoming the village’s superintendent of public works — a position he held for 29 years.

“No matter what cause he was undertaking… he always had the best interests of the community in mind,” said Mayor Robert Conway.  “He was a tremendous advocate for the village.  I think that stems from being generous of heart.”

Generosity was in his constitution — especially in how he shared his time.  Mr. Hotaling cheered at every game his children and grandchildren played in.  When Chad Hotaling was on the high school football team, which he described as less than good, his father ran the booster club.

He went on to play for the University at Albany, where the first game of the season drew hundreds to a tailgate party.  As the season went on, Chad Hotaling said, the number of supporters dwindled until, at the last game of the season, his father was the only one who showed up.  “He was always just quietly there,” he said.

Mr. Hotaling also played football in high school, as well as baseball and basketball, said his wife.  He was in the first class to graduate from Voorheesville’s high school in 1959.

While he was home from Ithaca College, he started dating Pat Hotaling and the couple had a four-year engagement.

“He was a devil,” she said.  “He was a lot of fun.  He made people laugh.”

People all over the village have stories about Bill Hotaling.

“Bill was always known as a friend,” his family wrote in a tribute.  “When anyone in the community needed help, he wouldn’t wait to be asked, he would be there to lend a helping hand… Friends and family knew Bill best for his quick wit and his big heart.  He could always make us laugh and see the humor in any situation.”

“He told you exactly what he thought,” Chad Hotaling said of his father.

Mr. Hotaling was dedicated to his family, said his son, which is the “same way he treated the village… He committed his whole life to a small community.”

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Mr. Hotaling is survived by his wife of 45 years, Pat Hotaling, their three children and their families: Brett Hotaling and his wife, Liz, and their children, Logan and Julia; Paige Parker and her children, P.J. and Noah; and Chad Hotaling and his wife, Casey, and their children, Ryann and William.  He is also survived by his siblings: Hank Hotaling, Jim Hotaling, Hazel Kurkowski, Edith Zeh, and Bonnie Mosier.  He is also survived by his sister-in-law, Sandy Filkins, and her husband, Judson.

Calling hours will be today, Thursday, from 4 to 8 p.m. at St. Matthew’s Church on Mountainview Street in Voorheesville.  A service will be held at the church on Friday, May 6, at 10 a.m.  Burial will be in the New Scotland Cemetery.  Arrangements are by the Reilly and Son Funeral Home in Voorheesville.

Memorial contributions may be made to the Voorheesville Volunteer Fire Department, 12 Altamont Rd., Voorheesville, N Y  12186 or to the Arthritis Foundation of Northeastern New York, 1717 Central Ave., Albany, NY  12205.

— Saranac Hale Spencer