EAST BERNE — Sylvia Filkins (née Van Aller) of East Berne, a mother and grandmother who loved people, died peacefully on Monday, March 7, 2022. She was 81.

Born in Middleburgh on Jan. 9, 1941, she was the daughter of the late Lee and Ellen Van Aller.

Mrs. Filkins was a graduate of Berne-Knox-Westerlo, a member of the Class of 1958.

“As a teenager, Sylvia enjoyed her work over the years at Duke’s Dairy Bar,” her family wrote in a tribute. “Later she began a career with the Veterans Hospital in Albany. Sylvia finished her working days with Doctor Charles Buchanon as an office manager.

“Sylvia was a charter member of the East Berne Fire Company Ladies Auxiliary.

“Sylvia will be remembered for her love of people. She enjoyed going to her favorite places like the Maple Inn, Zwicks, and Maple on the Lake. Sylvia will be missed by many.”

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Sylvia Filkins is survived by her son, Keith Filkins, and his fiancée, Beverly Jones; by her daughter, Julie Milne,r and her husband, Marty; by her grandson, Danny Kennelly; and by her siblings, Sarah Demarco and Bobby Van Aller.

Her husband, Leland “Sonny” Filkins Jr., died before her, as did her brothers, Charles Van Aller and Lew Whittiemore, and her sister, Thelma Corridino.

Friends are invited to visit with her family on Saturday, June 11, from 9 to 11 a.m. in the Fredendall Funeral Home at 199 Main Street in Altamont. Interment will be in Woodlawn Cemetery in Berne. A celebration of life at Maple on the Lake in East Berne will follow the graveside service.