SCHOHARIE — “Be good to each other and take care of each other,” said Richard Bogardus of the lesson his late wife, Lorraine Bogardus, imparted to those around her.  Mrs. Bogardus died on Sunday, Oct. 6, 2019, at Palatine Bridge Nursing Home. She was 82. 

She was born in Schenectady to Ethel (née Coon) and Louis McCumber in 1927, the second oldest among three boys. Her mother was a homemaker and her father was a powerhouse worker for General Electric. She attended Schoharie Elementary School. 

It was the beginning of a life dedicated to enthusiastic service to others.

“She was always by my side,” said Mr. Bogardus.

The two ran a dairy farm on Kump Road from 1965 to 2007, along with the Schoharie Bowling Alley through the ’70s and ’80s. Later, Mrs. Bogardus managed Deco World “Go Crazy Store” in Guilderland before retiring. 

Whenever her husband needed help, Mrs. Bogardus was there.

The couple met in their early 20s, when the Harlem Globetrotters put on a show at Mont Pleasant High School, Mrs. Bogardus’s alma mater. She attended the game with a friend of hers, while Mr. Bogardus attended with a friend of his. The two friends were cousins and introduced the couple-to-be. 

It was an immediate attraction. “We went out for ice cream,” said Mr. Bogardus, “and the rest is history.”

They married on Sept. 5, 1959, and celebrated their 60th anniversary last month. Mr. Bogardus said he didn’t think they had but “half-a-dozen disagreements our whole life.”

Together they had four kids, whom Mrs. Bogardus stayed home to raise — not to mention all the kids who went to Sunday school at St. Paul’s Lutheran Church in Berne, where she taught for 37 years. She would take the Sunday school kids to Mr. Bogardus’s bowling alley every so often. “They were a league of their own,” he said.

Mrs. Bogardus’s service to her community was commendable. So much so, in fact, that former Governor Elliott Spitzer honored her for volunteerism in 2007. 

She had helped form a Hospice chapter, the Christmas Bureau, and the 1st Ombudsman for Nursing Homes, all in Schoharie County. 

Mr. Bogardus said he always referred to his wife as a “professional volunteer.” When she first arrived at her nursing home in 2015, the first thing she did was go around to introduce herself and ask, “Is there anything I can help you with?”

“She was the best,” said Mr. Bogardus. 

 ****

Lorraine A. Bogardus is survived by her husband, Richard Bogardus, and her four children: Donna Jean Gage of Milford; James Charles Bogardus and his wife, Ellen, of Wright; Kathryn Lynn Mazzariello and her husband, Frank, of Cobleskill; and Amy Marie Kelly and Mark Briggs of Gallupville. She also leaves behind eight grandchildren; four great-grandchildren; and several nieces, nephews, grand-nieces, and grand-nephews.

Calling hours will be held from 5 to 7 pm on Friday, Oct. 11, at the Langan Funeral Home, 327 Main Street, Schoharie. A funeral service will be held at 11 a.m. on Saturday, Oct. 12, at the Schoharie United Presbyterian Church, 314 Main Street, Schoharie, followed by interment in Old Stone Fort Cemetery.

Memorial contributions may be made in memory of Mrs. Bogardus to the Alzheimer’s Association, Northeastern New York Chapter, 4 Pine West Plaza, Suite 405, Albany, NY, 12205; or to the Palatine Nursing Home, 154 Lafayette Street, Palatine Bridge, NY, 13428. 

Mourners may leave condolences online at altamontenterpise.com/milestones.