Julia “Julie” Sikule

Julia “Julie” Sikule

MEDUSA — Julia “Julie” Sikule died on Thursday, Nov. 23, 2017, Thanksgiving Day, at her daughter’s Guilderland home, surrounded by family. She was 94. A generous and kind woman, Mrs. Sikule had moved from the city to the country unaware that she would become intricately connected to her community in Medusa.

“She was generous, giving, always taking care of people,” said her daughter, Susan Sikule.

Her daughter said she “touched a lot of people’s lives” in her involvement in the community and her network of family and friends.

Mrs. Sikule was born on Oct. 24, 1923, in Greenpoint, Brooklyn to the late Charles and Catherine (née Judge) Walters. She grew up as one of six siblings in Brooklyn, listening to baseball games on the radio that featured Jackie Robinson and playing stickball in the streets. Driven to be a “working girl,” she was one of the few young women to graduate from her high school in Greenpoint.

Mrs. Sikule worked for the vacuum oil company, Socony, now known as Mobil, for about 10 years as a secretary in Manhattan.

“She loved it,” said her daughter. “She enjoyed talking — there was a bunch of girls she would hang out with.”

Mrs. Sikule worked for Socony until 1953, when she met and married her late husband, Michael Sikule. His sister had a home in the Catskills on Yankee Lake, in Mamakating in Sullivan County. Mrs. Sikule’s brother also had a home there.

“It was a chance meeting that turned into a romance,” said their daughter. The couple married within a year.

A former Brooklynite himself, Mr. Sikule had recently moved to Medusa with his mother and had purchased a home with the intention of running it as a boarding house, which it was for a few years before Mrs. Sikule moved in and the young couple decided to start a family.

Mrs. Sikule was not initially well-adjusted to her new home. Her family wrote that she always said, “You can take the girl out of the city, but you cannot take the city out of the girl.”

After being used to walking everywhere in the city, for example, Mrs. Sikule now had to learn to drive just to go from place to place; however, she eventually came to love driving.

“She was not happy originally … ,” said her daughter. “But she grew to love the country and was proud of her village.”

Mr. Sikule worked as a steamfitter in Albany, and Mrs. Sikule worked for an insurance company in Greenville before she became a full-time homemaker. The couple had a small farm at their home, where they kept chickens, goats, pigs, and sheep, as well as a vegetable and flower garden. Both Mr. and Mrs. Sikule’s care for the animals led to their daughter becoming a veterinarian.

Mrs. Sikule was a loving mother, making sure her four children did their homework and cooking breakfast in the morning.

“She was a good cook; she loved to cook,” said her daughter.

Mrs. Sikule would often hold family meetings to divy up the chores.

“She was a strong presence in our lives,” said her daughter.

The family also took a few trips, with Mrs. Sikule singing in the car with her children. They traveled to California in a twin camper, and came across the same families multiple times on the road trip.

“She would say, ‘The world is so small,’” recalled her daughter.

When her children were young, Mrs. Sikule started writing a column for the Greenville Local, summing up the happenings in Medusa for a number of years. She wrote her column on a typewriter and dropped off her copy in Greenville. Mrs. Sikule often added depth to her writing on local events, said her daughter.

Mrs. Sikule also wrote about her bird sightings. An avid birdwatcher, Mrs. Sikule would wait at one of her many feeders or a nearby pond to see these birds. Later in life, she would spy bald eagles, and would feed chickadees from her hand.

Mr. Sikule served as judge in Rensselaerville for a number of years, and his wife assisted with his campaigns before deciding that she should also run for office. She ran for town assessor and served for at least a decade, said her daughter.

“She absolutely loved that,” she said. Mrs. Sikule enjoyed traveling and meeting new people, said her daughter. “Being able to influence, even on a small level, a part of the neighborhood,” she added.

Mrs. Sikule also became a census taker in 1980 and 1990 for the federal government.

“She would tell stories about that, too … Sometimes they were off the beaten path,” said her daughter, of the places she visited, collecting census data.

Mr. Sikule was a member of the Medusa Volunteer Fire Company, and in turn Mrs. Sikule became a member of the Ladies’ Auxiliary, becoming a dedicated volunteer. Even in her 80s she baked two to four pies for the fire company’s annual turkey dinner, said her daughter. She also volunteered for the Cub Scouts, Meals on Wheels, Rensselaerville Senior Citizens, Helping Hands, and the Greenville Catholic Church.

“It came back to that caretaking, helping,” said her daughter. “She felt better when she was helping someone.”

Mrs. Sikule was also very involved in caring for elderly residents, even as she reached old age herself. She would drive once a week to the Catskill Nursing Home to visit and comfort patients.

“She was in her 80s and visiting people that were in their early 70s,” said her daughter.

She also co-founded the Ernest E. Bell Award, named for the long-time Rensselaerville resident who owned the town’s general store. The award — funded by the fire company — is granted to students, usually in special education, who are chosen by their teachers, said her daughter.

Mrs. Sikule also worked with the Greenville Chamber of Commerce, and agreed to host hot-air balloon operators in her home years ago, when Greenville hosted its hot air-balloon festival. Mrs. Sikule once rode in a hot air balloon, said her daughter, although she insisted it be tethered to the ground.

Mrs. Sikule also kept busy socially. She and a group of five friends created the “Birthday Belles,” deciding two decades ago to celebrate each others’ birthdays. They would go out to eat and then return to one of the Belles’ homes to have homemade birthday cake.

She also enjoyed spending time with her family, especially by playing games with them. Her favorites included, pinochle, Monopoly, card games, and Yahtzee. On Thanksgiving, the day she died, her family played Yahtzee in her memory, and it was filled with both tears and laughter, said her daughter.

Mrs. Sikule was not only kind and generous, but also independent and strong-willed.

“She had a tremendous appreciation for her family, friends, and loved ones, and will be greatly missed by all,” writes her family.

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Mrs. Sikule is survived by her children, Carolyn Sikule; Michael Sikule and his wife, Maureen Sikule; Susan Sikule; and Kathryn Sikule; her grandchildren, Kimberly Sikule; Robert Sikule and his wife, Colleen Sikule; Christine Sikule; and David Sikule; her sister-in-law, Peggy Walters; and many nieces and nephews.

Her husband, Michael Sikule, died before her; as did her parents, Charles Walters and Catherine (née Judge) Walters; as well as her siblings, Charles Walters; Catherine Hudlow; John Walters; Francis Walters; and Robert Walters.

Calling hours will be on Sunday, Dec. 3 from 3 to 5 p.m. at the A.J. Cunningham Funeral Home, 4898 Route 81, Greenville. Funeral services will be Monday, Dec. 4, at 10 a.m. from the funeral home, thence to St. John’s Church, in Greenville. Her Funeral Mass will be celebrated at the church at 11 a.m. Interment will be at the Medusa Cemetery. Condolences may be posted at ajcunninghamfh.com.

Mrs. Sikule’s family expressed gratitude to the staff of The Community Hospice, especially Dr. Sharma and nurse Alice Baker, “for the kindness, care, and support shown to our mother,” they wrote.

Memorial contributions may be made to Medusa Volunteer Fire Company, 28 Route 351, Medusa, NY 12120; or to The Community Hospice Foundation, St. Peter’s Hospital Foundation, 310 South Manning Boulevard, Albany, NY 12208.

— H. Rose Schneider

 

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