Joan M. Bink

ALTAMONT — A loving and colorful woman, Joan M. Bink adored her nieces and nephews, and her dog. She would help her family, even when she herself was suffering, they said.

Mrs. Bink, who was 63, died on Friday, Sept. 11, 2009 in Indiana where she had lived with her niece Theresa Furber and Theresa’s husband, Jim. “She loved Theresa like a daughter, and we are grateful that she was able to spend her last year living with them,” said her niece, Holly Busch of Knox.

“None of us could or can imagine not having her around,” said her sister-in-law, Marguerite Heath, also of Knox. ”Even when life seemed too hard for any of us, she would come through somehow.”

Mrs. Bink helped care for her elderly mother-in-law, Harriet Flower, who suffered from Alzhheimer’s disease. ”It was a very tough struggle,” said Mrs. Heath, Mrs. Flower’s daughter. “Even though her own husband was very sick, she was never too busy to help. We would not have made it through that without all of her support…She was going through kidney dialysis herself and she was apologizing to us for not being here to help.”

Mrs. Bink met her late husband, Willard Bink, at a New Year’s Eve party; they were married on Feb. 20 of the same year. Their marriage lasted 37 years, until his death.

“We always said that there couldn’t have been a more perfect match for them,” said Mrs. Busch. ”They would bicker almost every day about something and turn and say, ‘I love you’ and smile…We couldn’t imagine them with anyone else but each other. She called him ‘William’ every day; his name was Willard. He didn’t mind if she got things mixed up now and then as long as she was there with him. She was the love of his life!”

In addition to her family, Mrs. Bink loved her dog, Gizmo. ”Gizzy died a some years back, but she never forgot him,” said Mrs. Heath. “So every holiday we would get her something that looked like a brown dachshund to resemble and remember Gizzy. They never could have children, so Gizzy was their ‘son.’

“Because she didn’t have children, she was especially proud of all of her nieces and nephews: Theresa, Jim, and Pidi Furber; John and Mary Petteys; Holly, Digger, Jenny and Devin Busch; Ricky, Michele, Kirstin, Dakota and Ava Shoemaker; Bobby, Vicki, Jessie, and Cassie Flower; Allen Heath and his girlfriend, Michelle, and her kids Haylee and Damon Simmons; Joann, Mike, Sarah and Michael Flower; and Jeff and Jacob Flower.

“There were many of us and we always knew that Aunt Joan loved us,” said Mrs. Heath. ”She was the life of all of our birthday parties, whether she was yelling at us like kids do with each other, swinging on swings, hitting piñatas, or anything else, we knew it would be fun if she was there.”

“She loved talking to anyone — friends or strangers — about anything,” said her niece, Mrs. Busch.

 Mrs. Bink worked as a tax examiner for New York State and held various other jobs, including cleaning condos when she lived near her sister, Joyce Scherer, and her husband, John, in Florida. 

Mrs. Bink loved jewelry. “It didn’t matter what occasion it was or what time of day, you would find her covered with jewelry,” said Mrs. Busch. “She loved necklaces, earrings, and bracelets. Once, when she had to go into the hospital for a procedure, it took my daughter, Jenny, over an hour to get all of her jewelry off of her. Jenny and she shared the love of jewelry. It would be funny to see this 63-year-old woman and this little 9-year-old girl all covered with so much of it. But somehow they pulled it off and it always looked good. It might be something with beads or something flashing at Christmastime. You just never knew!”

Mrs. Bink lived at Altamont Oaks until her husband died. “She had many friends and loved talking to people,” said her niece. “She would take the senior bus every Thursday, even if she didn’t need anything, just so she could talk to the people on the bus.

“She loved garage sales — having them and going to them,” said Mrs. Busch. “Also dollar stores. She would yell across the store, ‘How much is this? Is it a dollar?’ At first, she embarrassed us, but then it became a joke and, in a funny way, we actually looked forward to going there with her and waiting to hear her yell to us.”

Mrs. Bink also loved bingo. ”She would swear each time that she was never going again because she never won,” said Mrs. Busch, “then the very next night she would call to see when they would go again.”

“It didn’t matter if she was living in Gallupville, Florida, Altamont, or Indiana, she would never forget any of us,” said Mrs. Heath of Mrs. Bink’s family members. ”We would always get a card from her with $5 or $10 dollars in it. The money was nice, but I think the one thing we would all agree on that we really loved was the message inside. It was always the same so I think it will be fitting to have our last message to her from all of us be those famous four words to us — love you, miss you! 

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As well as the relatives named above, Mrs. Bink is survived by her sister-in-law, Marguerite Heath and her husband, Bud, of Knox; her brother-in-law, Bob Flower, and his wife, Sandy, of Knox; aunts, cousins and other family members and friends from all over the country. 

Services were private in Florida.

Memorial contributions may be made to any hospice.

— Melissa Hale-Spencer

 

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Marjorie R. Hartwig

GUILDERLAND – Marjorie R. Hartwig, a mother and grandmother, died on Saturday, Sept. 12, 2009 surrounded by her family. She was 83.

She was born in Buffalo, N.Y. on June 30, 1926 to the late Reginald and Ruth Nichols.

She is survived by a son, Roger Hartwig, and his wife Margaret; a daughter, Barbara Horan, and her husband Timothy; five grandchildren, J.P., Tim, Erin, Emily, and Liam.

Her husband of 46 years, Karl Hartwig, died before her as did her brother, Donald Nichols.

A funeral service will be held at 7 p.m. today, Sept. 17, 2009 in the Helderberg Reformed Church in Guilderland Center. Friends may call prior to the service from 6 p.m. to 7 p.m. at the church. A private interment will be held in Clarence Center, N.Y. at the convenience of the family. Arrangements are by the Fredendall Funeral Home in Altamont.

Memorial contributions may be made to the Helderberg Reformed Church, 435 Main St., Guilderland Center, NY 12085.

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Ann Mary Roberts

VOORHEESVILLE — Ann Mary Roberts, a passionate musician and artist, died in her Voorheesville home on Saturday, Sept. 12. She was 59.

“Ann was a creative, independent, and loving person,” her family wrote in a tribute. Early in her life she embraced music as her passion, and completed her classical piano training at The Academy of the Holy Names and The College of Saint Rose, achieving bachelor’s and master’s degrees in music. Ann had many students over the years, mostly children, and took great joy in them and their enthusiasm.” 

For many years, she was music director of Unity Church, a non-denominational church in Albany. “Her friends there were inspired by her meditative and lively piano accompaniment to services,” her family wrote. “Ann was of her time and in the ‘60s was a member of a local rock band, and proud to have attended Woodstock.”

She also earned an associate’s degree in business administration at the Junior College of Albany and worked both as a bookkeeper and real estate agent, all the while teaching her piano students, playing occasionally at events, and always sharing her talent with her family.

“Ann’s creative spirit gravitated to art, and her visits to the art galleries in Wellfleet, Cape Cod stimulated her appreciation for and drive to be an artist herself.” her family wrote. “Some of her happiest times were as an art student at The Sage College, where her life experiences fed her ability to express herself in painting. She attained a bachelor’s of fine arts in 2006, and was most proud of her “Bird Woman” series of paintings which hung in the Opalka Gallery for the class show. Ann’s teachers all recognized her talent.”

She is survived by her mother, Ann M. Roberts, of Voorheesville; her father, Philip E. Roberts, died in 1972.

She is also survived by her sisters Lisa Roberts and her husband, Tom Francesconi of Saratoga Springs and Sheila diPalma of Denville, NJ; her brothers Owen and his wife, Laurel, of Guilderland, Philip of Voorheesville, and Hugh, and his wife Christine of Albany; nephews Trevor, Alek, and Bronic, John and Jason, and Philip. Her nephew Hugh, with whom she shared her birthday died before her.

Her nieces include Corinne, Lisa Ann, Jackie, Amy, and Elizabeth.

“Ann found great joy in her daughter Ann Marie Roberts (Tim Koubek) and her two grandsons Cameron and Colin.” her family wrote.

“Ann had many friends who loved her for her kindness, especially Alexx Bradley, who cared for Ann along with family members at her home until her passing. Ann’s best friends were Quigley, Sadie and Shamrock, her dogs, and Hootie, Miss Kitty and Sweetie Man, her cats, to whom she was loyal and who were loyal to her.”

Memorial contributions may be made to the Mohawk-Hudson ASPCA.

Funeral services were Tuesday, Sept. 15, at New Comer Cannon Funeral Home, in Colonie then to St. Matthew’s Church in Voorheesville where a Mass of Christian Burial was celebrated. Interment was in St. Agnes Cemetery in Menands. To leave message for the family online, visit www.newcomeralbany.com.