Obituaries Archives — The Altamont Enterprise, January 27, 2011

Walter P. Halsdorf

VOORHEESVILLE — Walter Halsdorf, a World War II veteran and a mason, died on Monday, Jan. 24, 2011, at Bay Pines Veterans Affairs Hospital in Bay Pines, Fla. He was 87.

Mr. Halsdorf grew up the youngest of several siblings on his family’s farm on Depot Road, said his son, Bonar Halsdorf. He went to the cobblestone schoolhouse through the 10th grade, then went to work to help support his family.

When World War II broke out, he and his brothers went into the Army, his son said.

“He lost an arm over in Italy,” Mr. Halsdorf said of his father, who was in a battalion that landed in Naples and traveled to the north of Italy. He was in a foxhole when a grenade came in and blew off part of his hand, Mr. Halsdorf found out about his father, and was taken on a ship where he got gangrene.

“In 87 years, I never heard him mention the war,” Mr. Halsdorf said of his father, who had been decorated with, among other things, a Purple Heart.

When he came back from the war, he “worked as a one-armed mason,” Mr. Halsdorf said. “He was pretty remarkable at it.”

His father worked for Floyd Batcher in the early 1950s and learned the trade. In the winter, he’d build houses with his brother.

Mr. Halsdorf had a hook on his arm and, his son said, “He could do the work of two men.” Mr. Halsdorf, also a mason, learned the trade from his father.

Mr. Halsdorf is survived by his sons, Bonar Halsdorf of Altamont, and Steve Halsdorf of Schenectady. He is also survived by eight grandchildren, 14 great-grandchildren, and 10 great-great-grandchildren.

His wife of 56 years, Ethel, died before him as did his daughter, Dorothy.

Funeral arrangements were by the Curlew Hills Funeral Home in Palm Harbor, Fla.

— Saranac Hale Spencer

Mr. Hulick was born on Jan. 10, 1923, to the late Albert and Edna (MacDonald) Hulick.

He was enlisted in the United States Army for three years, and was stationed in Alaska and promoted to the rank of sergeant.

He went on to earn a bachelor’s degree from Hartwick College in 1948, and taught at the Greenville Central School for 15 years. He then when to work for the New York State Thruway Authority, until he retired in 1984.

He was married to the late Sarah Porter for 36 years, from 1967 until her death in 2003. The couple raised four children.

Mr. Hulick was an ordained deacon in the Trinity Episcopal Church in Rensselaerville and the Christ Church of Greenville for 48 years. He received the distinguished Silver Beaver Award for his service to the Boy Scouts, and was a commander of the American Legion Post 291 in Greenville.

He was active and a former president in the Helderberg Senior Center, and was a member of the Masons and the Hiawatha Dormansville Grange. He also donated his time to the Westerlo Food Pantry.

Mr. Hulick is survived by three children, Wayne H. Porter, and his wife, Mariann, of El Paso, Texas; Phyllis F. Townsend, and her husband, Donald, of Berne; and James David Porter, and his wife, Jane, of Voorheesville; his grandchildren, Tammy, Jessie, Kenneth, Travis, Monica, Matthew, April Lynn, and Kassondra; six great-grandchildren, and one great-granddaughter.

He is also survived by his sister, Eunice J. Hulick, of Greenville, and numerous nieces and nephews.

His son, Edward John Porter, died before him, as did his grandson, Joshua Porter, and his brother, Albert W. Hulick Jr.

A funeral service of Christian burial will be held at 11 a.m. on Friday, Jan. 28, at the Trinity Episcopal Church in Rensselaerville. Calling hours are from 4 to 7 p.m. at the Fredendall Funeral Home in Altamont on today, Jan. 27. A spring burial will be held in Woodlawn Cemetery in Berne.

“I think the most important thing to him was his children and his grandchildren,” said his daughter, Joey Lynn Cartwright. “He was lucky enough to retire at 55, so he spent the last 20 years of his life in Guilderland.”

He died on Thursday, Jan. 20, 2011, at his home, surrounded by his loving family. He was 74.

Mr. Kelley was born in Ogdensburg, the son of the late Bernard and Lillian Kelley.

After finishing his education, he proudly served with the United States Marine Corps, wrote his family in a tribute. He worked for Oliver’s Sewing Corporation, and opened several shops in the Capital District for Singer Sewing Company.

“He was a very savvy businessman,” his daughter said.

He also worked for Taft Furniture for over 20 years before his retirement.

He had an “entrepreneurial spirit,” wrote his family, which led him to own and operate the Township Tavern in Berne.

“He loved the Helderbergs,” his daughter said. “He certainly wasn’t a mountain man. We used to refer to the people who went to his bar as the mountain men — the rugged, the tough. That was the total opposite of him,” she said with a laugh.

Mr. Kelley also owned several horses that raced at the Saratoga racetrack.

“He didn’t ride; he just owned as an investor,” said Mrs. Cartwright. “Annie’s Orphan was probably his most successful.”

After he retired, he dedicated his life to his grandchildren, his family wrote in a tribute.

“I have triplets, and that was a big thing in his life,” Mrs. Cartwright said. “He was very proud of his grandchildren. That’s a big part of who he was.”

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Mr. Kelley is survived by his children, Lawrence Bernard Kelley Jr., and his wife, Linda; Jamie Webber, and her husband, Edward; John Kelley, and his wife, Melissa DeSanto; and Joey Lynn Cartwright, and her husband, Bryan; his grandchildren, Alyssa, Lana, Zachary, Andrea, Mary-Lillian, Ava, and his “triplets,” Jack, Mitchell, and Natalie; and his great-granddaughter Layla.

He is also survived by his sisters, Patricia Kelley, Sheila McDermott, and Salley Mackey; his former wife, Florence Gardner; and several nieces and nephews.

His brother, John “Jack” Kelley, died before him.
Calling hours were held at New Comer Cannon Funeral Home, 243 New Karner Road, Colonie on Sunday, Jan. 23, from 2 to 6 p.m. The parish family of Christ the King gathered on Sunday at 5:30 p.m. at the funeral home for a service of prayer and remembrance. All are welcome.

Funeral services will be held on Monday, Jan. 24, at 10:30 a.m., at the funeral home. A mass of Christian burial will be held at Christ the King Church at 11:30 a.m. Interment will follow at the Prospect Hill Cemetery in Guilderland.

To leave a message for the family online, www.visit newcomeralbany.com.

Born in Delmar on Jan. 12, 1922, she was the only child of the late William and Ann (Spoore) Coonley.

Mrs. McIntosh was retired from the New York State Thruway Authority.

She was the wife of the late Willis McIntosh Jr. who died in 2004, and she was the mother of the late Marcia L. Smith.

She is survived by two daughters, Diane M. Sala and her husband, Joseph, of Glenmont, and Kay A. Craft and her husband, James, of Feura Bush; and a son-in-law, Robert Smith, of Voorheesville.

She is also survived by eight grandchildren, Bryan Smith, Todd Smith and his wife, Kelly, Shara Biernacki and her husband, Michael, and Staci DeLorenzo and her husband, Mark, all of Voorheesville, Jill Greaux and her husband, Scott, of Glenmont, Blair Sala of Clarksville, and Kevin and Daryl Craft, both of Feura Bush; and great-grandchildren, Arielle Smith, Eugene and Robert Paquette, Emily and Adam Biernacki, Karly and Brandon DeLorenzo, and Lauren and Logan Greaux.

Relatives and friends are invited to call on Friday, Jan. 28, from 4:30 to 7:30 p.m. at the Applebee Funeral Home at 403 Kenwood Ave. in Delmar. A funeral service will be held at 11 a.m. on Saturday, Jan. 29, at the funeral home. Burial will be in the spring in Onesquethaw Cemetery in Clarksville.

Memorial contributions may be made to the Clarksville Community Church, Post Office Box F, Clarksville, NY 12041.

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