Archive » August 2015 » Obituaries

Barbara Jane Messer Hale

KEENE — Barbara Jane Messer Hale — born in the roaring Twenties, raised in the Great Depression, matured in World War II, and contributed to the post-war Baby Boom — died on Thursday, Aug. 27, 2015, at 90.

Jean Elizabeth Rocker

BERNE — Jean Elizabeth Rocker, a former Berne resident, died on Wednesday, June 3, 2015, in St. Petersberg Florida. She was 64.

Ms. Rocker was born on Dec. 19, 1951, to Betty P. Rocker and the late Frank C. Rocker.

Arthur M. Johnsen III

RENSSELAERVILLE — Arthur M. Johnsen III, a wildlife biologist, died on Friday, Aug. 21, 2015, at Licking Memorial Hospital in Ohio. He was 69.

Mr. Johnsen was born on Sept. 3, 1945, in Newton, New Jersey, to Arthur M. Johnsen and the late Janice (née Larson) Johnsen.

Barbara Joan Martin

Barbara Joan Martin, a longtime tax collector in Knox, was a hardworking woman, devoted to her family.

She died peacefully on Friday, July 31, 2015, in Lakeland, Florida where she and her husband had moved to enjoy their retirement. She was 75.

Jean Marie Adam Forti

KNOX— Jean Marie Adam Forti never stopped giving.

As a young woman, she worked with troubled children at St. Catherine’s, and then with Senior Services of Albany. After her wedding, as she and her husband, Tony, raised their three children in Knox, she was a pillar of the community.

Robert Francis Delaney

KNOX — Robert Francis Delaney worked in construction but built with more than boards and bricks; he built with trust and care as he led both Boy Scouts and volunteer firefighters.

Mary Claire Bolton Liszanckie

EAST BERNE — Mary Claire Bolton Liszanckie, a nurse and a mother of six, grandmother of 13, and great-grandmother of 17, died on Monday, Aug. 17, 2015. She was 90.

She “went home to be with the Lord,” her family wrote in a tribute. “She was ‘Mom’ and ‘Mrs. L’ to many over the years,” they also wrote. 

Fred C. Wukits

BERNE — Fred C. Wukits, a veteran who worked as a manufacturing engineer, was a deeply religious man who enjoyed flying and woodworking.

Formerly of Berne, he died peacefully in his home in Grand Forks, North Dakota, on Saturday, Aug. 8, 2015, after a long illness. He was 83.

Raymond H. Keys

GUILDERLAND — Raymond H. Keys, a fireman and devoted husband, died peacefully on Thursday, Aug. 6, 2015, at the Guilderland Center Nursing Home. He was 88.

Mr. Keys was born in Hebron, the son of the late George and Emma Weaver Keys.

Vernon G. Schanz

BERNE — Vernon G. Schanz Jr., a farmer who loved the outdoors, died peacefully on Wednesday, Aug. 5, 2015, surrounded by his family. He was 91.

Mr. Schanz was born in Berne on July 17, 1924, the son of the late Vernon and Mildred Josephine (née Proper) Schanz.

He graduated from the Berne-Knox-Westerlo schools in 1942.

Dennis C. Smith

WESTERLO — Dennis C. Smith, a husband and father who loved to travel and also a long-time New York University faculty member and criminal justice scholar credited with reducing crime in New York City, died on Monday, July 27, in Manhattan. He was 69.

Brandy Lynn Riley

WESTERLO — Brandy Lynn Riley, a woman who unearthed buried treasures and mined happiness from rocky ground, died on Friday, Aug. 7, 2015. She was 31.

“God gained one angel,” her family wrote in a tribute.

Michael E. Smith

EAST BERNE — Michael E. Smith, who was happiest at Warners Lake, died peacefully at Memorial Hospital on Thursday, Aug. 6, 2015, after a long illness. He was 62.

He was born on Nov. 28, 1952 to Norman C. and the late Mary Geier Smith, in Albany. A graduate of Christian Brothers Academy, he attended The College of Saint Rose.

Roberta Overbaugh Northrup

ALTAMONT — Roberta Overbaugh Northrup, who was once an integral part of the Altamont Fair and a passionate country music singer, died on Saturday, Aug. 1, 2015, at her home in Converse, Texas.

Mrs. Northrup, known as “Bobbi,” lived in Berne and Altamont for most of her life.

Audrey F. Bentz

by Anne Hayden Harwood

WESTMERE — Audrey F. Bentz, a woman who “never met a stranger,” according to her family, died  peacefully on Sunday, July 26, 2015, with her daughters by her side. She was 89.

Mrs. Bentz was born in Schenectady on April 26, 1926, the daughter of the late Harry and Mabel R. (née Shaver) Fitzpatrick.