EAST BERNE — Mary W. Bassler died peacefully on Sunday, Aug. 21, at the family homestead on Warner Lake, the home in which she has lived her entire life since she was 3 years old, and was surrounded by her family. She was 87.

Born to the late Camille (née Gallup) and Chester Warner, she was a 1953 graduate of Berne-Knox-Westerlo School, and valedictorian of her class.

She was employed by Dr. Richard Esmay, who started out in a small office on Warner Lake, then followed him to a larger office in Albany, which was later joined by Dr. Jack Karol.

“Mary loved working for doctors Esmay and Karol,” her family wrote in a tribute. “She knew every patient and had a very strong work ethic. In these 51 years, she managed to raise four children and maintained the family home with her husband, Charlie, of 62 years.

“All during this time, she managed to fill in her time with growing flowers in her garden, sewing clothes for herself and others, teaching swimming lessons, quilting, ceramics, working the church suppers, canning strawberries and vegetables from the garden, and making cookies with her grandchildren.

“All of us can still hear her saying not to go out on the lake without a life jacket.

“Mary was a lifelong member of the St. John’s Lutheran Church in East Berne, and then St. Paul’s in Berne.”

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Mary W. Bassler  is survived by her four children, Greg (Deb) of Moscow, Idaho; Nadine (Pam) of Delmar; Darren (Lisa) of Knox; and Holly (Rich) of Altamont. She is also survived by her grandchildren, Andrew, Dan (Jess), Emma (Nate), Megan (Seth), Kristen (Cody), and Carlie (Nate), and by three great-grandchildren, Ayden, Aubrey, and Gil.

She is survived, too, by her brother, Homer Warner (Sandy); sisters-in-law, Margaret and Wilma Warner; and several nieces and nephews.

Her husband, Charles, died before her, as did her daughter-in-law, Lori L. (née Krouse) Bassler; her brothers, Carl and Robert Warner; and her nephew Chet Warner.

Visiting hours with the family will be Sunday, Aug. 28, at Fredendall Funeral Home in Altamont from 3 to 5 p.m. A private family ceremony will be held at the family homestead.    

 Memorial messages may be left at www.altamontenterprise.com/milestones.

Memorial contributions may be made to St. Paul’s Lutheran Church, 1728 Helderberg Trail, Berne, NY 12023.