Albany County, New York Obituary and Death Notices Collection
(Searches various funeral homes and newspapers in the Albany, Altamont, Berne, Bethlehem, Coeymans, Cohoes, Colonie, Green Island, Guilderland, Knox, New Scotland, Ravena, Rensselaerville, Slingerlands, Voorheesville, and Watervliet areas.)
`Raps' Rapavy, 69, was longtime Linton teacher, basketball coach
GLENVILLE - William "Raps" Rapavy, 69, of Marcia Court, died Sunday at Ellis Hospital in Schenectady after a short illness.
Mr. Rapavy was a lifelong area resident. He attended the former Mont Pleasant High School in Schenectady and Siena College and played basketball at both schools.
After graduating from high school in 1945, he served in the Army as an expert rifleman.
Mr. Rapavy graduated from Siena in 1952 and received a master's degree in elementary education from the State University of New York at Oneonta.
In 1957, he became the junior varsity basketball coach at the former Nott Terrace High School, later Linton High School.
Later, Mr. Rapavy was the varsity coach at Linton. During the 1968-1969 season, he won the Section II Championship and during the 1960s and 1970s, his combined JV and varsity coaching record was 239-95.
In addition, he was a longtime math teacher at Linton.
Mr. Rapavy also coached the former Schaeffer Brewers pro basketball team.
A resident of Glenville for the last 31 years, Mr. Rapavy was a member of the Edison Club in Rexford and the Lambda Delta Sigma fraternity and a former member of the Willows Country Club.
He was a longtime all-star talent scout for Channel 13 Sports and a member of St. Joseph's Roman Catholic Church in Scotia.
Survivors include his wife of 36 years, Judy Madden Rapavy, whom he married June 24, 1961; four sons, William G. Rapavy of New York City, Brian T. Rapavy of Poulsbo, Wash., Barry J. Rapavy of Rockville, Md., and Brent D. Rapavy of Columbus, Ohio; a sister, Mildred Macek of Newburgh; and three grandchildren.
Services will be at 8:15 a.m. Wednesday at Glenville Funeral Home, 9 Glenridge Road, followed by a Mass of Christian burial at 9 at St. Joseph's Church.
Burial will be in Sts. Cyril and Method Cemetery, Rotterdam.
Calling hours will be 4 to 8 p.m. Tuesday at the funeral home.
Memorial contributions may be made to Concern for the Hungry, P.O. Box 119, Schenectady 12301.
[Published 23-Jun-1997]
Adeline D. Barszcz
AMSTERDAM - Adeline D. Barszcz, 92, formerly of Milton Avenue died Sunday at Montgomery Meadows.
Mrs. Barszcz was born in Poland and came to the Amsterdam area as a young girl.
She was employed by the former Mohawk Carpet Mills.
She was a member of St. John's Seniors. Mrs. Barszcz was a member of The Church of St. John The Baptist and its Rosary Society.
She was married to the late Alexander Barszcz, who died in September 1963.
Survivors include two daughters, Jean Trzaskos and Lorraine Cosentino, both of Amsterdam; two sisters, Mary Opalka and Ann Moskal, both of Amsterdam, five grandchildren and eight great grandchildren.
Calling hours will be Tuesday from 5 until 8 p.m. at the Amsterdam Funeral Chapel, 13 Belmont Place.
A funeral service will be held at 8:30 a.m. Wednesday at the Funeral Chapel followed at 9 a.m. by a Mass of Christian Burial at the Church of St. John The Baptist.
Interment will be in St. John's Cemetery.
Memorial contributions may be made to The Church of St. John The Baptist.
[Published 23-Jun-1997]
Audrey Bishop
SCOTIA - Mrs. Audrey Peters Bishop, 56, of Fifth Street, formerly of Amsterdam, died Saturday at St. Clare's Hospital in Schenectady after a short illness.
Born in Amsterdam, Mrs. Bishop was a lifelong resident of this area.
Survivors include her husband, Thomas L. Bishop, whom she married in December 1983; two daughters, Colleen Curtacci of Holland Patent and Karen Sroka of Clarks Mills; a brother, Charles Peters of Amsterdam; and five grandchildren.
A service is set for 10 a.m. Wednesday at Betz Funeral Home, 171 Guy Park Ave., Amsterdam. Burial will be in Fairview Cemetery, Amsterdam.
Calling hours will be 6 to 8 p.m. Tuesday at the funeral home.
Memorial contributions may be made to the Montgomery County SPCA in care of the funeral home.
[Published 23-Jun-1997]
Charles Dumas, newspaperman, press secretary to Rockefeller
ALBANY - Charles W. Dumas, 68, of Albany, died Friday at home after a long illness.
Born and educated in Providence, Mr. Dumas moved to this area in 1953 and began a 37-year career as a reporter and press aide to government officials.
As a reporter and bureau chief for the Associated Press, Mr. Dumas received the Legislative Correspondents Alumni Association Award for excellence in reporting three times.
He was Albany bureau chief for the New York Daily News.
Mr. Dumas served as press secretary to Lt. Gov. Malcolm Wilson and was acting press secretary to Gov. Nelson A. Rockefeller in the early 1960s.
In 1971, he was named director of communications for the New York state Senate and served as a top aide to former senate majority leader Warren M. Anderson for 16 years. Later, he worked in the same capacity for Sen. John Marchi.
Mr. Dumas retired in 1990.
An Army veteran, he served as a battlefield correspondent for the Seventh Infantry Division during the Korean War, for which he was awarded a Bronze Star. Mr. Dumas attained the rank of captain.
Survivors include his wife, Veronica Gabrielli Dumas; a daughter, Gabrielle L. Dumas of Albany; a son, Charles B. Dumas of Colonie; three sisters, Violet Reichert, Margaret Andresen and Dorothy Dumas, all of New England; a brother, Douglas Dumas of New England; and three grandchildren.
A service will be at 8 tonight at the Frederick Funeral Home, 16 Manning Square. Burial will be private.
Calling hours will be from 4 this afternoon to 8 tonight at the funeral home.
Memorial contributions may be made to Community Hospice of Albany, 315 S. Manning Blvd., Albany 12208.
[Published 23-Jun-1997]
Don D. Brehm
NORTH BLENHEIM - Don D. Brehm, 68, of North Blenheim, died Saturday at St. Clare's Hospital in Schenectady after a brief illness.
Mr. Brehm was born in Rockford, Ohio, and lived most of his life on the family farm in Guilderland. He was a resident of North Blenheim since 1986.
Mr. Brehm was a graduate of the former Draper High School in Schenectady.
He was employed by the New York Telephone Co. for 23 years before retiring as an engineer.
Mr. Brehm was a member of the Noah Masons Lodge in Altamont and a charter member of the Rotterdam Elks Lodge.
He served in the Army during World War II.
Survivors include his wife, Vida Worthington Brehm; three daughters, Carol Brehm Snell of Caroga Lake, Mary Lou Brehm Jepson of Rochester and Chris Brehm Ioriatti of Union, Ill.; a brother, Richard Brehm of Guilderland; a sister, Beverly White of Rotterdam; and three grandchildren.
A memorial service will be held at 2 p.m. Saturday at Altamont Reformed Church, 129 Lincoln Ave., Altamont.
Memorial contributions may be made to the Foundation Fighting Blindness, P.O. Box 17279, Baltimore, Md. 21297.
Arrangements are by the Fredendall Funeral Home, 199 Main St., Altamont.
[Published 23-Jun-1997]
Dorothy Forstell
PANAMA CITY BEACH, Fla. - Mrs. Dorothy Elizabeth Forstell, 79, of 128 Bid A Wee Lane, Panama City Beach, died Saturday at a local nursing home.
Mrs. Forstell moved to Bay County, Fla., from Schenectady four years ago.
She was a clerk at the former Carl Co. in Schenectady until retiring.
Mrs. Forstell was a member of St. Bernadette Catholic Church.
Survivors include three sons, Wallace R. Forstell of New York City, Richard G. Forstell of Panama City Beach and Ronald E. Forstell of Schoharie; two sisters, Frances Bourke of Brooklyn and Carolyn Wherry of Whiting, N.J.; six grandchildren; and six great-grandchildren.
A service will be at 10 a.m. Tuesday at Kent-Forest Lawn Funeral Home chapel, 2403 Harrison Ave., Panama City. Entombment will follow in Garden of Memories Cemetery.
A calling hour will precede the service at the funeral home.
[Published 23-Jun-1997]
Eric A. Carhidi
ROTTERDAM - Eric A. Carhidi, 24, of Arbor Avenue, died Saturday at Ellis Hospital in Schenectady after being stricken at home.
Born in Niskayuna, Mr. Carhidi was a lifelong Capital Region resident. He was a 1992 graduate of Mohonasen High School and played on its bowling league.
He attended Schenectady County Community College, where he was working toward an electrical-technical degree.
Mr. Carhidi was a member of the Youth Bowling League at Rolling Greens Bowling Lanes.
He had been employed by Burger King in Menands for the last nine years and also worked in the summer program for the Rotterdam Parks and Recreation Department.
He was a communicant of Our Lady of the Assumption Church.
Survivors include his parents, Michael and Frances Carhidi of Rotterdam; a sister, Joan Marie Carhidi of Rotterdam; and his maternal grandparents, Frank and Ollie Mauro Scialla of Rotterdam.
Services will be held at 8 a.m. Wednesday at the N. Rossi & Sons Funeral Home, Union and North Jay streets, Schenectady, and at 9 at Our Lady of the Assumption Church, where the Liturgy of the Word will be celebrated.
Burial will be in St. Anthony's Cemetery, Glenville.
Calling hours will be 6 to 8 p.m. Tuesday at the funeral home.
[Published 23-Jun-1997]
Evelyn R. Perry
JOHNSTOWN - Mrs. Evelyn R. Perry, 81, of Maple Knolls, formerly of Waterford, died at home Saturday.
Born and educated in Lansingburgh, Mrs. Perry was a graduate of the former Allen School of Commerce in Troy.
During World War II, she was employed as a private secretary at the former Cluett & Peabody Co. in Troy.
Before that, she worked at Behr-Manning Co., now the Norton Co., in Watervliet.
Mrs. Perry was a communicant of St. John's Episcopal Church in Johnstown and Grace Church in Waterford, where she was a member of the Women of Grace Church.
She was the widow of Kenneth C. Perry.
Survivors include a daughter, Linda J. Tatro of Gloversville; and a granddaughter.
A service is set for 11 a.m. Tuesday at Grace Episcopal Church. Burial will be in Waterford Rural Cemetery. There will be no calling hours.
Memorial contributions may be made to Mountain Valley Hospice in care of the Philip J. Brendese Funeral Home, 133 Broad St., Waterford, 12188.
[Published 23-Jun-1997]
Howard R. Smith
MALTA - Howard R. Smith, 74, of Longkill Road, died Sunday at the Samuel Stratton Veterans Affairs Medical Center in Albany.
Mr. Smith was born in Troy and educated in the Troy school system, graduating from Lansingburgh High School.
He was employed as chief clerk for the Delaware & Hudson Railroad in Albany for 37 years until his retirement in 1979.
Mr. Smith was a member of Elks Lodge 2466 in Clifton Park, the Shenendehowa Senior Citizens Center and the transportation and communications union.
He was a communicant of St. Michael's Church in Cohoes and Corpus Christi Church in Ushers.
Mr. Smith served in the Army during World War II.
He was married to Anne Burns Smith until her death.
Survivors include his wife, Barbara Kosek Smith; two daughters, Carole Vozzy and Coleen Gray, both of Troy; a son, Howard S. Smith of Malta; four grandchildren; and three great-grandchildren.
Calling hours will be 3 to 5 and 7 to 9 p.m. Tuesday at the Fitzgerald Funeral Home, 105 Vliet Blvd., Cohoes.
Services will be held at 9 a.m. Wednesday at the funeral home and at 9:30 at St. Michael's Church, where a Mass of Christian burial will be celebrated. Burial will be in St. Michael's Cemetery, Waterford.
Memorial contributions may be made to the American Diabetes Association of the Capital District, 50 Colvin Ave., Albany, N.Y. 12206, or in care of the funeral home.
[Published 23-Jun-1997]
Jean P. Cerrone
GREENWICH - Mrs. Jean P. Cerrone, 70, of Woodlawn Avenue, died at home Saturday after a long illness.
Mrs. Cerrone was born and raised in Albany. She lived on Saratoga Lake for 20 years before moving to Greenwich last year.
She was employed on the housekeeping staffs of the Holiday Inn-Turf and the Howard Johnson Motel in Colonie and the Tom Sawyer Motor Lodge in Guilderland for several years.
Her husband, Darold D. Cerrone, died in 1969.
Survivors include a son, Ralph Cerrone of Greenwich; three brothers, Howard "Sonny" Scheidel of Castleton, Victory "Mickey" Scheidel of Duanesburg and Alexander Aurelio of Saratoga Lake; and three grandchildren.
Calling hours will be 2 to 4 and 7 to 9 p.m. Tuesday at the DeVito-Salvadore Funeral Home, 39 S. Main St., Mechanicville.
A Mass of Christian burial will be celebrated at 9:30 a.m. Wednesday at Assumption-St. Paul Church, Mechanicville. Burial will be in Our Lady of Angels Cemetery, Colonie.
Memorial contributions may be made to Hospice of Washington County.
[Published 23-Jun-1997]
