U.S., Obituary Collection, 1930-CurrentBAX - Mary L. 3/2/00
NIAGARA FALLS - Mary L. Bax, widow of a former city councilman, Anthony L. Bax, died Tuesday (Feb. 29, 2000) in St. Mary's Nursing Home. She was 86.
Born Mary Youril in Niagara Falls, she attended local schools.
Mrs. Bax was a former member of the Sacred Heart Church choir, the Sertoma Club and the Century Club. She enjoyed playing bingo.
Her husband died in 1986.
Mrs. Bax is survived by two sons, Guy and Leo; a daughter, Leona Schaller of Honolulu; and four grandchildren.
Funeral services are private. Burial will be in Gate of Heaven Cemetery, Lewiston.
BELLOMO - Andrew 3/2/00
Andrew Bellomo, 76, of Snyder, a retired insurance company representative, died Tuesday (Feb. 29, 2000) in the Mitchell Campus of Hospice Buffalo, Cheektowaga, after a short illness.
Born in Buffalo, he attended Burgard Vocational High School and New York University. A disabled, decorated Army veteran of World War II, he was a prisoner of war in Germany.
He worked for Allstate Insurance Co. for 20 years as a claims representative before he retired in 1980.
Survivors include his wife of 53 years, the former Josephine Ternullo; and two brothers, Frank of Leesburg, Fla., and Elia of Depew.
A Mass of Christian Burial will be offered at 9 a.m. Friday in St. Lawrence Catholic Church, 1520 E. Delavan Ave. Burial will be in Hillcrest Cemetery, Town of Hamburg.
CIRAOLO - Diega 3/2/00
NIAGARA FALLS - Diega "Daisey" Ciraolo, 95, a homemaker known for her Italian cookies, died Wednesday (March 1, 2000) in St. Mary's Manor Nursing Home after a lengthy illness.
The former Diega Vitallo was born in Grotte, Agrigento, Sicily, and emigrated to Niagara Falls in 1929.
An accomplished baker, she enjoyed crocheting, sewing and knitting.
She was a member of St. Joseph's Catholic Church, the Madonna Del Perpetuo Soccorso Society, and the Anime Sante Del Purgatorio Society.
Her husband, Philip, died in 1980.
Survivors include three sons, Vincent of Amherst, and Angelo and Pasquale; three daughters, Josephine Capoccetta of West Palm Beach, Fla., AnnaMaria Mallamaci of Marrietta, Ohio, and Pauline Iacovitti; a sister, Francesca Infantino of Sicily; 24 grandchildren; and 31 great-grandchildren.
A Mass of Christian Burial will be offered at 9:30 a.m. Saturday in St. Joseph Church, 1413 Pine Ave., following prayers at 9 in the M.J. Colucci & Son Funeral Chapel, 468 19th St. Burial will be in St. Joseph Cemetery.
KMIECIK - Dr. Tadeusz, retired psychiatrist 3/2/00
Dr. Tadeusz Kmiecik, 79, of
Severna Park, Md., a retired Buffalo psychiatrist, died Monday (Feb. 28, 2000) in Future Care Nursing Home, Annapolis, Md., after a lengthy illness.
Born in Poland, he left that country at age 20 and studied medicine at the University of Bologna, Italy. During World War II, he was a member of the Polish Corps of the British army and saw service in the Middle East and Italy.
He came to Buffalo in the early 1950s and served as a psychiatrist at the Buffalo Psychiatric Center and Buffalo Veterans Hospital. A former Eggertsville resident, he moved to Severna Park seven years ago.
He and the former Marie Tunney were married in 1953. She died in 1980.
Surviving are a son, Michael of Chatham, N.J.; a daughter, Katherine Nutile of Severna Park; and three grandchildren.
A Mass of Christian Burial will be offered at 10:30 a.m. Friday in St. Benedict's Catholic Church, 1317 Eggert Road, Eggertsville, following prayers at 10 in Dengler Funeral Home, 2070 Eggert Road, Eggertsville. Burial will be in Forest Lawn.
MILLEVILLE - Ruth E. 3/2/00
WHEATFIELD - Ruth E. Milleville, 97, who enjoyed flower gardening, crocheting and refinishing furniture, died Wednesday (March 1, 2000) in the Crestwood Health Care Center after a brief illness.
The former Ruth Goerss was born in Wheatfield. She had been a resident of the health center since 1996.
She worked at Carborundum Co. in Niagara Falls, and for 9&1/2; years in the 1960s she worked at the former Jenss department store in Niagara Falls.
She was a member of Grace Lutheran Church, Niagara Falls.
Her husband, Herbert A., died in 1982.
Survivors include a daughter, Joyce Schroeder of Bergholz; a sister, Hilda Wittkop of Amherst; four grandchildren; and six great-grandchildren.
Services will be held at 11 a.m. Friday in the DuBois Funeral Home, 2436 Niagara Road, Bergholz. Burial will be in Wheatfield Cemetery.
MOODY - Jeffrey, 17-year veteran of Buffalo police dies at 43 3/2/00
It was 6:45 a.m., the start of the day, time for the day-crew street cops to unwind, grab a cup of coffee and relax in the precinct house before hitting the streets.
But not for Officer Jeffrey Moody.
Moody knew it was a crucial time of the day, a chance to grab all the outstanding arrest warrants and serve them before the elusive felons roused themselves out of bed.
"We got our orders for the day, and we hit the street as soon as we could," said his longtime partner, retired Officer Edward Penkalski. "He was so dedicated. The job meant so much to him. He came to work to work. That's what he loved to do."
Moody, 43, a 17-year veteran of the Buffalo police, died Monday (Feb. 28, 2000) in Millard Fillmore Hospital after a brief illness.
Unlike most police officers, Moody lived for years in the same Genesee Station precinct where he worked. He knew the precinct's streets and most of its people - law-abiding and otherwise.
"He wanted to make a difference," said his wife, Danette. "He wanted to clean up the streets and make the community a better place for people to live in."
Moody had a reputation as a savvy, street-smart cop with a passion for taking guns and drugs off the streets.
He and his partner served as a salt-and-pepper team: Penkalski, with his blond ponytail, sprinting from his police car to make an arrest, and Moody, the steadying influence who used his street knowledge to ferret out drug dealers and homicide suspects.
Moody sometimes rankled fellow police officers by demanding that they share his dedication and enthusiasm for the job.
Moody grew up in Buffalo, graduated from the former East High School and served for three years in the U.S. Navy before receiving his honorable discharge in 1983.
He joined the Buffalo Police Department in January 1983. Among their most noteworthy cases, Moody and Penkalski were sent to investigate an icicle heaved through a window on Landon Street and found an unlocked safe containing four ounces of cocaine and $1,600 cash; another time, a trail of dollar bills led them to a vacant house where one of them flushed out a robbery suspect in hiding by directing his partner to unleash a police dog that wasn't really there.
Moody and Penkalski made life uncomfortable for drug dealers, especially during a one-month period in 1994 when they logged about 20 drug arrests. Moody and Penkalski remained partners until a knee injury forced Penkalski to retire with a disability in June.
Surviving are his wife, the former Danette Holloway; six children; his parents, Lester and Dolores; four brothers; and one sister.
Services will be held at 11 a.m. Saturday in Calvary Baptist Church on Genesee Street. Burial will be in Forest Lawn.
Flags at all Buffalo police stations will fly at half-staff in Moody's memory until sunset Saturday.
RUMLEY JR. - George A., WWII rescuer 3/2/00
A Mass of Christian Burial for George A. Rumley Jr., 74, of North Tonawanda, a Navy veteran who helped rescue 22 men from an island occupied by the Japanese during World War II, will be offered at 10:30 a.m. today in St. Albert the Great Catholic Church, 800 Niagara Falls Blvd., North Tonawanda. Entombment will be in Mount Olivet Cemetery, Town of Tonawanda.
Rumley, who was born in Buffalo, died Monday (Feb. 28, 2000) in Kenmore Mercy Hospital after a long illness.
He was a graduate of Burgard Vocational High School and attended the University of Buffalo.
Rumley served in the Navy aboard a destroyer during World War II. He and other members of the destroyer's crew went ashore on a Japanese-held island to rescue the 22 men. Their aircraft had been shot down by the Japanese.
In 1948, Rumley went to work for the Veterans Administration at Veterans Hospital, retiring at age 65. He served for 45 years in the North Tonawanda Police Auxiliary, attaining the rank of captain, and had been in charge of crossing guards for North Tonawanda schools.
His wife, the former Mary Dischner, died in 1987.
Survivors include a daughter, Linda Cichocki of the City of Tonawanda; a son, George A. III of North Tonawanda; a brother, Edwin of the Town of Tonawanda; and two grandsons.
