Obituaries by LocationDorothy P. Bechdel
Dorothy P. Bechdel, 89, of 1054 West Fourth St., died Thursday, April 17, 2003, at home following an extended illness. She marriage
her husband, Harry Alan, Nov. 9, 1961 and he died on Jan. 15, 1978.
Dorothy was a self-employed babysitter, a member of “Green Thumb,” Calvary United Methodist Church and attended various local churches.
Born Dec. 6, 1913, in Pittsburgh, she was a daughter of Helen Grace Christy.
Surviving is a dear friend indeed, J.W. Erb, with whom she lived.
Dorothy was predeceased by a sister, Helen Louise Christy.
A graveside service will be at 10:30 a.m. Tuesday at Wildwood Cemetery, with Rev. Ronald O. Doan officiating. Visitation will be from 6 to 8 p.m. Monday at Knight-Confer’s, 1914 Memorial Ave.
In lieu of flowers, a memorial fund has been established to pay funeral expenses and may be sent to J.W. Erb, 1054 West Fourth St., Williamsport, PA 17701.
Buck Williams
On Friday, April 11, 2003, we lost a much loved man. “Buck Williams” passed away at his residence in Jersey Shore.
“Buck” was employed as a land representative for Gas Pipelines-Transco. He was born in the Nashville, Tenn., area.
He leaves a wife, Lois; two daughters, Lyn and Lisa, and two sisters, Ann and Dov, whom all live in Morristown, Tenn. He was predeceased by a daughter, Beth.
He led a very interesting life prior to his job at Transco. He was a country music writer on “Music Row,” Nashville. He wrote many hit songs for many nationally known stars in the 70s and 80s. He was associated with Elvis Presley, Johnny Cash, Johnny Paycheck, George Jones, Willie Nelson and several more.
He will be sorely missed by many.
Burial was April 14 in Morrisville, Tenn.
Martha E. Williams
Martha E. Williams, 82, of 110 Lincoln Ave., Avis, died early Friday morning, April 18, 2003, in the Manor Care North Health Care Center in Williamsport. Born April 5, 1921, in Youngdale, she was the daughter of Arthur Casher and the former Anna Carlson. She was preceded in death by two husbands, Lee P. Hill and Harold Williams.
She loved flowers and was an avid gardener. She also enjoyed reading and writing poetry. Most of her earlier life, she spent in Snowshoe.
Surviving are three sons, Roger S. Hill of Avis, Barry D. Hill of South Williamsport and Brett P. Hill of Avis; two daughters, Marlene R. Hillyard of Avis and Nina L. Simcox of Jersey Shore; 13 grandchildren; 27 great-grandchildren and one great-great-granddaughter.
Funeral services will be Monday, April 21, at 10 a.m. in the Frederick B. Welker Funeral Home, 125 N. Main St., Jersey Shore. Friends may call from 7 to 9 p.m. Sunday evening and from 10 a.m. until the time of services in the funeral home. Burial will be in the Rest Haven Memorial Park. The Rev. Robert Grimes will officiate.
Barry C. Miller Sr.
Barry C. Miller Sr., 61, of 1925 W. Fourth St., died Wednesday, April 16, 2003, after an extended illness.
Born Jan. 13, 1942, in Spring Mills, he was a son of Donald and Marian Kropp Miller.
Barry was a Naval veteran and a member of VFW Post 844. He was a self-employed auto body repairman and treasurer of Road Knights Motorcyle Club.
Surviving are his wife, the former Lucy Motyka; eight children, Barry Miller Jr., Stephanie Miller and Jonathan Wyant, all of city, Melissa Thomas and Rebekah Miller, both of Fort Collins, Colo., William Motyka, Robert Fiedler and Tara Crossley, all of city; nine grandchildren; and one great-granddaughter; a sister, Kathleen Kurtz and a brother, Richard Miller, both of DuBoistown. He loved his family and close friend Paulette Murray. He devoted his life to his family and very much enjoyed his brothers and sisters of the Road Knights.
Funeral services will be held 10 a.m. Tuesday at Sanders Mortuary, 821 Diamond St., Williamsport, with the Rev. John K. Manno officiating. Friends may call from 9 to 10 a.m. Tuesday at Sanders. The family will provide the flowers.
Walter George McIver
Walter George McIver, 90, of Rochester, New York, died Thursday night, August 17, 2003, at Rochester General Hospital, surrounded by his family.
Mr. McIver was born and raised in Cleveland, Ohio, the fourth of four children of William and Jean McIver. After graduating as student council president of Collinwood High School, he attended Westminster Choir College in Princeton, New Jersey. While there he met and marriage Beulah Newman of Portsmouth, Ohio. They were marriage sixty-three years, until her death in 1999.
After graduating with a Bachelor of Music degree from Westminster, Mr. and Mrs. McIver moved to Harrisburg, Pa. Mr. McIver headed the music program at Market Square Presbyterian Church and founded the Harrisburg Symphony Choir. In 1940 their first child, Ann McKay (Kay) was born.
The family moved to Williamsport, Pa., in 1942, where Mr. McIver directed the music program at Covenant Central Presbyterian Church and later founded the Williamsport Civic Choir. Four years later Mr. McIver began teaching at Lycoming College. He taught there for 30 years, founding the Lycoming College Choir, which is conducted by his successor, Fred Thayer. Mr. McIver led the Lycoming College Choir on two tours of England. He and his wife sang in a State Department-sponsored choir that toured Africa in 1959.
In 1942 William Walter was born to Beulah and Walter, followed by Robert Hugh in 1948. Both sons are professors of voice at the Eastman School of Music in Rochester. Kay is a retired bank officer.
Mr. McIver’s education continued with a Bachelor of Arts in Music from Bucknell University and a Master of Arts in Music from New York University in 1955.
After he retired in 1976, Mr. and Mrs. McIver worked as volunteers in mission for the Presbyterian Church, serving in homes for children in Nashville, Tenn., and Banner Elk, N.C. Eventually they settled in Salisbury, N.C. After Beulah McIver’s death, Mr. McIver marriage Mrs. Lillian Smith in 2001, whom he met in Salisbury. They moved to Rochester and resided in the Chapel Oaks Retirement Community.
Mr. McIver is survived by his widow, Lillian McIver; his three children and their spouses: Ann (Kay) McKay McIver Reilly, William and Dana McIver, and Robert and Karen McIver; his eight grandchildren and four great-grandchildren; sister-in-law Bonnie Newman Thornhill of Seguin, Texas; and brother-in-law Charles Newman of Portsmouth, Ohio.
Memorial services will be held in Clarke Chapel at Lycoming College, Williamsport, at 4 p.m., Sunday April 27. The family will greet friends in the Wertz Student Center from 2:30 to 3:30 p.m. In lieu of flowers, the family has requested that memorial gifts be made to the McIver Recital Series at the Development Office, Lycoming College, 700 College Pl., Williamsport, PA 17701.
Ruth Cohick Grugan
Ruth Cohick Grugan, died Friday, April 18, 2003, at Manor Care South. She was born in Auburn, N.Y., the daughter of Frank Abraham and Hattie Robinson Cohick.
She worked locally for many years as a personal caregiver and was a member of the Church of Christian Science, both in Williamsport and at the Mother Church in Boston.
She is survived by three sons, Thomas J. of Mill Hall, John D. of Broken Bow, Okla., and Rod of Melbourne, Fla.; two brothers, Donald L. and Carl L. Cohick, both of Williamsport; one sister, Dorothy N. Corson of Williamsport; four grandchildren and one great grandchild.
A graveside memorial service will be held at 11 a.m. Saturday, April 26, at State Road Cemetery, Lycoming Township.
Allen and Redmond Funeral Home.
Robert O. Rolley Sr.
Loving husband and devoted father, Robert O. Rolley Sr., 75, of 2708 Dove St., passed away at home Saturday, April 19, 2003, following a courageous year-long battle with cancer.
He leaves his loving wife of 47 years, affectionately known by her family and friends as “Dolly,” the former Catherine Mileto; two daughters, Susan Cortright and her husband, Jim, of Linden, and LuAnn Rolley and her husband, Roger Coleman, of Burlington, Vt.; three sons, Robert O. Jr. and his wife, Pam, of Lock Haven, William J. and his wife, Lori, of Plano, Texas, and Stephen M. of Williamsport; a sister, Betty Meyer, and her husband, Frank, of Lewisburg; a sister-in-law, Rosemarie Rolley of Selinsgrove; four grandchildren, Jessica, Katelyn, Stephanie and Kyle; and his mother-in-law, Mary Mileto.
He was predeceased by a brother, William Rolley, and a sister, Barbara Russell.
Born in Williamsport on Dec. 18, 1927, he was a son of William J. and Estelle Schmoke Rolley.
After graduating from the Williamsport High School, Bob joined the Army, serving as a vehicle squad leader at General Headquarters in Japan immediately after World War II. He later attended the forerunner of Montgomery County Community College and the former Dickinson Seminary, now Lycoming College, and Bliss Electrical School, Washington, D.C.
Besides the most important job of raising five kids in a small but loved-filled home, Bob worked as an electrician at the former Anchor Darling Valve for 34 years. He was a member of and negotiator for the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers. He also worked with Darling Valve’s Field Service Division, servicing valves at nuclear power plants around the world.
Though a quiet man, Bob worked diligently helping to manage his mother-in-law’s business, Mileto’s Sub Shop in Newberry, since its opening some 30 years ago.
He loved to golf and was a former member of White Deer Park and Golf Course and Clinton Country Club. At White Deer, he won Anchor Darling Valve League championships. At Clinton, he won several tournament flight championships.
He also played slow-pitch softball at the former Sweet Steel field on Arch Street in the late 1950s and was an avid bowler in the 1960s.
Bob remains dear to his family and will be forever be an inspiration of love, devotion to family and a strong work ethic.
A funeral mass will be at 10 a.m. Wednesday at Church of Ascension, 2111 Linn St., with the Rev. Charles Cummings officiating. Burial will be in Wildwood Cemetery.
Friends may call at Sanders Funeral Home, 821 Diamond St., from 7 to 9 p.m. Tuesday.
