OBITS: Post-Star 29 Sep 2005; Glen Falls, Warren co., New York text-formatted by W. David Samuelsen for The USGenWeb Archives Project *********************************************************************** Copyright. All rights reserved. http://www.usgwarchives.org/copyright.htm http://www.usgwarchives.org/ny/nyfiles.htm *********************************************************************** Source: Post-Star http://www.post-star.com Betts, Dr. Richard H. QUEENSBURY -- Dr. Richard H. Betts, 82, passed away on Monday, Sept. 26, 2005, at Glens Falls Hospital. He was born on July 3, 1923, in LaFargeville N.Y., the son of the late Henry L. and Madgel (Gailey) Betts. Dr. Betts was a veteran of World War II, serving in the United States Army, active from September of 1945 to 1950, receiving the Army of occupation medal and the World War II victory medal. He then served in the United States Air Force Reserves as a lieutenant colonel from 1950 until retiring in July of 1983. He grew up in Delmar, graduating from Bethlehem Central School after being president of his class. He participated in Boy Scout and earned Eagle Scout status. He played trumpet in many local orchestras and bands. Dr. Betts attended Alfred University and received his dental degree from the University of Buffalo. He volunteered at Kent Delord House in Plattsburgh, and was a member of Siberian Rod & Gun Club in Dannemora. He loved hunting and hiking and worked at summers camps for children, taking them on canoe trips through out the Fulton chain of lakes. Dr. Betts retired from Clinton Correctional facility on May 2, 1986. He is survived by his wife Shirley (Hurlburt) Betts of Queensbury; his son, John Betts and his wife, Diana, of Plattsburgh; a daughter, Susan Elia and her husband, Pete, of Rochester; four grandsons: Josh and Luke Betts of Plattsburgh, and Ryan and Jordon Elia of Rochester; sister, Marilyn Fryer and her husband, Rodger, of Delmar, and sister, Mary Jane Minko of Hampton, N.H. Memorial services will be held at 10 a.m. Friday, Sept. 30, at Regan & Denny Funeral Home, 53 Quaker Road, Queensbury, with the Rev. Flossie Gage-Bates officiating. Burial will follow at Gerald B.H. Solomon Saratoga National Cemetery, Duell Road, Schuylerville. No calling hours are scheduled. Those who wish may send a remembrance in his name to: Salvation Army Corp, 13 Chester St., Glens Falls, NY 12801 or West Glens Falls Emergency Squad, 105 Main St., Queensbury, NY 12804. Published in the Post-Star on 9/29/2005. Hubert, Harold QUEENSBURY -- Harold Hubert, 85, passed away Tuesday, Sept. 27, 2005, at Glens Falls Hospital. Calling hours will be from 2 to 4 p.m. Saturday with a memorial service to follow at 4 p.m. Saturday at Radloff Funeral Home, 136 Warren St., Glens Falls. A full obituary will appear in Friday's edition of The Post-Star. Published in the Post-Star on 9/29/2005. Lyons Jr., Thomas F. QUEENSBURY -- Thomas F. Lyons Jr., 73, passed away Wednesday, Sept. 28, 2005, at Westmount Health Facility. Calling hours will be held from 12 to 1 p.m. Friday at Maynard D. Baker Funeral Home, 11 Lafayette St., Queensbury. Funeral services will be held at 1 p.m. Friday at the funeral home. A full obituary will appear in Friday's edition of The Post-Star. Published in the Post-Star on 9/29/2005. McFadden, Deborah A. QUEENSBURY -- Deborah A. McFadden, 54, of Finch Way, died Wednesday, Sept. 28, 2005, at Wilson Memorial Hospital in Johnson City, following a brief illness. Born on Dec. 20, 1950, in Glens Falls, she was the daughter of the late Clinton and Irma (Benton) Centerbar. Deborah graduated from Hadley-Luzerne Central School and attended Adirondack Community College. She was employed for a few years at Wilton Developmental Center. Deborah enjoyed traveling, especially to Hawaii, spending time with her grandchildren, and generously helping out those in a time of need, donating to a variety of charitable organizations. Despite her physical limitations, she will be remembered for always having a joke and quick wit, and making the most out of life. Besides her parents, one sister, Alma, died before her. Survivors include two daughters, Rebecca Moyer and her husband, David, of Masonville, and Amy Woltering and her husband, Jacob, of Belleville, Ill.; one son, Michael McFadden and his wife, Melissa, of Deland, Fla.; seven grandchildren: Jared, Skyla, Silas, Ariana, Anthony, Kailee, and Chelsea; one brother, Donald Centerbar of Glens Falls; two sisters, Dorothy Knowlton and her husband, Jeffrey, of Suffield, Conn. and Mary Berg of Schenectady; and several nieces, nephews and cousins. Services will be conducted at 7 p.m. Friday, Sept. 30, at Densmore Funeral Home, Inc., 7 Sherman Ave., Corinth. Friends may call from 5 to 7 p.m. Friday, prior to the service at the funeral home. The family suggests memorials take the form of donations to the American Cancer Society, 959 Route 9, Mount Royal Plaza, Queensbury, NY 12804. Published in the Post-Star on 9/29/2005. Pekins, Vincent Edward SALEM -- Vincent Edward Pekins, 88, of Salem, died Tuesday night, Sept. 27, 2005, at Indian River Nursing Home in Granville. Mr. Pekins was born April 9, 1917, in Salem, the son of the late Laurence and Theresa Connors Pekins. He attended Washington Academy in Salem and worked as a truck driver for Crescent Dry Cleaners in Troy for many years and retired in 1979 as a truck driver at R.P.I in Troy. Vincent was an avid coin collector for many years and found enjoyment taking care of his chickens. He is survived by his loving wife of 62 years, Thelma Mitchell Pekins; his daughter, Katherine Thelma Sharrow and her husband, Francis, of Queensbury; his granddaughter, Karen Ann Aldrich of Glens Falls; and his grandson, William James Aldrich and his wife, Holly, of Queensbury; two great-grandchildren, Kearstyn Faith Aldrich and Matthew Francis Aldrich of Queensbury. He is also survived by his sisters, Hazel Andrews of Latham, Jacqueline Marlow of Shelburne, Vt., Jane Mullen of Albany and Joan Macura of Granville. In addition to his parents, he was predeceased by a daughter, Patricia Joan Pekins; two sisters, Jean Pilvinis and Evelyn Place; and four brothers, Laurence Pekins, Frank Pekins, Richard Pekins and Robert Pekins. Funeral services will be held on Friday, Sept. 30, at 11 a.m. at Salem United Methodist Church, West Broadway, Salem, with the Rev. Debbie Earthrowl officiating. Relatives and friends are invited to attend and may call at the church on Friday from 10 to 11 a.m. Interment will be at Holy Cross Cemetery in Salem. In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions in memory of Vincent may be made to the Salem Rescue Squad, P.O. Box 360, Salem, NY 12865. Arrangements are by McClellan Funeral Service in Salem. For online guest book, please visit www.mcclellan funeralservice.com. Published in the Post-Star on 9/29/2005. Pitaniello, Geraldine Grace Nagell GRANVILLE -- Geraldine Grace Nagell Pitaniello, 79, died Wednesday, Sept. 28, 2005, at Rutland Regional Medical Center. Born June 21, 1926, in Rutland, she was the daughter of Henry and Elmena (Jones) Wood. She was a graduate of Rutland High School and retired from General Electric in 1988. She was predeceased by her husband, Raymond Nagell; two infant children; one great-grandchild; six sisters: Emma Morris, Florence Cheney, Madiline Walker, Josephine McGrath, Gladys White, Dorothy Phelps and one brother, Roger Wood. Survivors include three sons, Rodney Nagell and Edwin Nagell, of Thornton, Colo. and James Nagell and his wife, Mari, of Proctor, Vt.; three daughters, Bonnie Shaw and her husband, James, of North Granville, Roxanne English and her husband, Edward, of Virginia Beach, Va. and Penny Rodrigues of Fort Edward; 10 grandchildren; seven great-grandchildren; and several nieces and nephews. Her very good friend, Martha Miller of Fort Edward, also survives. Funeral services will be conducted at 11 a.m. Friday at Robert M. King Funeral Home, 23 Church St., Granville. Burial will be at Fairview Cemetery in Benson, Vt. Friends may call from 6 to 8 p.m. Thursday at the funeral home. The family has suggested memorials be in the form of contributions to the Granville Rescue Squad, Box 153, Granville, NY 12832. Published in the Post-Star on 9/29/2005. Polydouris, Christine Thomas (Thomopoulos) ALBANY, -- Christine Thomas (Thomopoulos) Polydouris, 85 years old, passed away at 9:30 p.m. Sunday, Sept. 25, 2005, in Latham from Alzheimers and lung congestion at her home, the Villa American Kalamata-Lagadia, overlooking Shaker Bay on a hill above the Mohawk River. Christina was born in Salem, Mass., on Aug. 2, 1920, the daughter of Demetrios and Constantina Thomas (Thomopoulos). The name was legally changed before her brother Theodore was accepted at M.I.T. (Massachusetts Institute of Technology). Prejudice during the 1920s and 30s was common against many groups, including Greek-Americans. Christine was born at home near downtown Salem and eventually the family moved to their home on Geneva Street in 1929, one month before the Great Depression hit. The family lived in the two-family house and rented one flat. The house was sold by Christine's mother after the death of her husband. Two siblings died in infancy from the influenza of 1917 to 1920, the first, Theodore and Christine. Four children survived; Theodore, who died three years ago, Constantine, who died in 1970, a World War II Army Air Corps pilot, and her sister, Helen Macharas. Christine attended the Saltonstall School K-8, two blocks from her home, and Salem High School, Class of 1938. She graduated from Salem Teachers College in 1943, with her sister Helen. Christine took one year off to work for her family because of the stroke her father suffered. She worked at Lally's clothing store in downtown Salem as a sales girl (no "associates" at that time). Summers she was an executive secretary for the Chief Counsel at Sylvania Electric Products in Salem as well as working one summer in the then- new Pentagon in Arlington, Va. She stayed only one month, since Washington, D.C., in those days had no air conditioning. Christine also worked on Long Island for one month. She missed the cool ocean breezes of the North Shore and the oceanfront parks of Salem, like Salem Willows and Forest River Park, the parks she learned to swim at during her youth. Christine was a tour guide at the "Witch House" one summer in Salem. The historic home was the residence of three women who were executed for "witchcraft." Christine would do the housework at home, cooking and cleaning while the boys and sister Helen were more athletic. Christine did enjoy basketball in high school and college and wanted to major in foreign languages, which she and her sister excelled in in high school. She understood, spoke, and wrote Modern Greek, having been tutored at home with her siblings on the dining room table twice a week. Christine took Latin, German (more important then with the rise of Hitler) and French. Salem Teachers College had no language majors but did have business. Both sisters majored in business and received baccalaureates of science in business education. There was only one building then, along with the Student Teaching Grammar School next door. Christine must have had a good figure, since she was elected "sweater girl" of the class by the boys one year. "Sexual Harassment" training was unheard of yet. Christine worked in the bookstore. Her first teaching job was at South Royalton High School in Vermont. She became certified in three states: Massachusetts, Vermont, and New York. She taught and wrote shorthand, a lost art, business education or commercial education as it was sometimes called. She taught at South Royalton during the 1943 to 1944 school year. That old building is now Vermont Law School. The "city girl" dated a dairy farmer and became engaged. During World War II, farmers and priests were exempt from the Armed Forces. She broke the engagement when she took a teaching job at Bennington High School, Bennington, Vt., 1944 to 1945. She played field hockey against Carroll Channing when the high school faculty played against the Bennington College girls. Christine lived with a Greek American family in Bennington. Helen had taken a teaching job at Highland Falls, N.Y., High School so Christine jumped at a teaching offer from the village of Florida, N.Y., nearby. They both dated West Point cadets and attended dances at the Point. Christine became engaged a second time to the principal! She broke off the second engagement. She taught at Florida High School 1945 to 1946, then at Amesbury High School, Amesbury, Mass., which she commuted to by car from Salem, Mass., where she lived with her family. In 1952, she received her Masters of Science degree from Boston University School of Education. She commuted on Saturdays for two years by train with her friend Tina Leftes of Salem, Mass., for classes at BU. Christine took some additional courses at Russell Sage of Albany. Marriage brought her to Albany, in 1953. She became engaged to Nicholas J. Polydouris after one date. He was visiting his relatives in Ipswich, Mass., the Nikas families, after completing business in Boston for his private company, The Albany Linen Service. They met at a private house party in Salem, Mass., and were married in November of 1953 in Salem. They honeymooned at the Greenbier Hotel, Greenbrier, W.Va., motoring from Albany and visiting her married sister, Helen, in Covington, Va. Exactly nine months later a son, John, was born at Albany Medical, her only child because Christine had a hysterectomy afterward. She had been told not to come home if it were not a boy by her mother-in-law. While she was pregnant they lived on Elm Street, downtown Albany, and before John was born, they bought a house on Western Avenue, two blocks from Albany High School. An "old school" man, her husband bought the house on his own, She went to substitute at Albany High for one week and was called into the office on Friday by the principal, Mr. Lincoln. He had walked by her classes and was perplexed as to why the students were quiet with a substitute. He asked her if she would like a permanent teaching job - she mentioned she had a small boy and she would consult with Nicholas. She returned and accepted the job she kept for 25 years, from 1955 to 1980, and was the first Greek-American teacher in the Capital District. She worked for the New York State Education Department for a few summers supervising the correction of Regents Exams. Christine was the top business teacher at Albany High and the best dressed as well. She loved shopping at the Country Miss, Flah's, Solomon's, Dahl's and Kral's. Her husband canceled her store credit cards once! After the death of her mother-in-law, Christine and Nicholas almost divorced, but stayed together for John. Their bond of holy matrimony was tried but was unbroken and they were faithful only to each other. Her husband, Nicholas, took care of her for 20 years with Alzheimers, especially the hardest last 10 years. Nicholas believed in the vow "in sickness and in health till death do us part." In 1952, Christine motored throughout America in a brandnew Plymouth convertible with three other teachers from Amesbury. They went to California, Oregon, Montana, Alberta, British Columbia, Mexico and some 40 states and provinces and many national parks. She said she liked home the most. They left Amesbury the day after school ended in June 1952 and returned the day before it started in September of 1952. Christine continued to travel with her son to Greece and Cyprus and throughout the USA, the Caribbean and Canada. In 1974, she and John had 1st class Eurailpasses and traveled Europe by train and boat for two and one half months, returning because of the Turkish invasion of Cyprus, an island they were expected to visit. She did visit Cyprus in 1979 with John for two weeks to show solidarity with the Cypriot people in their struggle for a unified, undivided and unoccupied nation. She w ... Published in the Post-Star on 9/29/2005. Wells, Gloria Marlene HUDSON FALLS -- Gloria Marlene Wells, 55, of Main Street, passed away on Tuesday, Sept. 27, 2005, at Glens Falls Hospital, after a short illness. Born on Oct. 26, 1949, in Glens Falls, she was the daughter of the late Byron and Lelia Christman. On Aug. 11, 1968, Gloria married Joseph S. Wells Sr. in the town of Kingsbury. They were happily married for 37 years. She worked for Adirondack Stitches In Ink in South Glens Falls. Besides being a loving wife, mother and grandmother, Gloria enjoyed crafts and taking long walks with her husband. She was a loving and caring person, who had an interesting life. Besides her parents, she was predeceased by her brother, Douglas Christman. Survivors include her husband of 37 years, Joseph Wells of Hudson Falls; her sons, Joseph S. Wells Jr. and his fiancee, Gena Lillibridge, of Queensbury, and Kenneth J. Wells and his wife, Christine, of Fort Edward; her two daughters, JoAnn Wells and her fiance, Edward Mattison, of Whitehall, and Billie Jo Wells and her fiance, Kenneth Colton, of Hudson Falls; her grandchildren: Harley Anne Wells, Aaron Welch, Michelle Lynn Wells, Michael Freeland Mattison, Brionna McKenzie Wells, Terra Marie Wells, Amber Lynn Wells, Erica Ann Weatherwax, Dylan Jacob Colton and Devon Michael Colton; her brothers, Dorian Christman of Granville and Jonathan Christman; her sister, Dawn Leach of Gloversville; and several nieces, nephews and cousins. Friends may call on Friday from 6 to 8 p.m. at Carleton Funeral Home, Inc., 68 Main St. in Hudson Falls. Funeral services will be conducted at 11 a.m. on Saturday at the funeral home, with pastor Kevin Gebo of the Truthville Baptist Church in Granville officiating. The burial will follow at Union Cemetery in the town of Fort Edward. The family suggests that memorial donations be made to the American Cancer Society, 959 Route 9, Mount Royal Plaza, Queensbury, NY 12804. Published in the Post-Star on 9/29/2005.