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Carol Ann Chase Delaney

3/26/2024

       Carol Ann Chase Delaney also known as Kit passed away peacefully on March 26th 2024 at Chenango Memorial Hospital in Norwich NY.
    Carol was born in Syracuse NY to Oscar John (Bud) and Helen McConnell Chase on December 4th 1937. She grew up in Mandana and Skaneateles, NY and graduated from Skaneateles Central School in 1955.
    On May 4th 1957 she married Donald J Delaney at St. Mary's of the Lake Church in Skaneateles, NY and they moved to Trinidad BWI because Don was a Seabee in the US Navy, and their first child Patricia was born there.
    Carol worked at Peerless Press for many years and met her special friends there Sue, Sophie, Fran and Cathy. After she retired, they all got together at least once a year to catch up.
    Carol loved being a bell ringer for the Salvation Army for many years, and loved wearing hats and colorful sneakers, the brighter...the better!!! Through the years she bought and sold many antiques and her homes held her most beloved pieces.
    Carol is survived by her sons James Delaney of Wichita KA and David Delaney of East Syracuse, NY and her sister and her husband Linda and Pete Hesse of Norwich NY, her brother-in-law Steve Delaney and his wife Ellen of Skaneateles NY and her grandchildren Jennifer, James, Sandra, Chris, Brennan, many nieces, nephews and cousins. She is also survived by Dennis Viets of Rome, NY who was like another son to her.
    Carol was predeceased by her parents and her in laws John and Rita Hawkins, her husband Don, her daughter Pat and her brothers David Chase and his wife Margeret and Robert Chase and her stillborn son Christopher.
     To me her sister Linda; Carol was Kit my kind and caring and generous and fun-loving sister, so let us honor her legacy by embodying the virtues that she held dear, by living lives that resonate with love and kindness and generosity by helping others.
    Funeral service will be held on Saturday, May 18th at 10am at St. Mary’s of the Lake Church, Skaneateles. Burial in Lake View Cemetery, Skaneateles with a reception to follow at St. Mary’s Parish Center.
To send condolences, visit: robertdgrayfuneralhome.com.

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Rodney William Eldridge

3/24/2024

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    Rodney William Eldridge, 78, of Skaneateles, passed away on March 24, 2024.
    Rod was born in 1946 in Malone, NY to Norris and Rita (Perry) Eldridge. He was proud of his upbringing and wrote, “I was raised with a very sound moral background and a strong work ethic.” Growing up, he spent countless hours playing ball with his childhood best friend, Tom Scott.
    In 1963, Rod graduated from Franklin Academy and was the first in his family to attend college. At State University College at Potsdam, he majored in secondary social studies, minored in English, and played soccer and baseball (as catcher). He caught the attention of talent scouts and was asked to try out for a professional baseball team. They invited him to spring training, but he decided to finish college instead, earning his Bachelor of Arts degree in 1967.
    While on summer break between his junior and senior years of college, Rod met Ethel Ann Brockway, “the girl of my dreams and the sweetest girl in the world.” Rod and his friends were playing darts at The Franklin in Malone when Ann and her friends decided to challenge them. Rod and Ann struck up a conversation and discovered that Ann, a newly-graduated nurse working at the hospital, was living right across the street from Rod’s family home.
    Rod and Ann were married in August 1967 and moved to Copenhagen, NY, where he began his teaching career at Copenhagen Central School. During his 17 years there as a social studies teacher and baseball coach, Rod inspired a love of learning in his students and became a mentor to many. He was especially proud of the high scores earned by his advanced placement students, and he enjoyed taking exchange students from Copenhagen, Denmark on trips to Niagara Falls with his family. Many of his colleagues became friends. For many years, Rod and his best friend, Ray O’Brien operated R & R Decorators, painting houses during summers and school breaks.
    After taking graduate courses in Education and History (American Studies) at SUNY Oswego, Rod obtained his NYS permanent certification in Social Studies (7-12) in 1972. In the 1980s, while working full-time and raising a family, Rod earned his Master of Arts degree in Education Administration from St. Lawrence University. In 1984, the family relocated to Binghamton when Rod became the Assistant High School Principal & Pupil Personnel Director at Chenango Forks High School.
    In 1989, when their children were grown, Rod and Ann moved to a beautiful old Victorian home in Bainbridge, NY when he became the Junior-Senior High School Principal at Bainbridge-Guilford Central School. There, he assisted teachers in implementing new teaching methods and made Shared Decision Making a reality in the district.
    He was an inspiring educator and leader with an unwavering commitment to kids. As a teacher and principal, he was firm but fair – a problem solver with a great sense of humor who garnered the respect of students, parents, and colleagues. A superintendent once told him he had “the unique ability to tell a teacher or parent to go to hell in such a way they looked forward to the trip.” He always put students first, believing that “All too often educators forget that the main reason we are here at all is the kids.”
    Rod spent the last nine years of his education career in the Chenango Valley Central School District as Middle & High School Principal. As he wrote in his 2001 retirement letter, “After 34 years in education it became apparent that I had spent enough time doing what I had always wanted to do. That was to help kids and teach. In retrospect, I wouldn’t have done anything different regarding my decision to go into education.”
After his retirement in 2001, Rod and Ann spent time with family, grew their antiques business, and did some traveling. Family vacations to Hilton Head, Williamsburg, and the Outer Banks with their children and grandchildren are legendary.
Rod never sat still. He lived out his strong sense of service through many years with Kiwanis, receiving the President Award in recognition of outstanding leadership and service. He was always willing to help others – at St. James and Augustinian Academy, with renovation projects at several of Janine and Todd’s homes, and by helping build Jon and Suzi’s house, to name just a few.
    Quick-witted, fun-loving, and engaging, Rod made an impression on everyone he met. Being an educator was just his nature, and he was always teaching his children and grandchildren, taking them on educational outings and trips and showing them how to do things with their hands – painting, carpentry, even taking apart mechanical engines and putting them back together.
    To his children and grandchildren, he passed along his love of sports, especially baseball and golf. For many years, he was an avid golfer. He passed along his love of music. He played the trumpet, guest starred in school musicals, always had music playing on the radio, and strongly supported music programs in his schools. He passed along his love of dogs. Sheika, a Siberian Husky, was his most special companion.
Rod and Ann relocated to the village of Skaneateles in 2022 to be closer to family in their golden years. He enjoyed taking long walks around the village and taking selfies with his buddy Todd.
    Rod was a devoted son and husband, loving father and grandfather, supportive brother and uncle, and loyal friend. His high school yearbook quote characterized him perfectly: "Quiet and well conducted, but always ready for fun." Rod’s wit, wisdom, kindness, and influence will continue to live on in the hearts and memories of all who loved, respected, and admired him.
    Several years ago, Rod began a journey toward the sunset of his life. On March 24, 2024, as the sun was setting, his journey ended. Rest now, Rod/Dad/Grampy. You taught us well.
    He is survived by his wife Ann, of Skaneateles, NY; daughter and son-in-law Janine (Eldridge) and Todd Savage of Skaneateles, NY; son and daughter-in-law Jonathan and Suzanne Eldridge of Owings Mills, MD; grandchildren Krista Savage and Michael Newton of Alden NY, Adam and Cassandra Savage of Skaneateles, NY, Brock Savage of Endicott, NY, Spencer Eldridge of Dayton, OH, and Nathan Eldridge of Owings Mills, MD; and sister and brother-in-law Donna and Leonard Farishian of North Fort Myers, FL.
     Services in Skaneateles will be private. A Celebration of Life Mass will be held at a future date in Fort Covington, New York. In lieu of flowers, please consider donating to the Rodney W. Eldridge college scholarship fund at Copenhagen Central School – PO Box 30, Copenhagen, NY 13626, ATTENTION: Business Office.
To send condolences, visit: robertdgrayfuneralhome.com.

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Father Thomas J. McGrath

3/22/2024

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    Fr. Thomas J. McGrath passed away peacefully on March 22, 2024 at the age of 90. He was born in Syracuse, New York on August 13, 1933. His home parish was St. Brigid’s in Syracuse, and he graduated from Christian Brothers Academy. He was ordained on May 23, 1959 after attending
St. Andrew’s Seminary and St. Bernard’s Seminary, both in Rochester, and the Theological College Seminary at Catholic University in Washington D.C.
    His assignments over 65 years included assistant Pastor in Syracuse at St. John the Baptist, Our Lady of Lourdes, St. Michael’s, as well as St. Thomas in New Hartford, and St. Mary’s in Cortland. He was Pastor at St. Paul’s in Norwich, St. Mary of the Assumption in Rome, St. Ann’s in Syracuse, and his most recent was St. Mary’s of the Lake in Skaneateles, an assignment he loved for 15 years. He retired from St. Mary’s of the Lake, and worked part time at Stella Maris Retreat House for 2 years. He then returned to St. Mary’s for another 5 years. After his second retirement from St. Mary’s, he was part time at St. Michael’s and St. Peter’s Parish in Onondaga Hill and Our Lady of Hope in Syracuse for 7 years. He often said he still had more work to do, and he continued to minister to others on an individual basis
    He was pre - deceased by his parents Harold and Catherine McGrath, his sister and brother-in-law Mary Jane and Bill DeLaney, brother Bill McGrath, brother and sister-in-law Ed and Kay McGrath, nephews Joseph DeLaney and Tom Magee, and great nephew John Copeman.
    He was much loved and will be greatly missed by his nieces and nephews Christina (Larry) Freeman, Bill (Debbie) DeLaney, Janet DeLaney, Pat DeLaney (Tom) Benedict, Michael DeLaney C.S.C., Kate DeLaney Magee, Tom (Caroline) McGrath, Anne McGrath (Francis) Laba, Karen (Wayne) Copeman, and Daniel McGrath, along with many great nieces and nephews, and cousins.
    He is also survived by a lifetime of friends, with a special acknowledgment to Ann Padula and Kurt and Cathy Reilly.
    He was well known as an avid NY Yankees fan through good times and bad. He had great memories from his time at Otisco Lake, both from childhood and in more recent years. He also enjoyed visiting with his many friends at the Willow Glen Diner, the Skaneateles Post Office, and Kinney’s Drug Store.
    Reception of the Body will be on Friday April 5, 2024 at 4:00 PM at the church. Calling hours will follow until 7:00 PM, when calling hours will conclude with a vigil service. Bishop Douglas Lucia, of the Diocese of Syracuse, will preside.
    A Mass of Christian Burial will be celebrated on Saturday April 6, 2024 at 11:00 AM at St. Mary’s of the Lake 10 W. Austin St., Skaneateles, New York. Bishop Emeritus Robert Cunningham, of the Diocese of Syracuse, will be the principal celebrant, and Fr. Louis Vasile, of the Diocese of Rochester, will deliver the homily.
    Burial will follow in St. Mary’s of the Lake Cemetery in Skaneateles. Donations in his memory may go to: The Priest’s Clerical Fund Diocese of Syracuse, 240 E. Onondaga St.
Syracuse NY 13202 or the Human Development Fund at St. Mary’s of the Lake. To send condolences, visit: robertdgrayfuneralhome.com.

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Kenneth Ray Scouten

3/12/2024

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                 Kenneth Ray Scouten passed away peacefully surrounded by his family on March 12, 2024, at the age of 84. Ray was born and raised in Old Forge, NY to the late Oliver Patrick and Edna Scouten.
                He is survived by his loving and devoted wife and “best buddy”, Teresa Scouten, of 62 years, his son, Carl R. Scouten (Lisa), four grandchildren: Carl M. Scouten (Lindsey), Paul Scouten (Danna), Mary Tamburri (Michael) and Andrew Scouten, and one great grandchild, Christopher. Ray is predeceased by his son, Mark Scouten.
                After graduating from Town of Webb School in Old Forge, with a graduating class of 13 students, Ray attended Colgate University where he studied English and was a member of the marching band. Having a desire to pursue higher education, Ray received his Master’s Degree in English from Syracuse University. He went on to become a dedicated college professor at Norwich University in Vermont and then spent almost his entire 30-year teaching career at Cayuga Community College in Auburn, NY. Ray taught English Literature, World Literature and Public Speaking, and was known for his tough grading and passion for proper grammar.
    During Ray’s tenure as a college professor, he participated in several research sabbaticals, including a year-long study of author Flannery O’Connor. He was selected as one of only a handful of scholars to study in O’Connor’s private library in Milledgeville, Georgia. He also was the lead contract negotiator for New York State’s Teachers’ Union for many years, serving as a fierce advocate for pensions and health insurance.
     Ray was also a leader in his family, always providing direction, encouragement and support. He emphasized the importance of education to his children and grandchildren, often serving as the family’s “student advisor”. He’d greet his grandchildren with his famous line, “so what’s up with you!”, excited to hear of their recent academic and personal accomplishments. Due to his dedication to academia, all of his children and adult grandchildren are college graduates.
                   Most importantly, Ray shared 62 years with the love of his life, best friend and confidant, Teresa. Ray and Terry spent their lives together as residents of Skaneateles, NY. They loved bird watching and traveling around the US and Canada to see their favorite Shakespearean plays. Ray was also an avid reader, and as his son, Carl, would say, has read at least three quarters of the Skaneateles Library.
Finally, Ray was a devoted Cleveland Browns fan. His family can thank Ray’s father, O.P., for passing down the love and misery Cleveland Browns’ fans share. Each year, Ray and his family would travel to a Browns game. The Scoutens are now five generations of Browns fans and are hopeful “this year is our year” with Ray watching over them!
                                                There will be a service held at St. Mary’s of the Lake Church in Skaneateles, NY on Wednesday, March 20, 2024 at 10:00am, on the 30th anniversary of the passing of Ray and Teresa’s son, Mark. In lieu of flowers, Ray’s family asks for contributions to a charity of your choice.
To send condolences, visit: robertdgrayfuneralhome.com.

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Harold Dean Johnson

3/8/2024

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    Harold Dean Johnson of Skaneateles, New York, peacefully passed to his eternal rest on March 8, 2024. He was married to his devoted wife, Jean Marie, for over 55 years.
    He was born in Nelson, Wisconsin to his parents, Kathryn Bennett Johnson and Harry E. Johnson in 1937. He grew up in Milwaukee, Wisconsin and graduated from St. Olaf College in Northfield Minnesota.
    Dean loved his family and was known for his keen sense of humor. He enjoyed being with family and friends and always brought laughter and joy to those around him. He absolutely loved music and live theater and sang in several choral and barbershop groups. He was also an avid lawn bowler while in Florida.
    Dean and Jean Marie spent their retirement years by the lake in Skaneateles, New York and in Mount Dora, Florida. He enjoyed working with young people and was a mentor, tutor, literacy volunteer and crossing guard.
    In addition to his loving wife, Jean Marie, he is survived by his son David Edward Johnson (Stephanie), his granddaughter Logan Johnson, his beloved sister, Sharon (Johnson) Lee, his brother-in-law George Parsons (Sherry), his cousin Joan Fohr, as well as his many nieces, nephews, and close friends.
    Dean was predeceased by his parents Kathryn and Harry Johnson, his stepfather Robert Adams and his beloved sister Patricia (Johnson) Lind, and his cousin Gail Semler.
    A celebration of Dean’s life will be shared with family and friends at a later time.
    The family would like to thank the staff at Northwoods Rehabilitation and Nursing Center in Moravia, New York for their kind and compassionate care.
    In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to the Alzheimer’s Association of Central New York – 5105 Campuswood Drive, Suite 102, East Syracuse, NY 13107, or the charity of your choice.
To send condolences, visit: robertdgrayfuneralhome.com.

Click on the link below to view a video service for Dean:
https://bit.ly/DeanJohnson

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Sean Dylan Ahern

3/8/2024

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                      Sean Dylan Ahern, 45, passed away very unexpectedly on Friday March 8th of 2024.
That sentence alone is paralyzing. It instills the type of grief that stops your heart and pulls the very ground from beneath your feet. Sean. Not Sean. This can’t happen to someone like Sean, this can’t be real.
                                      You see, Sean was the type of man that you remembered. Not for silly things like the type of clothes that he wore or for the things that he had. To him possessions meant nothing. No. Sean was simple. He loved his family. He loved his friends. And everything he did, he did for them. Period.
                                   This will not be a typical obituary, because Sean was the furthest thing from a typical man. He deserves more than a traditional blurb about his accomplishments. He deserves the story of his life. It’s all that I have left to give him.
Sean was funny, compassionate, humble, and downright brilliant. But most of all, he was unapologetically loyal to those he cared about.
He planned his life with painstaking precision right from the word go. From his first step to his last, Sean knew what he wanted. To spend time with the people who were important to him. That meant working as hard as humanly possible, so that he could retire at 45, having earned his beloved pension to spend his days watching his children grow up, as well as travel the world. Sean was 2 months shy of retirement when he passed. It seems a cruel joke that the universe played on him.
Sean’s life was anything but typical.
                                   He always described himself as a blue-collar guy, working a blue-collar job. He came from humble means, and worked very, very hard for everything he had.
Sean graduated from Syracuse University on a full scholarship. While attending, he was awarded a semester abroad, where he worked in and traveled to many different countries around the world. When he went to Ireland for the first time, Sean was broke, but decided that he wanted to find out more about his family name. He bought himself a loaf of bread and a jar of peanut butter, and walked for hours until he reached the town his family originally came from. When he got there, they told him the records in the church had been burned in a fire, but said that the Ahern family had never left, and were up the road. Sean took his bread and peanut butter and went to their house, where he knocked on the door and said, “Hi, my name is Sean Ahern.” They proclaimed that he was family without another word. They took him in, he stayed with them for several days and even worked in their fields with them. But that was Sean. Always smiling, always happy, always the good guy in someone’s story.
                              After college, Sean joined the Army. With his father being a Marine and his grandfather a retired navy commander, Sean felt a very strong connection and duty to serve his country. During his time spent in Bosnia-Herzegovina and Afghanistan, he served as an intelligence officer from 2000-2005. That being said, he experienced his fair share of tragedy and loss during this time. Like most war deployed veterans, Sean was not always forthcoming with his experiences there, but his involvement in them would change him as a person and motivate him even more to help people for the rest of his life. He eventually earned a Bronze Star for acts of heroism, as well as many other military honors and commendations. He was proud, damn proud, to be a veteran.
                              After the military, Sean was having a difficult time deciding what to do next. He sat down one day and had a conversation with his uncle about career choices. His uncle looked at him very sternly and said, “You’re Irish, son. You’ve got three choices, Cop, fireman, or gangster.” Sean, fortunately, chose the first option, and became an Endicott Patrolman for 19 years. His loyalty to his fellow men can be summed up by a few words from one of his work brothers, Matt Brubaker, who said that “Sean was more than just my co-worker. He was my friend and my brother in blue. Sean was loyal, compassionate, smart, and he could talk to anyone about anything. He had an uncanny ability to sort through any situation and recognize what was important and what wasn’t. He was the epitome of the saying 'Don’t sweat the small stuff.'"
                                             Sean’s brothers in blue, and I say this with the utmost veracity, were everything to him. He loved them. Fiercely. Although I hadn’t spent much time with them through the years, I felt as though I knew and loved each and every one of them just by how often Sean spoke of them and their individual qualities that he always admired. John Dunham, Eric Beavers, Dennis DeWitte, Bradley Solomon, William Davies, Scott Carpenter, Matt Brubaker, David Fish, John Wonka and Angelo Ranieri; I hope, with all my heart, that you all truly understand what you meant to Sean. His love for you went beyond that of a best friend. He would have gladly given you everything he had and more, knowing all the while, that you would have done the same for him.
                                                       My life with Sean began in 2012 when I met him at Kelly’s restaurant in Syracuse. We spent hours talking, and ended the night at the Blarney Stone feeding stray cats and laughing together. Anyone who knows Sean, knows why that’s funny. His love of his own orange cat was unhealthy at best, and was one of the reasons we hit it off so well. I knew immediately that I loved him.
                                       After that, it was a whirlwind of buying a house, getting married in Ireland and very quickly after, expecting our first baby girl. Molly Rose would be the eldest of our four babies: Madeleine Joan, Margaret Aisling and finally John Edmund. Sean considered his children to be the greatest of all his achievements. I remember looking at him after the chaos of giving birth as he held Molly for the first time. He looked as though someone had given him the stars. He told me that he never really knew what true love was until he first laid eyes on our daughter. He acted the same every time one of our children came into this world.
Some of Sean’s favorite moments came from putting our girls to bed each night. From the very first day they were born, he would walk them around the house and gently sing them Irish lullabies until they fell asleep on him. One night, he looked at me with tears in his eyes and said, “I don’t know what it’ll be like when I die, but when I do, I hope it feels the way it does when Ellie falls asleep on my chest.”
Sean sacrificed himself at every turn for our benefit. He would sleep for an hour after taking a double shift, go to class at BU (he earned his Master’s Degree in Public Administration), wake up and dust himself off just to come with me to doctors’ appointments, playgrounds, open houses and anything else that the kids were involved in; only to go back into work and do it all over again. Of all the hats that Sean wore, being a father was truly his best.
In 2020 Sean and I made the decision to move our family to Skaneateles, NY. This was the best decision we ever could have made. There, we were welcomed with open arms into the community and Sean did what he did best, made fast friends with just about anyone he could talk to. He was quick to join the Auburn AOH and Skaneateles Legion, where he would share “a pint of the black stuff” and meet new people. At the time, we didn’t understand that these “people” would turn out to be a treasure trove of humanity, quickly turning into our second family and some of our best friends. We spent every date night with them, and always left laughing and counting down the days until we could spend more time with them. He was so proud to be part of what they had.
                                             That being said, Sean was unapologetically Irish. Just ask him. Especially after a few pints with the lads. This extended into his love of Irish music, which he would often grace the patrons of these establishments with, by playing every song ever written by Ronnie Drew, the Tossers, the High Kings, Shane MacGowan and countless others. He sang with them. He drank with them. He laughed with them. He loved them.
               His other favorite times and memories were spent on the farm with his mom and step father, Christine and Lance; laughing and spending precious time with them whenever he was able. He loved the family dinners, falling asleep on their couch, and Lance’s hilarious stories. Chris, you were the “glue” he said “that held the family together for all these years.”
                                      Sean loved his siblings Laurie, Nikole, Colleen and Andrew. Laurie would babysit Sean for hours when he was little. Sean and Nikole were inseparable as children. Together they did martial arts, played on the beach and in the ocean, went on countless road trips and she was his biggest cheerleader when he played football as a child. His conversations with his brother Andy and his dad on his way home were his therapy. He called almost every day. He was so incredibly proud of Andrew and the family Andrew was raising. Colleen, was his baby sister. He bragged every time he talked about her, her beautiful children, and her epic swimming records as a child.
                    Every vacation we would spend in Florida with his father John and his step mother Jane, making memories that will always be some of my favorites that we shared. John and he would spend hours in the garage, talking, laughing, singing, and telling stories while Jane and I watch the kids play in the makeshift “beach” we made in the back yard. The night would always end the same way. Sean and John telling each other that life was good, that they had made it, and that it just couldn’t get any better. John loved his son and the pride that beamed from his face whenever he talked about Sean was palpable. John was, and always will be Sean’s best friend.
                                  “Family is the most important thing you can have” Sean would say.
But family wasn’t always blood. Chris Rockhill, Rick Gallo, Obed Varughese, Donal O’Shaughnessy, Julio Santos, Jake Quill, Tom O’Toole, Jeff & Jed Dove, Willie Colon, Big Chris, Noah, Lou Quill, Craig Kimak and Dino DiCarlo, know that you your friendship helped hold his world together.
Sean, my darling husband, you were the only light in so many people’s dark places, myself included.
               You’d never, ever hesitate to help someone in need. Whether it was your time, your ear, your hand, or your experience. You were there for them.
Finally, Sean, I have to tell you how unbelievably sorry I am. I’m so sorry. I’m sorry that you’ll never see our daughters and son grow up. I’m sorry that you can’t teach them to swim, play soccer with them in the backyard, or snuggle up for popcorn and movie nights. I’m sorry you won’t get to walk them down the aisle or see Maggie graduate kindergarten. I’m sorry that your son will only know you through pictures and the stories of how much he loved you. I’m sorry you’ll never get to take them to another daddy daughter dance, or carry them on your shoulders when we pick them up from school. I’m sorry that you’ll never again get to take the long way home. I’m sorry you’ll never take our children to another movie, another soccer or dance practice or watch them walk through the door on their first day of school. I’m sorry you won’t kiss them good night and sing the songs in bed until they fall asleep. I’m sorry that you can’t take them for donuts and chocolate milk on Saturdays or take them to roller coaster parks every weekend in the summer. I'm sorry that you won't ever again return cans with our daughter and use the coins to buy her a root beer at the AOH.
You’ll never hear them laugh again, cry again, throw their arms up in the air and yell “Pick me up Daddy!” I’m sorry that you’ll never walk through our door again and see Jack running toward you with his arms up begging you to hold him or Ellie screaming “Duty! Duty!” to you as run to pick her up off the couch. You won’t feel Maggie’s tiny hand grasp yours as she crawls into your lap with her favorite doll and ask you to babysit for her. You’ll never see Molly bring you another art project, or hold your face close to hers to she could kiss you over and over.
                            You won’t feel the crushing warmth of their hugs, their joy for a fallen tooth, or their excitement when you would leave them chocolates in the yard sprinkled with glitter from the “fairies.” I’m sorry you can’t hold them and tell them everything is ok when the only person in the world they want is you.
             I'm sorry that you worked so hard for a retirement that you’ll never see. I mourn the memories that we never made. The places we can’t go, seeing the look on your face as you dance with your babies at their weddings, kiss their own children for the first time, and watch them grow into the adults that you so carefully loved and nurtured.
                       We love you. We see you everywhere and in everything. Your legacy will always live on through your children, your family and your dear friends. We will never be the same without you. My love, my husband, my baby, you will always be our light.
                                           Funeral service will be held on Friday, March 15th at 10am at St. Mary’s of the Lake Church, Skaneateles, followed by a celebration of Sean’s Life at the Skaneateles American Legion Post #239 at Noon. Burial will be Private.
                              The family has asked Please No Flowers donation’s can be made to Lindsay Ahern. To send condolences, visit: robertdgrayfuneralhome.com.

Link to the GoFundMe for the Ahern Family:
https://gofund.me/2959fc72

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Elizabeth Anne Davenport

3/7/2024

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    Elizabeth Anne Davenport ("Betty"), affectionately known as Nama, passed away peacefully surrounded by her loving family on March 7, 2024. Born on October 23, 1939, she graced the community of Skaneateles, NY, with her presence for over 50 years.
    Betty dedicated 27 years to inspiring young minds as a high school math teacher at Auburn High School. Her passion for music shone through her talent with the clarinet, performing with the Auburn Civic Band and Skaneateles Community Band. An avid traveler, Betty explored the world with curiosity and joy. Betty was a devoted wife to her late husband, Ted E. Davenport, who predeceased her in 2014. Ted's passion for theatre—acting, directing, and producing—was a significant part of their lives together. Betty cherished her weekly dinner group traditions, exploring new restaurants every Thursday night, insisting "Friday was for amateurs." Above all, Betty's heart belonged to her family.
    She was a loving mother to Andy Davenport (Holly), Jim Davenport (Stacy), and Patti Burak (Ahmet), and a doting grandmother to her many grandchildren.   Her nickname, Nama, was affectionately coined by her grandson Jesse, who couldn't quite pronounce "Grandmother." In her final years, Betty moved to Bluefield in Auburn, NY, living there for seven years before spending her last year under the compassionate care of her son Andy in Manchester, MD.
    There, she became an active member of St. John’s United Methodist Church, contributing to the community and bringing joy with her spirited presence. Despite her struggle with Dementia/Alzheimer’s, Betty's vibrant spirit never faded.
    Graveside Service will be held on Monday, March 18th at 11am at Lake View Cemetery, Skaneateles.
    In honor of Betty's life and legacy, her family requests that donations be made to St. John’s United Methodist Church, PO Box 185, Hampstead, MD 21074, in lieu of flowers. Betty's memory will live on in the hearts of those she touched, a testament to a life richly lived and dearly loved.
To send condolences, visit: robertdgrayfuneralhome.com.

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Welcome

Carol Ann Chase Delaney

Rodney William Eldridge

Father Thomas J. McGrath

Kenneth Ray Scouten

Harold Dean Johnson

Sean Dylan Ahern

Elizabeth Anne Davenport

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