IN MEMORIAM: David M. Wilfeard, 63;
Cooperstown Native Worked At Bassett
COOPERSTOWN – David M. Wilfeard, 63, of Cooperstown, passed away on Tuesday, March 27, 2018, at Bassett Hospital, surrounded by his loving family, following complications stemming from the treatment of lung cancer.
David was born at Bassett on Sept. 7, 1954, a son of Herbert and Irene (Childs) Wilfeard. He attended Cooperstown Central School, graduating with the Class of 1973. He married Elizabeth Stager on May 21, 1983.
David lived in the area all his life, working in the past as an account clerk typist in the mid 1970s for Otsego County, as an administrative assistant at The Meadows from the late 1970s through 1992, and most recently, as a facilities manager at Basset Hospital until 2004.
He was a people person, always stopping to say hello and offer a helping hand if he could. A very generous, loving, kind-hearted man, he loved going out to the local stores and seeing his “peeps,” as he called them. It was always one of the highlights of his day.
He was a wonderful son, brother, uncle, husband, father and more recently, grandfather, a title he loved and cherished, as he doted on his granddaughter, Emma. He will be truly missed by many.
He was predeceased by his father, Herbert in 1983; his mother, Irene in 2014; and his brother Bernard Wilfeard in 1999.
He is survived by his wife of 34 years, Elizabeth Wilfeard; his daughter, Ashlie (Albert) Dawson and their one-year-old daughter, Emma, of Cherry Valley; his son, Jon-Michael (Caitlyn George) of Davenport and his son and namesake, David Wilfeard II of Cooperstown. Also, his mother-in-law, Elizabeth Stager, and sister-in-law, Linda Stager of Cooperstown; his brother, Bradley (Kathie) Wilfeard and niece Andrea Wilfeard; his sister-in-law Judy Wilfeard and niece and nephew, Renee (Brian) Wilfeard-Duda and Bernard (Jessica) Wilfeard and their children; his sisters Peggy (Alan) Basile, Holly (Ed) Pearsall and Deanie (Ronald) Swift and nephew Ronnie Swift, as well as many other nieces, nephews and cousins.
The funeral service will be at 1 pm Saturday, March 31, at the Connell, Dow & Deysenroth Funeral Home in Cooperstown, with Rev. Betsy Jay, Bassett chaplain, officiating. Friends may pay their respects at the funeral home from 11 a.m. until service time on Saturday.
In lieu of flowers, the family requests that memorial gifts be made to Catskill Area Hospice and Palliative Care, 297 River Street Service Road, Oneonta, NY 13820 or Susquehanna Animal Shelter, 4841 State Highway 28, Cooperstown, NY 13326.
Arrangements are under the care and guidance of Connell, Dow & Deysenroth Funeral Home in Cooperstown.