IN MEMORIAM: Marjorie Strait, 80;
Ran Cooperstown Diner For Decade
COOPERSTOWN – Marjorie Newell Strait, 80, who operated the Cooperstown Diner for 10 years, passed away peacefully Tuesday morning, Nov. 15, 2016, at Bassett Hospital after a short illness.
She was born July 9, 1936, in Cooperstown, to Charles A. and Mary (Gavin) Newell. She graduated from Cooperstown High School in 1954 and attended secretarial college in Syracuse.
For over 40 years Marge was employed as a secretary in Bassett Hospital’s Surgical Department.
When her husband, Charles H. Strait, who operated the diner, died in 1983, she took over its management. She enjoyed being her own boss, she said in an interview for a 2014 Freeman’s Journal article.
During a decade at the diner, she became famous for her hamburgers and chili. She sold the restaurant to Earle Hayford in 1993.
Her sense of humor and generosity will be missed by all who knew her.
She is survived by her daughter, Mary Gaughan; son-in-law, Adam Solomon, and beloved granddaughters Devasha and Sigal Solomon of Brookline, Mass.; three sisters, Imogene Carter and husband, Dr. Rodman Carter of Palm Coast, Fla., and Cooperstown, Noreen Newell of Wallingford, Vt., and Marion “Billie” Williams of Portland, Ore.; many nieces and nephews; and her friend Wayne Granger.
In addition to her husband and her mother and father, she was predeceased by three brothers, Charles A. Newell, Jr., Donald Newell and Roger Gavin Newell.
A graveside service will be offered at 11 a.m. Saturday, Nov. 19, in the Hartwick Seminary Cemetery with the Rev. Betsy Jay, Bassett chaplain, officiating.
Donations in her memory may be made to Cooperstown Emergency Squad. P. O. Box 322, Cooperstown, NY 13326 or to Friends of Bassett, 1 Atwell Road, Cooperstown, NY 13326.
Arrangements are entrusted to Connell, Dow & Deysenroth Funeral Home
