In Memoriam

John Robert Oakley

July 20, 1945 – December 17, 2021

CHERRY VALLEY – John Robert Oakley, beloved husband, father, grandfather and brother who worked for many years as a logger and then a loom operator and technician for Thistle Hill Weavers, passed Friday night, December 17, 2021, at his home on Chestnut Ridge Road surrounded by his family. He was 76.

Born July 20, 1945, in Muncie, Indiana, John was a son of William Marion Oakley and Ruth (Dunn) Oakley.

For many years he was employed by Otsego Electric Cooperative, Inc. as a foreman for the line clearance crew. In recent years he joined with his wife, Rabbit Goody in operating Thistle Hill Weavers in Cherry Valley. John was especially adept at maintaining and repairing the complex looms and machinery involved with the day-to-day operations at Thistle Hill Weavers, and was greatly appreciated for his expertise and engineering skills.

He will be fondly remembered as a calm and peaceful man who possessed a special and unique relationship with his God.

John will be greatly missed by his wife, Rabbit Goody of Cherry Valley; his four children from a previous marriage, Hollyann Oakley of Cherry Valley and her children, Jasmine and Jacob Neill, Daniel Oakley and wife, Diana of Cherry Valley and their children Dorothy and Gabriel Oakley, Courtney McInnis and husband, Josh of Mountain View, Hawaii and their children Isaiah, Elijah, Aaron, Azariah, Tabitha and Noah John, and Rebecca Sutherland and husband Guy of Boston, New York and their children Clara and Griffin; a sister, Virginia Braley of Milwaukee, Wisconsin; a brother William Oakley of Charleston, South Carolina, and several nieces and nephews.

A celebration of John’s life will be held next year.

Arrangements are with the Connell, Dow & Deysenroth Funeral Home in Cooperstown.