MORRIS – Douglas Nelson Coon, 91, of Morris, who operated Dimock Hollow Garage for 65 years, passed away at his “winter home” in Florida on Saturday, March 14, 2020.
Douglas was born on Jan. 2, 1929, in Morris and was a son of the late Nelson H. and Margaret R. (Daniels) Coon. On Aug. 6, 1950, he married Vivian Ellen Markel; a blessed marriage of nearly 70 years.
Doug was a member of the First Baptist Church in Morris, where he was also a trustee. He was a friend to his community for his entire life.
ONEONTA – James Edward Pasternak, 87, who spent his career in SUNY Oneonta’s business office, passed away peacefully at home with his family by his side on Friday, March 13, 2020.
The son of Stanley and Dorothy (Clute) Pasternak, Jim graduated from Waterville High School. He was a sergeant in the Army in 1952-54, serving in Korea.
Jim married his wife Kathryn (Swiantek) on April 14, 1956, in Utica. After living in Indiana, they moved to Oneonta, then Morris, to raise their family.
The interior of the home at 78 Broad St., Morris, was gutted in last evening’s fire. (James Cummings/AllOTSEGO.com)
By JAMES CUMMINGS • Special to www.AllOTSEGO.com
MORRIS – Three days before the new decade begins, a second home in Morris was destroyed by fire in less than a week.
A possible electrical fire at 78 Broad St. in the village at 8:20 p.m. last night wreaked havoc on the home of Kelly Worman.
The first recent Morris fire was Dec. 23 at 287 West Hill Road. The downstairs was gutted and the house was pretty well destroyed, Mayor Michael Newell said a few minutes ago.
MORRIS – Janet C. Miller, the first female dispatcher at Otsego County Fire Control, passed away suddenly on Saturday, Aug. 17, 2019, She was surrounded by loved ones.
Janet was born on May 12, 1938, to Fredrick Haug and Margaret (McElroy) McMullen. She was Predeceased by her brother Roy McMullen and beloved step-children Deanna Wallace (Miller) and Ronald Miller Jr.
Janet’s life spanned an array of places, time, and people. She started as a wife, mother, and farmer. Later in life she was a school bus driver for Morris Central School. She was the first female dispatcher for Otsego County Fire Control.
MORRIS – Harold Peter Sorensen, 82, a New Jersey native who raised sheep on moving to a farm here, passed away on Thursday, July 11, 2019, at Bassett Hospital.
He was born on Feb. 6, 1937, in Plainfield, N.J., the son of Harold and Eleonora (Christensen) Sorensen. He married the love of his life, Theresa Caravella on May 5, 1956 in Edison, N.J.
They had a blessed union of 63 years, raising seven sons on the family farm in Morris.
MORRIS – Chloe C. Laubmeier, 86, a soldier who met her husband while involved with security at the Nuremberg Trials, and later was involved in founding Morris’ VFW post, passed away peacefully on Friday, June 28, 2019, while being cared for by her family. Jim and Mike were there for her when she needed them most.
She was born on Nov. 3, 1932, the first of four children born to Luther Campbell and Ethel Adams. Her early years were spent “down yonder” in the hollows of Southeast Kentucky. Being the oldest child wasn’t always easy in the coal mining town of Viper, Ky.
ONEONTA – State Sen. Jim Seward, R-Milford, today called on the state Department of Public Service and Frontier Communications to review and remedy recent problems with phone service in western Otsego County.
“Reliable communication service is essential in the event of an emergency, for economic development, and for quality of life,” said Senator Seward. “Recent telephone outages in a rural portion of my senate district isolated customers and compromised safety. Adding insult to injury, the response from telephone carrier Frontier Communications has been fully inadequate.”
MORRIS – Dorothy “Dottie” F. Brodrick, 76, who operated Busy Bee Flower Shops in Morris and New Berlin, passed away on September 6, 2018, at her daughter’s home in Longmeadow, Mass., after a valiant battle with cancer.
Dorothy was born in Johnson City on Oct. 15, 1941, the daughter of the late John and Beatrice (Shuba) Florko.
DELHI – Stanley J. “Stan” Dibble, 92, of Hamden, clerk at Aikins & Robinson Brothers Auction Services for a half-century, passed away on Friday, Oct. 27, 2017 at O’Connor Hospital, Delhi, surrounded by his family.
He was also active in the Del-Se-Nango Fiddlers.
Stanley was born in Andes on Nov. 23, 1924, the son of the late Frank and Dora (Sackett) Dibble.
NORWICH – The 11-year-old Morris girl stricken with cardiac arrest in a Town of Norwich home Sunday died “in the course and commission of rape in the first degree,” State Police Investigator Jamieson Tefft alleges in a felony complaint released today by Norwich Town Court.
The suspect in the death of Jacelyn D. O’Connor of Morris, James S. Brower, 36, arrested Tuesday and charged with first-degree murder, is due to appear again in Norwich Town Court at 9 a.m. tomorrow for a felony hearing.
A vigil in Jacelyn’s memory is planned at 7 p.m. Monday, Aug. 7, outside Morris Central School, where she was a student.
