Robert C. Smith of Monticello, a retired caretaker for Robins Wood Bungalows in Harris and a 23-year area resident, died Thursday, August 11, 2005, at his home. He was 80 years of age.
The son of the late Clifford F. and Mildred C. Abbe Smith, he was born May 6, 1925, in Springfield, Mass.
Mr. Smith was a member of the Rock Hill United Methodist Church. A World War II Navy veteran, he served from 1943 to 1947 and was a survivor of the USS Arizona during the Japanese Air Raid on Pearl Harbor, Hawaii.
He is survived by his wife, Lillian Taggart Smith, at home; two sons and daughters-in-law, Fred and Gina Taggart of Monticello and Christopher and Michelle Smith of Pinellas Park, Fla.; two daughters, Kimberley Smith and her fiance, Marcos Lopez of Monticello and Judith Wright and her husband, Ralph, of Palmetto, Fla.; a sister, Lois Lopes and her husband, Olivio of East Ludlow, Mass; nine grandchildren; and several nieces and nephews, including a special niece, Caroline Barkley of Virginia Beach, Va. He was predeceased by two grandchildren, Christopher and Cassandra Smith.
Funeral services were held Monday at the Rock Hill United Methodist Church with the Rev. Stephen Knutsen officiating.
Burial with military honors was made in the Sullivan County Veterans Cemetery in Liberty.
Memorial contributions may be made to the Rock Hill United Methodist Church, Rock Hill Dr., Rock Hill, N.Y. 12775.

Dr. Benjamin Baker, a retired professor and former chairman of the political science department at Rutgers University in New Brunswick, N.J., died Wednesday, August 10, 2005, at St. Luke’s Hospital in Chesterfield, Mo. He was 91 years of age.
The son of the late Abraham and Fanny Gotkin Ginsberg, he was born May 29, 1914, in the Bronx. He was the widower of Sophie Kahn Baker and Dorothy Weiss Baker.
He grew up in Jeffersonville.
Dr. Baker graduated from the College of the City of New York and obtained a Ph.D from Columbia University. During World War II, he worked for the U.S. Department of Agriculture in Puerto Rico. After the war, he began his teaching career at Hofstra College in New York and then accepted a position at Rutgers University, where he continued to teach and chair the department at Rutgers until retirement. Dr. Baker was also a consultant to municipalities in the state of New Jersey and wrote several college text books.
He is survived by two sons, Milton and Harvey; five grandchildren, Jennifer, Adam, Lisa, David and Sara Baker; and the family of Dorothy Weiss Baker. He was predeceased by a brother, George Baker.
Services were held Sunday at the Herbert C. Bryant Funeral Home in Livingston Manor.
Burial was made in Agudas Achim Cemetery in Livingston Manor.

Sheldon T. Slatkin, a civil attorney in Coral Springs, Fla., and a native of Monticello, died while vacationing in Steamboat Springs, Colo., on August 10, 2005. He was 62 years of age.
The son of the late Jacob and Dora Slatkin, he was born March 9, 1943, in Monticello.
He attended California Western School of Law in San Diego, Calif., and upon graduation moved his family to Coral Springs where he began his career and became a member of the Broward County legal community. Mr. Slatkin devoted a quarter century of his life pursuing justice on behalf of his clients.
In a family statement, it was said, “Outside the office, he was the consummate entertainer, famous for sending birthday cakes to absolute strangers while dining out. Sheldon became an avid motorcyclist and spent many weekends with his family and one of his best friends and brother-in-law, Charles, in the Florida Keys.”
He is survived by his wife, Diane, at home; two sons, Jason and Evan; a daughter-in-law, Robin; and three sisters, Shirley, Florence and Estelle.
No further information was submitted.

Liberata “Libby” Marino of Bloomingburg, a longtime area resident and a homemaker, died Saturday, August 13, 2005, at Lenox Hill Hospital in New York. She was 73 years of age.
The daughter of the late Salvatino and Josephine Castigtione Ramundo, she was born September 19, 1931, in Kingston.
In a family statement, it was said, “Libby was a very devoted, loving wife and mother. She was active in her church and in Tuesday Morning Crafts. Libby’s vivacious nature is what made her so loved by everyone. We will remember her as the best mother ever.”
She is survived by her husband of 55 years, Leonard J. Marino; five children, Mary Cornish and her husband, Red, of Parksville, Julie Marino and her partner, Deb Delia, of Bloomingburg, Lenny Marino and his wife, Linda of Bloomingburg, Lisa Marino and her partner, Susan Andries of Jacksonville, Fla.; a son-in-law, Doug Peterson; a brother, Peter Ramundo; two sisters, Virginia Friend and Mary Crow; 17 grandchildren; three great-grandchildren; and many nieces and nephews. She was predeceased by a daughter, Joanne, five brothers, Michael, Joseph, John,  Sebatino and Thomas Ramundo, and four sisters, Theresa Felice, Catherine Ryder, Christine Squillini and Josephine Marino.
A Mass of Christian Burial will be offered at 10 a.m. on Tuesday at Our Lady of the Assumption Church in Bloomingburg.
Burial will be made in the family plot in the Bloomingburg Rural Cemetery.

Brooke Kaylin Sicina of Greenville, a two-year old, died Wednesday, August 10, 2005, at the Columbia Presbyterian Hospital in Manhattan.
The daughter of Michael and Tara Nestor Sicina, she was born June 15, 2003, in Manhattan.
She is survived by her father of Greenville; her mother of Bloomingburg; her paternal grandparents, William and Diane Sicina of Greenville; her maternal grandmother, Paula Roman and her husband, Daniel, of Springhill, Fla.; her maternal grandfather, Franklin Nestor and his wife, Pamela, of Cuddebackville; her paternal great-grandmother, Dorothea Rose of Colorado Springs, Colo.; her maternal great-grandfather, Kenneth Vredenburg and his wife, Mary, of Tampa, Fla.; her maternal great-great-grandmother, Angelina Avery of Bloomingburg; an aunt, Jennifer Sicina of Greenville; and an uncle, Gregory Sicina of Greenville.
Services were held Monday at the Morse Funeral Home in Middletown with the Rev. Glenn Scheyling officiating.
Burial was made in the Bloomingburg Cemetery.
Memorial contributions may be made to the family to help defray the expenses.

Linda Serwan of Clayton, N.C., died August 8, 2005. She was 65 years of age.
She is survived by her husband, Edward Serwan; three sons, John North of Clayton, N.C., Timothy North of Dickinson, Tex., and Anthony North of Bloomingburg; her mother, Ethel Odendahl of Clemmons, N.C.; three brothers, Robert Wilkie of Walton, Gerald Wilkie of Mocksville, N.C., and Joe Serwan of New Jersey; a sister, Annie Serwan of Mocksville, N.C.; and 10 grandchildren.
No further information was submitted.

Nettie Alice Swendsen of Beach Lake, a retired cook at the Beach Lake School and a former employee of the Central House Resort in Beach Lake, Pa, died Friday, August 12, 2005, at Wayne Woodlands Manor in Waymart, Pa. She was 89 years of age.
The daughter of the late John A. and Articea B. Conklin Tyler, she was born March 1, 1916, in Milanville, Pa. She was the widow of Richard E. Swendsen who died January 20, 2000, after 65 years of marriage.
Mrs. Swendsen and her husband left Wayne County in 1941 to begin farming in Sussex, N.J., until 1952. Upon their return to Wayne County, they purchased a dairy farm in Beach Lake, farming there until they retired in 1970.
She was a charter member of the Beach Lake Fire Company’s Ladies Auxiliary, the Beach Lake United Methodist Church and the General William Maxwell Chapter of the Daughters of the American Revolution in Belvidere, N.J.
In a family statement, it was said, “Nettie’s craft work was exceptional. Her artistic creations included needlepoint, sewing and crocheting. She enjoyed camping, gardening, working with flowers and most of all, being in the company of family and friends.”
Mrs. Swendsen is survived by a son, James Edward; a sister, Iona Irene Popielarz; and many nieces, nephews, grandchildren and great-grandchildren.. She was predeceased by a daughter, Mary Ann Daniels four brothers and two sisters.
Funeral services will be held at 10 a.m. Tuesday at the Rasmussen Funeral Home in Narrowsburg on Tuesday.
Burial will be made in the Hillside Cemetery in Damascus, Pa,
Memorial contributions may be made to the Beach Lake United Methodist Church or the Beach Lake Fire Company, both at Beach Lake, Pa. 18405.

George I. Molusky, an eight-year resident of Naples, Fla., and a retired signal engineer for Conrail, died Wednesday, August 10, 2005, at the Cleveland Clinic in Naples. He was 81 years of age.
The son of the late George F. and Clara Sparling Molusky, he was born February 3, 1924, in Callicoon.
A 1941 graduate of Delaware Valley Central School, he was a World War II veteran of the U.S. Marine Corps.
He started his career with the Erie Railroad as a signalman’s helper on the Delaware Division. After his service with the Marine Corps, he resumed that work and rose through the ranks into the hierarchy of the railroad before his retirement.
He is survived by his wife, Irene Irmscher Molusky, at home; four children, Thomas of Streetsboro, Ohio, Glenn Molusky of Galilee, Pa., Nancy Shannon of Twinsburg, Ohio and Patty Gooding of Naples, Fla.; six grandchildren; a sister-in-law, Jean Molusky of Callicoon; and several nieces and nephews. He was predeceased by two sisters, Roberta and Adelaide, and four brothers, Carl, Robert, Vernon and Donald.
Memorial services will be held in Hortonville in September, the time and place to be announced.
Burial will be made in the Hortonville Presbyterian Cemetery.
Memorial contributions may be made to the Delaware Youth Center, Callicoon, N.Y. 12723.