Sullivan County Democrat
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  OBITUARY ARCHIVES Established 1891 Callicoon, New York  
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March 31, 2006

Alice G. Johnston
Ret. Nurses Aide, 81

Alice Gillow Johnston of Liberty, formerly of Long Eddy, died Monday, March 27, 2006 at the Sullivan County Adult Care Center in Liberty. She was 81.
The daughter of Sanford and Erma Williams Minckler, she was born April 7, 1924 in Callicoon. She was the widow of Paul Gillow Sr. and George Johnston.
She was a retired nurses aide at Hancock Hospital in Hancock, a member of the Long Eddy Hose Company Ladies Auxiliary, and the Ladies Auxiliary of Allan Milk Post Veterans of Foreign Wars.
She is survived by her children, Paul Gillow, Jr. and his wife, Rhonda, of Long Eddy, Robert Gillow and his wife, Rosie, of Beach Lake, Pa., Sarah Vacca of Loch Sheldrake, Dawn Davis of Binghamton, Karl Gillow and his wife, Carol, of Long Eddy, Mary VanPelt and her husband, Bruce, of Woodbourne, and John Gillow and his wife, Theresa “Tess,” of Beach Lake, Pa.; a sister, Wanda Sutton of N.C.; four brothers, Allan Minckler of Florida, Alvin Minckler of Pennsylvania, Gerald Minckler of Long Eddy, and David Minckler of Jeffersonville; 13 grandchildren; 8 great-grandchildren; several nieces and nephews. She was predeceased by two sisters, Bertha Swendsen and Edith Fuller; a brother, Alfred Minckler; and a son-in-law, Aaron Davis.
Services will be held at 11:00 a.m. Friday, March 31 at the Stewart-Murphy Funeral Home in Callicoon.
Burial will be made in Halsey Cemetery in Long Eddy.
Memorial contributions may be made to the Long Eddy Hose Co. Ladies Auxiliary, Long Eddy, NY 12760 or Hospice of Orange & Sullivan Counties, 800 Stonybrook Court, Newburgh, NY 12550.

Verna A. Dixon
Ret. Supervisor, 91

Verna A. Dixon of Schaghticoke died Tuesday, March 28, 2006 at Van Rensselaer Manor following a lengthy illness. She was 91 years of age.
Born May 4, 1914 in Montgomery, she was the daughter of the late Jason and Johanna Hendrickson Ayers. She was the widow of Kenneth B. Dixon.
She attended Graham’s School in Hastings-on-Hudson and graduated from Campbell Hall High School.
Before her retirement in 1973, she had been the Night Supervisor of Operators for Long Distance Calling at the former New York Telephone Co.
She is a member of the Presbyterian United Church in Schaghticoke, a member of the Order of Eastern Star, Hiram Lodge, New Haven, CT. Along with her late husband, she participated in the Shriners Egypt Temple of Tampa, FL. She was a member of the New York State Organization of China Painters and operated a Porcelain Doll Making Studio in Schaghticoke for a number of years, and she also taught China Painting in Florida.
Survivors include two daughters and sons-in-law, Lois and William Popp of Schaghticoke, and Eleanor and Donald Lare of Jeffersonville; a sister, Evelyn Bye of DePauw, Ind.; 6 grandchildren; and 14 great-grandchildren; and several nieces and nephews. She was predeceased by two brothers, Alfred and Edward Ayers; and two sisters, Helen Lorentzen and Marion Hof.
Funeral services will be at 10:00 a.m. Friday at the Presbyterian United Church, Main Street, Schaghticoke.
Burial will be made in Memory’s Garden, Colonie.
Memorial contributions may be made to the Presbyterian United Church, Main Street, Schaghticoke, NY 12154.

Henry R. Kuhner, 75

Henry R. Kuhner of Malcolm, Neb., died Sunday, March 12, 2006 at his home. He was 75 years of age.
The son of the late Henry and Berta Weber Kuhner, he was born June 21, 1930 in Brooklyn.
Mr. Kuhner grew up in the Beechwoods, and later moved to Nebraska.
He is survived by his wife, Lillian, at home; a daughter and son-in-law, Stefanie and Dennis Bowers of Malcolm, Neb.; two sons and a daughter-in-law, Bruce Kuhner of Malcolm, Neb., and John and Kathy Kuhner of Shaver Lake, Calif.; a sister and brother-in-law, Eleanore and Charles Berner of Cochecton; and several nieces and nephews.
A memorial service was held at the Lincoln Memorial Funeral Home in Lincoln, Neb., with military honors led by the Nebraska Army National Honor Guard.
Memorial contributions may be made to the charity of one’s choice.

Charles A. Burgio
Ret. Business Owner, 90

Charles A. Burgio, a 54-year area resident, died Monday, March 27, 2006 at Catskill Regional Medical Center, surrounded by his loving family. He was 90 years of age.
The son of James and Dorothea DeRosa Burgio, he was born October 12, 1915 in Carbondale, Pa.
Mr. Burgio was the owner-operator of Charlie’s Barber Shop in Liberty for 48 years. He was a member of St. Peter’s Church in Liberty, a life member of the Clarence Hoyt Post #9217 VFW in Liberty, and a former member of Liberty Elks Lodge #1545. He was also a veteran of the U.S. Army, serving his country from 1941-1945 during World War II.
He is survived by his wife of 57 years, Elizabeth “Betty” McAuley Burgio, at home; three sons, Charles W. Burgio and his wife, Elizabeth, of Liberty, Robert J. Burgio and his wife, Kim, of Liberty and William R. Burgio and his wife, Denise, of White Sulphur Springs; a daughter, Dorothea E. Garrihy and her husband, Thomas, of East Windsor, N.J.; a special brother-in-law, Jack McAuley of Yulan; four brothers, John Burgio and wife, Rosalie of Toms River, N.J., Vito Burgio of Ft. Lauderdale, Fla., James Burgio and wife, Sonya, of Fayetteville, N.C., Joseph Burgio and Theresa Burgio of Carbondale, Pa; two sisters, Louise Drob of Carbondale, Pa and Mary Bucca of Lyndhurst, N.J.; nine grandchildren, Cheryl A. Gerow, Meghan Garrihy, Jaime Burgio, Deanna Burgio, Chad Burgio, Christopher and Brendan Garrihy, and Michael and Timothy Burgio; and several nieces and nephews. He was predeceased by a brother, Angelo, and a sister, Caroline Miller.
A Mass of Christian Burial was held Thursday at St. Peter’s Church in Liberty with Rev. Matthew Foley officiating.
Burial with military honors was made in the Sullivan County Veterans Cemetery, Liberty.
Memorial contributions may be made to St. Peter’s Church, 264 N. Main St., Liberty, NY 12754 or to the Alzheimer’s Association, Mid-Hudson Chapter, 2 Jefferson Plaza, Suite 102, Poughkeepsie, NY 12601-4027.
Funeral arrangements were made by Ramsay’s Funeral Homes, Liberty.

Margaret Hurrey, 79
Ret. Registered Nurse

Margaret “Maggie” Hurrey of Las Vegas, Nev., formerly of Liberty, died Tuesday, March 14, 2006 at Sunrise Hospital with her family by her side, following a long illness. She was 79.
The daughter of the late James and Margaret Hurrey, she was born September 9, 1926 in Pittston, Pa.
She was raised in Shamokin, Pa. She raised her family in Liberty and moved to Las Vegas upon her retirement eight years ago. She was a Registered Nurse and began her career at Community General Hospital in Liberty. She later became Director of Nursing and Administration at Walnut Mountain Care Center in Liberty. She was remembered by her patients because of her sense of humor and compassionate care.
In a family statement it was said, “Maggie dedicated her life to caring for her family. They will cherish the memories of summers spent at the Jersey Shore, holidays with Nanny’s famous pies and endless laughter due to her unique way with words.”
She was the mother of Ruth Pfriender of Las Vegas, Nev., Nancy Lomax of Duanesburg, and Dawne Steenrod of Albany; and the grandmother of Jason, Mike and Corey Pfriender of Las Vegas, Nev., Noel, Drew and Colin Lomax of Duanesburg, Lindsay, Adam and Ryan Steenrod of Albany, and Melissa, Kimberly and Scott Pfriender of Fort Myers, Fla. She is also survived by three sons-in-law, Michael Pfriender, Paul Lomax, and Dale Steenrod; and her beloved chihuahua, Baby.
A memorial service was held Friday, March 17 at Palm Mortuary, Las Vegas, Nev.
Memorial contributions may be made to Hoyt Library, 284 Wyoming Avenue, Kingston, PA 18704. Contributions will be for the purpose of purchasing nursing books in memory of Margaret Hurrey, who was a graduate of Nesbitt Hospital School of Nursing.

Helen DuCharme Exum
Fmr. Liberty Res., 93

Helen DuCharme Exum died on the evening of March 22, 2006 in Cathlamet, Washington.
She was born on September 23, 1912 in Wappingers Falls, NY to Eusebie and George DuCharme.
She always said that it was easy to remember her birth year if you remembered the “Titanic.”
In 1929, she began a career with Central Hudson Gas and Electric Corp. where she worked until 1945. She was one of the first women employees of this corporation that performed the job of industrial site layout and blueprinting.
She married William T. Exum on June 6, 1945. They were married for 42 years. He preceded her in death in 1987. They had two children, Patricia and George. Patricia preceded her in death in 1996. The family moved to Liberty, NY in 1956. Liberty is where the family called home until Helen moved to Cathlamet in 1998.
Helen enjoyed needlework, crossword puzzles, literature, art, and lively discussion on politics, history, and current events. Having worked in a library, she looked forward to books and discussion at the Cathlamet Library on Monday mornings. Having lived her life when monumental change happened in our country and the world, she enjoyed viewing current events with the impact of past history.
Survivors are George, her son, and his wife Carol Carver of Cathlamet; she is also survived by granddaughters, Maiya and Sarah Exum of Cathlamet, Wa. and Amy and Danielle Monks of El Paso, Tex; and a great-granddaughter Stormy Monks of El Paso, Tex.
She lived her faith and loved being part of her church community.
A memorial service will be held for her at St. Catherine’s Catholic Church, Cathlamet on April 5, 2006 at 11:00 a.m.
In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to St. James Family Center, 1134 Columbia St., Cathlamet, WA 98612.

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