Gary Michael (Mike) Newell

HARTWICK - Gary Michael Newell died peacefully at home on Friday, December 23, 2016. 

Mike was born in Whitehall, the son of Patricia Newell (Cooper). His maternal grandmother, upon first peek, declared, "He's not a Gary. He's a Mike!" and hence he became known as Mike. His childhood home, with the mountains in his backyard, provided the perfect setting for him to develop a relentless curiosity and imagination, a life-long penchant for risk taking, and a love of the Adirondacks.

Upon graduating from high school and attending Adirondack Community College, Mike hitchhiked to Alaska, a land he loved. He worked as a Fire Warden and Fire Planner for the Bureau of Land Management in Alaska from 1973-1981. His love of fighting fire never waned and led him to work with the New York State Forest Rangers as a wild land fire fighter from 2000-2007. His assignments included mostly western forest fires, but also natural disasters, such as Hurricane Katrina, as well.

In 1983 Mike joined with Mark Rathbun to create an alternative high school for non-traditional students for BOCES. The program and its students prospered, especially when they made their home in the "old Hartwick School," where they were incorporated into and embraced by the Hartwick Community. He taught English and Reading at the "Upward Bound" school for 22 years and up to the present continued to receive calls and letters from former students thanking him for "recognizing their talents, challenging them, giving them a purpose, and teaching them to question themselves." His enthusiasm and talent for teaching alternative populations propelled him to seek work at a variety of other venues, including the Migrant Tutorial Program; as a GED teacher; as a Reading/English teacher at Summit Incarceration Facility, Oneonta Job Corps, Allen Residential Center and Brace Residential Facility; and as an Adjunct Writing Instructor at SUNY Oneonta. 

Upon his retirement from education in 2004, Mike worked as an ER clerk at Bassett Medical Center -- a tribute to a beloved grandmother who had been a nurse. He was most proud of developing a Compassion Fatigue program for caregivers while working at Bassett. In full retirement Mike became a volunteer with the Albany Pine Bush on prescription burns and was currently a naturalist-in-training there. Other pursuits to his credit are stints as a 911 Dispatcher, Commissioner of the Otsego County Local Conditional Release Commission, and elections inspector for the Otsego County Board of Elections. 

Mike had an unending love of literature and was greatly influenced by the work of Barry Lopez. In 2008 he wrote No Bottom: In Conversation With Barry Lopez, a critical inquiry into the author's work. He also enjoyed reading and writing poetry and had numerous poems published in literary journals. He authored three books of poetry: uNderground Fires, The Unlived Life, and Aestivation; and is listed in the Poets and Writers Directory. 

Mike received his BS in Fire Ecology from Empire State College in 1981; a Masters in Environmental Law from Vermont Law School in 1984; and a Masters in Education from SUNY Oneonta in 1989. 

Mike married his wife, Phyllis, on September 22, 1989, and together they built a log cabin in the hills of Hartwick and created their own small "piece of Paradise." Along with his wife, he is survived by two daughters, Sara Beth Newell and Meggan (Stephen) Flaherty; two stepdaughters, Trisha (Chuck) D'Imperio and Jo Ann Furlan; one stepson, Dan (Sara) Schallert; eight grandchildren, Katja and Gavin Flaherty, Abby and Joseph Rodenas, Gabriella and Maralina Furlan, and Graham and Hadley Schallert. He is also survived by four brothers, Bob (Susan) Newell, Edwin (Mary) Cox, and Tom and Mark Cox; one sister, Gail (Tom) Todd; and his wife's siblings, Jacqueline Parshall and Tim (Lora) Bridger; as well as several aunts, cousins, nieces and nephews. 

Family and friends are invited to call at the Connell, Dow & Deysenroth Funeral Home in Cooperstown from 11 a.m. until 1 p.m. on Thursday, December 29, 2016.

A Memorial Service will be offered at the funeral home at 1 p.m. on Thursday, with the Rev. Betsy Jay, Chaplain at Bassett Medical Center in Cooperstown, officiating.

In lieu of flowers, please consider a memorial donation to the Susquehanna Animal Shelter, 4841 State Highway 28, Cooperstown, NY 13326, the Kinney Memorial Library, P.O. Box 176, Hartwick, NY 13348, or the Adirondack Mountain Club, 814 Goggins Road, Lake George, NY 12845. 

Arrangements are under the care and guidance of the Connell, Dow & Deysenroth Funeral Home in Cooperstown.


If you would like to send condolences to the family, send an email to Connell, Dow & Deysenroth. We will forward your comments to the family. If you would like to send flowers in memory of the deceased, contact Mohican Flowers at (607) 547-8822, or A Rose is a Rose at (607) 264-3100.

Robert E. Covert

1931 - 2016

HARTWICK - Robert Ellis Covert, 85, passed away after suffering for ten years with Alzheimer's Sunday evening, December 11, 2016, at his home on West Hill.

He was born September19, 1931, at Hackensack Hospital in Hackensack, New Jersey, a son of Ellis Anderson and Edna May (Ockenholt) Covert.

After graduating from high school, Bob entered into active service with the United States Navy on February 4, 1949. He served during the Cold War as a diesel mechanic on submarines at the submarine base in New London, Connecticut. On January 30, 1953, he received his honorable discharge from the military. 

On September 22, 1956, he married Ruth Ann Schilling in Wyckoff, New Jersey.

Throughout his life Bob worked as a garbage man, a motor vehicle inspector for the State of New Jersey and as a police officer for the Borough of Oakland in New Jersey, retiring as a Lieutenant in the 1980s. 

Once he retired, he spent the rest of his life living in Hartwick. Bob was active with the Hartwick American Legion Post No. 1567, helped form and was an active member with his wife, Ruth, of the Wanderers and Reminiscers Car Clubs, and served as a member of the Planning Board for the Town of Hartwick. He loved his family, friends and pets, and enjoyed life with his wife on the West Hill Toy Farm. He really loved all his toys, especially his toy trucks and cars that were his passions. 

For years Bob was known as the "Hershey Kiss Man", handing out Hershey Kisses to women everywhere he went.

He will be greatly missed. 

Bob is survived by one son Michael K. Covert of Hartwick; one daughter and son-in-law, Kathleen and Jon Sammis of Petersham, Massachusetts; three granddaughters, Colleen Witter and husband, Jason, of West Winfield, Dana Conte and husband, Nathan, of Hartwick, and Lisa Covert and companion, Jason Rashkow of Westford; one great grandson, Joseph Conte; one great granddaughter, Kathryn Conte; a sister, Natalie Keene of Suffern; a brother-in-law, William Schilling and companion, Marilyn Dougherty of Hartwick; several nieces and nephews; and his care provider, Deborah Wengert.

He was predeceased by his wife of 58 years, Ruth Covert, who died December 7, 2014; and two sisters, Mary Catherine Brangen and Jean Lois La Chaunce. 

A celebration of his life picnic and service will be held May 20, 2017 at his home. 

In lieu of flowers, please consider a memorial gift to Hartwick Emergency Squad, P.O. Box 208, Hartwick, NY 13348 or Susquehanna Animal Shelter, 4841 State Highway 28, Cooperstown, NY 13326.

Arrangements are under the care and guidance of the Connell, Dow & Deysenroth Funeral Home in Cooperstown. 


If you would like to send condolences to the family, send an email to Connell, Dow & Deysenroth. We will forward your comments to the family. If you would like to send flowers in memory of the deceased, contact Mohican Flowers at (607) 547-8822, or A Rose is a Rose at (607) 264-3100.