William Walter Dornburgh

1931 - 2019

COOPERSTOWN – William Walter Dornburgh, 87, of Cooperstown, died Sunday morning, May 26, 2019, at his home. 

He was born September 26, 1931, in Jersey City, New Jersey, a son of Edmund and Elizabeth (Meehan) Dornburgh.

Bill attended Jersey City public schools, where he was high school class president. He received a BS degree in economics from Saint Peter’s College in 1954, where he said the Jesuits had left an indelible Catholic mark on his life, as he put it, “warts and all”. He enlisted in the United States Marine Corps Reserves in 1951, served at Parris Island and received an Honorable Discharge in 1952. He earned an MBA in finance from Seton Hall University in 1964.

After his father died in 1936, Bill and his brothers spent summers on the family farm in Middlefield, which led to a lifelong love affair with Cooperstown. He worked summers at The Cooper Inn and The Otesaga Hotel from 1947 to 1953. During those summers he met Patricia Ann Butler, a Native Daughter of Cooperstown who became “the essence of his existence”. They were married at St. Mary’s “Our Lady of the Lake” Roman Catholic Church in Cooperstown in June 1954, a marriage that lasted 60 years, seven months and two days. They raised their family in Glen Ridge, New Jersey.

Bill was an officer of the Bank of New York in New York City, and was subsequently a senior vice president of UJB Financial Corporation in Princeton, New Jersey, from which he retired in 1994. He was president of UJB Leasing Corp., and had also been an adjunct assistant professor of economics at St. Peter’s College for ten years. He also served as chairman of the Board of Governors of West Hudson Hospital in Kearney, New Jersey, and was a member of the Board of Directors of Accel International Corp. in Dublin, Ohio. Before he and Patricia retired to Cooperstown, he volunteered as a tutor at a Newark, New Jersey elementary school where he said he learned more that he taught.

In 1973, Bill and Patricia purchased a portion of the old Hinman/Dornburgh family farm in Middlefield, where they built a small summer cottage which they redesigned into their retirement home in 1995. They resided there until they moved into the Village of Cooperstown in 2004. They had wintered in Pinehurst, North Carolina from 1995 until 2006. 

In his retirement years, Bill was an active parishioner of St. Mary’s “Our Lady of the Lake” Roman Catholic Church in Cooperstown, where he served as a lector, Eucharistic Minister and a member of the finance committee. He served on the board of the Town of Middlefield Historical Association and volunteered at The Fenimore Art Museum, The Farmers’ Museum and Mary Imogene Bassett Hospital. He was also president of the Glimmerglass Opera Guild and was a member of the Center for Continuing Adult Learning in Oneonta, where he taught courses in economics and political science. He also served as a director of the Otsego County Heath Facilities Corporation, which was charged with the sale of Otsego Manor, a sale to Focus that he voted against. He was an advocate for affordable housing in Cooperstown, single payer health insurance, legalization of undocumented immigrants, a married priesthood and, most of all, of civil discussion. He was also a member of the Clark F. Simmons American Legion Post No. 579 in Cooperstown. 

He was predeceased by his beloved wife, Patricia, in 2015, who he “loved with all his heart and soul and every fiber of his being”. He was very proud of their five children who survive him: Kathleen Stuart of Apex, North Carolina, Leigh Dornburgh and his wife, Paula of Elmsford, Annie Hannah of Rochester, New Hampshire, Barbara Santurri and her husband John of Woonsocket, Rhode Island, and Edmund Dornburgh and his wife, Elizabeth of Arlington, Massachusetts. He is also survived by eight grandchildren and two great grandsons. He was predeceased by two brothers, Edmund in 1944, and Leigh in 1948.

Bill’s full name was William Walter Joseph Dornburgh. His initials WWJD could be translated as “What Would Jesus Do?”, a moral imperative by which he lived. 

Friends may call and pay their respects to the Dornburgh family from 6-8 p.m. on Friday, May 31, 2019, at the Connell, Dow & Deysenroth Funeral Home in Cooperstown 

The Liturgy of Christian Burial will be offered at 10 a.m. on Saturday, June 1, 2019, at St. Mary's "Our Lady of the Lake" Roman Catholic Church in Cooperstown, with Fr. John P. Rosson, presiding.

The Service of Committal and Burial will follow in Lakewood Cemetery, Cooperstown, where Bill will be buried beside his beloved Patricia. 

He will be greatly missed by his loving family, especially for his unending guidance and support.

In addition to flowers, the Dornburgh family respectfully requests that memorial gifts in memory of Bill be directed to Catskill Area Hospice and Palliative Care, 297 River Street Service Road, Oneonta, NY 13820. 

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.

​Paul L. Ingalls

1947 - 2019

HARTWICK SEMINARY – Paul L. Ingalls, a man who devoted his life to farming, died unexpectedly Sunday night, May 19, 2019, at Bassett Medical Center in Cooperstown. He was 71.

Paul was a descendent of the first Ingalls who came to the new world in 1628 and settled in Lynn, Massachusetts. A seventh generation farmer, he was born July 6, 1947, at the Mary Imogene Bassett Hospital in Cooperstown, a son of Rodney Howard Ingalls and Virginia Mary McGraw Ingalls.

Paul graduated from Cooperstown High School with the Class of 1966. On January 19, 1967, Paul was inducted into the United States Army, and he completed his basic training at Fort Dix, New Jersey in March, 1967. He received infantry training at Fort Polk, Louisiana, and was stationed in Fort Lewis before going to Viet Nam on August 3, 1967. After a year’s tour of duty with the 25th Infantry Division, Cu Chi, Viet Nam, he returned home to his parents’ home in Hartwick Seminary. Following this leave, he was reassigned to Cu Chi for a voluntary extension of six months. While serving in Viet Nam, SP4 Ingalls received the Purple Heart for wounds received in action, the Combat Infantry Badge, the Viet Nam Service Medal and the Army Commendation Medal for meritorious combat service in the Republic of Viet Nam. Specialist Ingalls received his Honorable Discharge from the Military on January 18, 1973.

Paul attended vocational school in Washington State where he studied welding. He used this skill often in his future farming career. During his time at school, he connected with a Campus Crusade for Christ group (now CRU), a ministry that was influential in his life and about which he often reminisced.

For many years Paul owned and operated Ingalls Farm in Hartwick Seminary. Farming was truly his passion. He especially loved growing fruit and enjoyed sharing the fruits of his labor. He raised his kids on the farm and taught them many valuable skills, some through his strengths and some through his faults. He gave many local kids a summer job and a safe, fun, family-oriented place to hang out. More recently he was teaching his grandkids how to plant and harvest because he wanted them to learn where their food came from and to value the work that farmers do to provide for them.

He attended Faith Baptist Church in Hyde Park for the past couple of years and participated in their ministries. One of his favorite Bible verses was Proverbs 11:30, which states, “The fruit of the righteous is a tree of life, and he who wins souls is wise.”

Paul is survived by his wife of 21 years, the former Deborah Ann Leonbruno, of Hartwick Seminary; their children and their families, Jesse and Amber Ingalls and their children, Connor and Grayson, and Justin and Ashley Ingalls and their daughter, Paislee, all of Cooperstown; Jenny Lynn and Charles Brett and their children, Dionna, Amy, Alexandrea, Makenzie, Hunter and Reuben of Afton; Joanna Ingalls of New York City; Robert and Chrissy Miron and their children, Tailynn, Gabrielle, Ava, Allison and Reilly of the State of Maryland; and Laura and Stephen Berg and their children, Ayla and Emerik of California. He is further survived by one brother, David E. Ingalls and wife, Darlene of Hartwick Seminary, and one sister, Marybeth Ring and husband, Jeffrey of Baltimore, Maryland, as well as many nieces and nephews.

He was predeceased by his mother, Virginia M. Ingalls, who died April 26, 2007, his father, Rodney H. Ingalls, who died November 19, 2013, and a brother, Timothy H. Ingalls, who died at the age of 6 on February 10, 1963.

Family and friends paid their respects on Wednesday, May 29, 2019, from 3-5 p.m. at the Connell, Dow & Deysenroth Funeral Home (formerly Ingalls Funeral Home), 82 Chestnut Street, Cooperstown.

At the conclusion of the visitation, a Funeral Service was offered at 5 p.m. at the funeral home, with Pastor Michael A. Glisson, pastor of Faith Baptist Church in Hyde Park, officiating. Military Honors were accorded at the funeral home by members of the New York State Military Forces Honor Guard and the Cooperstown Veterans Club.

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

Expressions of sympathy in the form of memorial gifts may be made to Faith Baptist Church, 4898 State Highway 28, Cooperstown, NY 13326.


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.

Jean C. Huntington

1933 - 2019

COOPERSTOWN - Jean C. Huntington, wife of the late Donald C. Huntington, died early Sunday morning, May 19, 2019, at Woodside Hall in Cooperstown. She was 86. 

Born February 25, 1933, in Oneonta, Jean was a daughter of Raymond J. and Cassie (Fowler) Cower. Jean grew up in Oneonta and graduated from OHS in 1951.

On February 22, 1953, Jean married Donald C. Huntington in a ceremony at the Main Street Baptist Church in Oneonta. A “city girl”, Jean adapted to farm life when she and Don settled in the Westford area where they raised their family.

In the early 80s, Don and Jean moved to Wildwood, Florida where they lived for many years. They moved back to Cooperstown in the middle 90s, living in different houses in their Trolley Line Development.

Jean enjoyed many travels with Don around the USA and abroad. She worked daily on her journal, loved to garden and read.

Jean is survived by one daughter, Jill Huntington-Smith and her husband, Herbert, of Clermont, Florida; two sons, Donald C. Huntington, Jr. of Schenevus, and Eric “Rick” L. Huntington of San Diego, California; three grandchildren, Lowell and Jamie Huntington and Eric C. Smith; and many nieces and nephews. 

Jean was predeceased by her husband Don, their son Christopher Jon Huntington, brothers Richard C. Cower and Erwin J. (Sonny) Cower, and a sister, VerNetta Riccitello. 

There will be no services for Jean. Remember your times spent with her fondly, smile, and know that she is at peace.

Jean’s ashes will be laid to rest with her husband’s at a later date in Westford Cemetery.

Jean’s family is very grateful for her wonderful care at Woodside Hall, her devoted church family of St. Timothy’s, Westford and her and Dad’s “gang” of friends in Cooperstown. 

As an alternative to flowers, Jean's family suggests that memorial donations be made in her memory to St. Timothy's Episcopal Church, P.O. Box 74, Westford, NY 13488-0074, or to Catskill Area Hospice and Palliative Care, 297 River Street Service Road, Oneonta, NY 13820.

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.

Irene M. Harbison

1938 - 2019

MIDDLEFIELD – Irene M. Harbison, 80, passed away early Monday morning, May 13, 2019, at Cooperstown Center for Rehabilitation and Nursing. 

She was born October 25, 1938, in Cooperstown, a daughter of Glenn D. and Geneva (McRorie) Morrison. 

A graduate of Cooperstown High School, Class of 1956, Irene was employed for many years as a secretary at the Cornell Cooperative Extension in Cooperstown. She later stayed at home to take care of her mother until her passing in 1992. 

A long-time member of the First Baptist Church of Cooperstown, she faithfully served the Middlefield Center Cemetery for many years in various capacities and was a long-time volunteer at the Mary Imogene Bassett Hospital. She was also involved with 4-H, and in 1976 was recognized with grateful appreciation for her outstanding 20 years of service to the Otsego County 4-H Youth Development Program.

Irene is survived by her guardians, nephew David Morrison of Shapleigh, Maine, and niece Donna Hupe of Springvale, Maine, and numerous other nieces and nephews. 

She was preceded in death by her husband of 31 years, Theodore “Ted” Harbison (2002), and her three brothers, Donald W. Morrison (2000), Lester C. Morrison (2004) and Walter G. Morrison (1981).

Family and friends are invited to pay their respects from 1-3 p.m. on Saturday afternoon, May 18, 2019, at the Connell, Dow & Deysenroth Funeral Home in Cooperstown.

In accordance with Irene’s wishes, there will be no services. 

As a way to remember Irene, her family respectfully requests that memorial gifts be directed to the Alzheimer’s Association, Meadows Office Complex, Suite 5, 140 County Highway 33W, 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.