Connell, Dow & Deysenroth, Inc.Funeral Home: March 2020

Dawn C. Block

1943 - 2020

SOUTH HARTWICK – Dawn C. Block, 76, of South Hartwick, passed away early Friday morning, March 20, 2020, at Bassett Medical Center in Cooperstown surrounded by her loving family.

She was born July 22, 1943, in the City of Newburgh, a daughter of Cecil and Sarah (Lewis) Rhodes. After living in various places she eventually settled in the Hartwick area. Throughout her life she devoted much of her time to caring for people. She worked at The Meadows in Cooperstown and Chestnut Park Rehabilitation and Nursing Center in Oneonta, and also provided babysitting services to area families. She especially enjoyed working with her daughter, Cheryl, at her Little People’s Daycare in Milford.

In her leisure Dawn enjoyed various arts and crafts such as knitting and crocheting: she was very proud of all the beautiful things she knitted and crocheted, showing everyone she met her creations. She also took great pleasure in doing puzzles, reading and watching birds, as well as listening to music, watching movies on TV, and all the animals. Being with her family gave her the greatest pleasure in life.

Dawn will be greatly missed by her five children and five grandchildren, Laura Pollak and husband, Andrew of South Hartwick; Daniel Shute and wife Donna of Edmeston and his son, Caleb Shute and his fiancé, Amanda; Cheryl Shaw and husband, Lester of Milford and their sons Andrew Shaw and his husband, Jason and Matthew Shaw; Rodney Shute and wife, Christina of Christian Hill and their sons, RJ and his fiancé, Jessica and Jessie and his fiancé, Krislynn; and Elda M. Clark of Hartwick. She will also be missed by her extended family, Corinne Pollak and Joseph Rotolo, Sr. of Upper Ducth Hill Road in Oneonta, Terry and Maureen Holtje of Edgewater, New Jersey, and Wendy (Ken) Dudek of Oriskany, as well as her pet Chinchilla, Molly.

She was predeceased by a son-in-law, Douglas Charles Clark; her father, Cecil Rhodes, Sr. and her mother, Sarah (Lewis) Morton, as well as her siblings, Cecil “Billy” Rhodes and Myna Clum.

Due to the current New York State limitations on public gatherings for health reasons, the funeral service for Dawn will be held privately for immediate family only at the Connell, Dow & Deysenroth Funeral Home in Cooperstown.

Interment will be later this Spring in Hartwick Cemetery.

For those who wish to remember Dawn with a memorial gift, her family respectfully asks that donations be made to the Susquehanna Animal Shelter, 4840 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.

Barbara C. Harris

1930 - 2020

COOPERSTOWN – Barbara C. Harris a long-time resident of Cooperstown and former clerk at Withey’s Drug Store, died Saturday morning, March 7, 2020, at Cooperstown Center for Rehabilitation and Nursing. She was 90.

Born February 12, 1930, in Oneida, she was one of five children of Homer J. and Dorothy (Kilts) Cox. She graduated from Oneida High School in 1948.

On January 16, 1954, Barbara married William J. Harris in a ceremony at St. Francis Catholic Church in Durhamville. In 1973 they became residents of Cooperstown.

Beginning in 1974, Barbara was a clerk at the former Withey’s Drug Store on Main Street in Cooperstown, where she always enjoyed visiting with the customers. She retired in 1991 when the store closed.

A devoted communicant of St. Mary’s “Our Lady of the Lake” Roman Catholic Church in Cooperstown, she especially enjoyed spending time with her family.

Barbara is survived by six daughters, Donna Kemp and husband, Steve, of LaCrosse, Wisconsin, Denna Gorden and husband, Patrick (“Tex”), of the Town of Maryland, Darlene Bennett and husband, Walter, of Vero Beach, Florida, Janet Snyder and husband, Jack, of Fly Creek, Martha Harris of Cooperstown, and Margaret Hunt and husband, Dale, of Gilbertsville; three sons, Joseph Harris and wife, Jean, of Middlefield, John Harris and wife, Karen, of Milford, and Andrew Harris and wife, Karen, of Paddock Lake, Wisconsin; 13 grandchildren; 18 great grandchildren; three sisters, Virginia Griesmyer of Oneida, Nancy Loomis of Florida and Suzanne Clark of Oneida; one brother, Paul Cox of Sherrill; and many nieces and nephews.

She was preceded in death by her husband of 43 years, Bill, who died September 10, 1997, and their son, Thomas Michael Harris, who died June 13, 2012.

Friends may call and pay their respects at the Connell, Dow & Deysenroth Funeral Home, 82 Chestnut Street, Cooperstown, from 10 a.m. until 12 Noon Saturday, March 14, 2020, when Barbara’s family will be in attendance.

The Liturgy of Christian Burial will be offered at 12:30 p.m. on Saturday, March 14, 2020, at St. Mary's “Our Lady of the Lake” Roman Catholic Church in Cooperstown.

The Service of Committal and Burial will be later this Spring in St. Mary's Cemetery, Index, where Barbara will be laid to rest with her husband and son.

At the request of the family, it is requested that flowers be omitted, and memorial gifts be directed to the Cooperstown Emergency Squad, PO Box 322, Cooperstown, NY 13326.

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

Michael K. Covert

1960 - 2020

HARTWICK – Michael K. Covert, a long-standing community member, dedicated civil servant and honorably discharged veteran who served as an Otsego County Sheriff’s Deputy and Police Chief for the Village of Cooperstown, passed away following a valiant battle with several medical issues Sunday night, March 1, 2020, at his home. He was 59.

Born May 4, 1960, in Pompton Plains, Pequannock Township, New Jersey, Mike was the son of Robert Ellis and Ruth Ann (Schilling) Covert. Raised in Oakland, New Jersey, Mike attended school there, and in the summers he and his family spent time in Hartwick. In 1977, he moved permanently to Hartwick and graduated from Cooperstown High School with the Class of 1978.

Following high school, he attended SUNY College of Agriculture and Technology at Cobleskill where he studied landscape management. On August 22, 1980, Mike entered into active duty with the New York Army National Guard and served with Company D, 204th Engineer Battalion. He entered the reserves in 1986, and received his Honorable Discharge July 31, 1995.

Throughout his life, Mike dedicated his life to helping others. This was truly evident in his choice to enter the field of law enforcement, and in 1986 he began his career as a corrections officer at the Otsego County Jail. In 1989 he became an officer with the Cooperstown Police Department (CPD), and then in 2000 became a Sheriff’s Deputy with the Otsego County Sheriff’s Office (OCSO), retiring in 2011 as an Investigator.

In 2012 he became the Chief of Police for the Cooperstown Police Department. During his tenure, Chief Covert’s proudest accomplishment was having his department become the first in New York State to partner with the Police Assisted Addiction and Recovery Initiative (PAARI) to implement new drug addiction recovery initiatives. Modeled after the Gloucester (Massachusetts) ANGEL initiative, this program encouraged residents who wanted to overcome their drug addiction to simply walk into the police station, turn over their drugs and equipment and ask for help without the threat of arrest. Initiated in Cooperstown on Thanksgiving Day 2015, the program has assisted 171 individuals. As Chief of Police he also pushed for local pharmacies to make Nasal Narcan available to residents without a prescription. He retired from CPD in 2019 due to health-related issues.

For many years Mike also served the community of Hartwick as a volunteer firefighter with Hartwick Fire Department Co. No. 1 and as an EMT with the Hartwick Emergency Squad.

Mike Ten Eyck, a good friend and fellow retired Otsego County Sheriff’s Investigator, once wrote, “Anyone who has met Michael K. Covert over the years knows that he would do anything for anyone and not expect a thing in return.” Such was a relatively brief but well-lived life of service to others. Mike Covert (OCSO Shield 0004/CPD Badge 207) will be greatly missed by his family and all those whose lives he touched.

Mike is survived by his wife, Deborah, whom he married on June 15, 2018, in Hartwick; his three daughters, Colleen Witter and husband, Jason, of West Winfield, Dana Conte and husband, Nathan, of Hartwick, and Lisa Covert and fiancé, Jason Rashkow of Castelton-on-Hudson; two grandsons, Joseph and John Conte; three granddaughters, Kathryn Conte and Mackenzie and Gwendolyn Witter; one sister and brother-in-law, Kathleen and Jon Sammis of Petersham, Massachusetts; and his aunts, uncles, cousins, nieces and nephews, along with several special friends.

He was predeceased by his father, Robert E. Covert, a retired Lieutenant with the Oakland, New Jersey Police Department who died December 11, 2016, and his mother, Ruth Ann Covert who died December 7, 2014.

A celebration of his life will be held later this Spring.

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

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