1928 - 2020
COOPERSTOWN - Delores (Dee) Bachanas Burnett, a native of Cooperstown, died Sunday night, October 4, 2020, at Mountainside Residential Care Center in Margaretville. She was 92.
Born May 14, 1928, at The Mary Imogene Bassett Hospital in Cooperstown, Dee was one of five children of Edmund J. and Harriet (Cross) Bachanas.
Dee grew up in Fly Creek, attending the three-room Fly Creek School from Kindergarten through the eighth grade. She then attended Cooperstown High School, graduating with the Class of 1946. After graduation she worked as a bookkeeper for Bruce Hall and Son until her marriage to William J. Burnett of Cooperstown on October 9, 1948. This was a union that lasted 62 years with three children, Patricia, Robert, and William.
Soon after they were married, Dee and Bill moved to Syracuse where they worked for the next six years for the General Electric Company in Syracuse and later Auburn. Dee then became a “stay-at home” mom for their three children. While living in Auburn she was a member of the Auburn Jaycettes. In 1964 they moved to the Rochester area.
In 1970 Dee and Bill moved back to their native Cooperstown where she joined her husband in owning and operating the Western Auto Store. They sold the store in 1979. In 1978 Dee began working for the Mary Imogene Bassett Hospital, becoming Manager of the newly chartered MIBH Federal Credit Union. She retired from the Credit Union in 1993, and in 1995 she joined the Team of the Fly Creek Cider Mill.
During her years in Cooperstown she was a member of the Native Daughters of Cooperstown and was a member and past president of the Cooperstown Criterion Club. She especially liked the times they spent at Bill’s family's camp, Willowdale Lodge, located on the East side of Otsego Lake.
Dee is survived by one daughter, Patty Beck and husband, Kevin Callagy of Stamford; and two sons, Bob Burnett and wife, Kathi of Tyler, Texas, and Bill Burnett and wife, Linda, of Cicero.
Her grandchildren include Meaghan Bartell and husband, Josh, Rosie Hanselman and husband, Jeremy, and Laura Beck, Benjamin Burnett Leslie and wife, Rohini and Matthew Burnett Leslie and wife, Kyle, Amanda Aguilar and husband, Eddy, Ashleigh Burnett and Christopher Burnett; step grandchildren Owen and Mason Bartell, Neil Jones and wife, Robyn, and Kevin, Christopher, Sean and Michael Callagy; and great grandchildren Manse Jones, Grant Jones, Carter Bartell, Nash Bartell and Seamus Burnett Leslie, Molly Burnett Leslie and Kiran Leslie.
Dee is also survived by her two sisters, Maggie Thering of Cooperstown and Patsy Burgess of Mt. Dora, FL, and a brother, William J. Bachanas and wife, Joyce of Mt. Dora, FL, as well as several nieces and nephews and cousins.
In addition to her parents, Dee was preceded in death by her husband of 62 years, Bill, who died May 27, 2011; a brother, Norman Edmund Bachanas, who died July 7, 2006; and a son-in-law, Joseph P. Beck, who died July 31, 2005.
As per Dee’s request there will be no calling hours.
A Mass of Christian Burial will be offered at 2 p.m. Friday, October 16, 2020, at St. Mary's "Our Lady of the Lake" Roman Catholic Church in Cooperstown, with Very Rev. Michael G. Cambi, pastor, presiding. The Service of Committal and Burial will follow in St. Mary's Cemetery in Index. Due to the current pandemic, it is respectfully requested that all attending please wear a face covering or mask and to observe proper social distancing. With respect for current restrictions for public gatherings, it is important that those who wish to attend the service please contact the Connell, Dow & Deysenroth Funeral Home no later than Thursday, October 15th either by telephone (607-547-8231) or email (peterdeysenroth@hotmail.com).
As an alternative to flowers, it was Dee's request that those who so desire direct memorial gifts to the Joseph P. Beck Memorial Scholarship Fund at Stamford Central School, Stamford, NY 12167.
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.
