Grace Patricia Sheldon

1928 - 2021

COOPERSTOWN – Grace Patricia Sheldon, 93, passed away Saturday, March 13, 2021, at Wilson Hospital in Johnson City. 

She was born February 16, 1928, in Cooperstown, a daughter of Harold L. and Grace (Putnam) Davidson. She graduated from Cooperstown High School with the Class of 1945. 

On May 20, 1950, Patricia married William L. Sheldon in a ceremony at St. Mary’s “Our Lady of the Lake” Roman Catholic Church in Cooperstown. 

Patricia is survived by four sons and daughters-in-law, David H. Sheldon and wife, Glenda of Norwich, Stephen L. Sheldon and wife, Jane Marie of Mount Vision/Hartwick, Gregory W. Sheldon and wife, Elizabeth of Norwich and Scott G. Sheldon and wife, Colleen of Milford, Pennsylvania; 13 grandchildren; 3 great grandchildren; a sister, Joyce Davidson Cowles of Poughkeepsie; a brother, Richard M. Davidson and wife, Mary Lou of Jacksonville, North Carolina, and many nieces and nephews. 

She was predeceased by her husband of 61 years, William L. Sheldon, who died July 16, 2011; three sisters, Janet Bailey, Marjory Holden and Mary Hanna; and a brother, Roger (“Rod”) H. Davidson. 

At the request of the family, services and interment will be private later this Spring in Lakewood Cemetery, Cooperstown.

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.

Walter G. Haldenwang, Jr.

1939 - 2021

HARTWICK – Walter George Haldenwang, Jr., a long-time resident of Hartwick, passed away Wednesday, March 3, 2021, at Riverside Adult Foster Home in La Grande, Oregon. He was 81.

Born December 12, 1939, in Jersey City, New Jersey, he was the son of Walter George Haldenwang and Agnes Mayer Haldenwang, both natives of Ofterdingen, Germany. 

After living in Ridgefield, New Jersey for the first nine years of his life, Walter and his parents moved to Hartwick in 1948. He helped plant many trees on the family property, an activity which fostered a life-long love of trees and the woods. He was also employed on his parent’s poultry farm while attending Hartwick High School, until the school closed in 1957. He then attended Cooperstown High School, graduated in 1958, and then attended the State University of New York Agricultural and Technical Institute at Morrisville, graduating in 1960 with an Associate’s Degree in Forestry.

From 1960 to 1965, Walter was employed by John Deere Co. in Syracuse until he was drafted into the United States Army in January 1965. He served most of his tour of duty at the Echterdingen Army Air Field near Stuttgart, Germany, which gave him the opportunity to connect with some of his family there. He received his Honorable Discharge from military service in January 1967.

Upon returning stateside, Walter became employed by the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation in Stamford, and rose through the ranks to become the Senior Forestry Technician. For health reasons he retired from this position in 1983.

He returned home to Hartwick, yet continued to maintain an active interest in forestry affairs and the environment. He also enjoyed hunting for deer and liked music. In 2010 he moved from New York to La Grande, Oregon to be near his friends and caretakers. Active as one of Jehovah’s Witnesses, he was an active member of The Schuyler Lake Congregation of Jehovah’s Witnesses and was a part of the North La Grande Congregation of Jehovah’s Witnesses. 

Survivors include cousins in Germany and New York State and his dear friends and caretakers, Patricia and Michael Corcoran of La Grande, Oregon. 

Walter’s final resting place will be alongside his parents in Hartwick Cemetery, appropriately enough under a tree.

A virtual memorial service will be held via Zoom on Saturday, May 1, 2021, at 5 p.m., Eastern Standard Time. The Meeting ID is 738 748 1050 and the Passcode is 191407. 

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.

Brian F. Carso, Sr.

1930 - 2021

FLY CREEK – Brian Francis Carso, Sr., a long-time and well-respected licensed land surveyor, passed away Tuesday morning, March 2, 2021, at his home on Goose Street in Fly Creek. He was 90.

Brian was born on May 10, 1930, in Queens, one of six children of A. Francis and Elizabeth (Megnin) Carso. His father was a civil engineer, and his mother had served as a Marine Corps battlefield nurse in World War I. Brian was born two months prematurely; doctors cautioned his parents to wait before naming him, because “they didn’t think I would make it.” “Well,” he said on his 90th birthday, “I made it…and then some.” 

He graduated from Bayside High School and attended SUNY Farmingdale before military service in the Air Force Reserve as a radio operator. He began his surveying career as a founding member of Pape, Carso, and Pape, Inc., in Pennsylvania, subsequently joining two notable engineering firms in New York. In 1970 he went to work for Con Edison and was promoted to Chief Surveyor of the Bronx. In 1977 he completed a Bachelor of Science degree at The College of Staten Island, CUNY. 

He married Betty Lou Walker on May 19, 1962, at Bayside Methodist Church. Every Friday for the next 41 years, until her death in 2003, he would bring her a single red rose. They raised three sons together, and Brian took his turn in all the familiar roles, from Little League coach to Scout Leader to steadfast algebra and trigonometry tutor. 

There is an old photograph of Brian when he was two years old, feeding chickens in a small coop in Bayside. This experience made an impression on him: in 1978 he moved the family to a 3-acre parcel far up Fly Creek Valley, in Richfield Springs, where he raised chickens, Cornish game hens, turkeys, ducks, and sheep. After working with surveying and engineering firms in Ilion and Oneonta, he established his own surveying practice, often accompanied in the field by his youngest son, Barrett. 

Brian continued to work well into his 80s. During the last few years, when he was convinced to slow down, he took great pleasure visiting his grandsons, and was a regular presence at his son Brad’s farm in Fly Creek, where he looked after the grape vines and took care of the ducks. 

A sixty-one year member of the Masonic Fraternity, Brian was Raised November 22, 1960, in Francis Lewis Lodge No, 273, Free and Accepted Masons in Whitestone, Queens. He later joined Alcyone Lodge No. 695, F. & A.M. in Northport. Upon moving to upstate New York he affiliated with Richfield Springs Lodge No. 482, F. & A.M. and then with Otsego Lodge No. 138, F. & A.M. in Cooperstown and served that Lodge as Worshipful Master in 1993. Active in York Rite Masonry, he began his journey by being Exalted in Orient Chapter No. 138, Royal Arch Masons in Brooklyn and was a member of Unity Chapter No. 328 in Bayside, Queens. In 1982 he affiliated with Otsego Chapter No. 26, R.A.M., and served as Excellent High Priest in 1991. He was also a member of Oneonta Council No. 87, Cryptic Masons, and Otsego Commandery No. 76, Knights Templar, serving as Eminent Commander in 1984. 

Brian was a long time member of Hugick Purcell American Legion Post No. 616 in Richfield Springs, Fly Creek Grange No. 844 and Pierstown Grange No. 793, and served on the Otsego County Planning Board during the 1980s. 

Brian is survived by three sons, Brian F. Carso, Jr., and wife, Kerry Dean Carso, of Matamoras, Pennsylvania, Brad C. Carso, and wife, Lynn Johnson of Fly Creek, and Barrett S. Carso of Cooperstown; two grandsons, Owen Dean Carso and Nathaniel Dean Carso of Matamoras, Pennsylvania; and two sisters, Connie Olds of Binghamton and Jacqueline Strickland of Virginia and their families. 

He was predeceased by his parents; his wife of 41 years, Betty Lou Carso who died November 7, 2003; a grandson, Teddy Dean Carso who died November 25, 2006; his brother, Boniface E. “Barney” Carso who died December 5, 2003; and sisters Faith Carso who died June 8, 2018, and Elizabeth “Betty” Reiner, who died November 5, 2016. 

A Funeral Service will be offered at 10 a.m. on Saturday, July 17, 2021, at the Fly Creek United Methodist Church, 852 County Highway 26, Fly Creek, with the Rev. Sharon Rankins-Burd, pastor, officiating. At the beginning of the service, a Masonic Memorial Service will be offered by Brethren of Otsego Lodge No. 138, F. & A.M, Cooperstown. Interment with Military Honors accorded by members of the Hugick Purcell American Legion Post No. 616, Richfield Springs, and the United States Air Force Honor Guard will follow in the Fly Creek Valley Cemetery, 100 Cemetery Road, Fly Creek. 

Memorial donations may be directed to Fly Creek United Methodist Church, PO Box 128, Fly Creek, NY 13337. 

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.