Connell, Dow & Deysenroth, Inc.Funeral Home: April 2023

Louise Ann Wayman

1953 - 2023

COOPERSTOWN – Louise Ann Wayman, a long-time Cooperstown and Toddsville resident, passed away unexpectedly Monday, April 24, 2023, at her home in Toddsville. She was 69.

Born June 19, 1953, in Hamilton, Lou was the second child of Hobart and Norma (Rothwell) Onyan. In her youth, Lou and her family moved to Cooperstown where she graduated from Cooperstown Central School with the Class of 1971.

As a young girl, Lou enjoyed and won awards showing horses with her grandfather. Her love of horses continued throughout her life.

For many years Lou was employed at Smith Ford in Cooperstown, where she served as the office manager. She was well-known in the dealership’s office and greatly contributed to the business’s success.

Lou will be greatly missed by her family and all those whose lives she touched. She was adored by many in the community and known as a generous person who loved her family and friends. She especially loved giving her grandsons bags of special treats from Oma.

Lou is survived by her long-time companion, John Kenney, Jr. of Toddsville; her mother, Norma Onyan of Cooperstown; daughter, Jacqueline Savoie and husband, Benjamin of Cooperstown, and two grandsons, Nathaniel Savoie and Christopher Savoie; the father of her daughters, Stewart Wayman of Cooperstown; a brother, Gregory Onyan; a sister-in-law, Wendy Onyan; a nephew, Joshua Onyan and his daughters, Gillian and Addison; two nieces, Amanda Swatling and Joanna Onyan; and a nephew, Garrett Bucklad.

She was predeceased by her daughter, Christina Wayman Selan who died April 3, 2007; her mother’s long-time companion, Edward C. Smith who died January 21, 2017; and two brothers, Bradley Onyan who died March 26, 2004, and Terry Onyan who died October 15, 2022.

Family and friends may pay their respects from 4-5:30 p.m. Saturday, April 29, 2023, at the Connell, Dow & Deysenroth Funeral Home in Cooperstown. A service will be offered at 5:30 p.m. at the funeral home, with the Rev. Sharon Rankins-Burd officiating. Immediately following the service all are welcome to gather at the Cooperstown Veterans Club on Main Street for refreshments and a celebration of Lou.

In honor of Lou, do something kind for someone that didn’t ask for anything, and hug those that you love.

As an alternative to flowers, memorial donations may be directed to the Christina Wayman Selan Award Fund, c/o Treasurer CCS, 39 Linden Avenue, 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.

Stephen Timothy Kilty

1933 - 2023

COOPERSTOWN – Stephen Timothy Kilty, almost 90, passed away peacefully on April 23, 2023, after a long, happy life filled with his family, his Catholic faith, work, golf, and travel.

Tim was born in Stillwater, MN on June 7,1933, to Stephen MacGregor Kilty and Harriet Ryden. He attended the Stillwater High School and was involved in many sports, helping the Stillwater Ponies to a sectional championship in basketball in 1951 as a senior. As the salutatorian of his graduating high school class he was awarded a scholarship to attend Princeton University where he majored in economics and music, graduating in 1955. He was an avid golfer and met the love of his life, Dorothea Laura Simonet, at the Stillwater Country Club. They married in July 1955 and he was promptly drafted into the US Army. Stationed in Chicago he served in the Counter Intelligence division for two years with an honorable discharge. He began his career as a successful salesman with 3M and other manufacturing industries in the “steel belt”, moving frequently around the Midwest from St. Paul, MN to Cincinnati, OH, Columbus, OH, Sharon, PA, Dallas, TX, and settling in the Cleveland area, in Bay Village, OH in 1968. He co-owned Elyria Spring Co. for the last 15 years of his career.

His love of golf and mowing the lawn evolved into an interest in golf course greens management and the rules of golf. Once the “nest” was empty he and Dorothy became experts in the rules of golf and ruled at both amateur and professional tournaments including several US Open Golf Championships. Tim was appointed to the executive committee of the US Golf Association in 1995 and served on the Greens Committee. He travelled to many nations to organize and rule at international golf tournaments in Asia, Europe, and South America.

He retired to Spring Island, SC in 1999, enjoyed birdwatching, and became a Master Naturalist. He volunteered with Habitat for Humanity, Savannah Wildlife Refuge, and the Cathedral of St. John the Baptist in Savannah, GA. In 2016 he relocated to Cooperstown, NY to spend his final years near his daughter under the care of the wonderful staff at the Clara Welch Thanksgiving Home and AO Fox Nursing Home.

Tim had a wonderful sense of humor and a quick mind. He had nicknames for everyone so the Family created nicknames for him. We will miss you Grampa Putt-Putt. Rest in Peace with Mom and Mary.

He is predeceased by his wife, Dorothy, and his daughter, Mary Claire. He is survived by his sister, Anne Wiberg (DesPlaines, IL) daughter, Laura Kilty (Bruce Kramer) of Cooperstown, NY, his son, David Kilty (Marie) of Centennial, CO, his grandchildren, Anna Kramer, Madeline Kramer, Evelyn Kilty, and Ian Kilty, and nephews John Timothy Wiberg and Benjamin Wiberg.

A Mass of Christian Burial will be offered at 10 a.m. Saturday, May 20, 2023, at St. Mary’s “Our Lady of the Lake” Roman Catholic Church in Cooperstown, with the Very Rev. Michael G. Cambi, pastor officiating. The Service of Committal and Burial with Military Honors will follow in Lakewood Cemetery, Cooperstown.

In lieu of flowers, contributions can be made to Habitat for Humanity.

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

Wayne K. Bush, Sr.

1941 - 2023

HARTWICK – Wayne K. Bush, Sr., a life-long area resident, passed away at his home in Mount Vision Tuesday morning, April 11, 2023. He was 82.

Born January 16, 1941, in Laurens, Wayne was a son of Walter K. and Olive W. (Spoor) Bush. He attended schools in Laurens and Hartwick.

On June 12, 1960, he married Joan L. Raimo in a ceremony at the First Baptist Church of Hartwick. They enjoyed 40 years together until she passed November 12, 2000.

He was first employed for Lyncoach & Truck Co. in Oneonta. He then went to work as a welder for the Delaware and Hudson Railway at their yards in Oneonta. After 28 years with The D & H he started W.K. Bush & Son Welding in Hartwick, which is now owned and operated by his son, Wayne, Jr. He also had a trucking business that hauled livestock for farmers throughout the State of New York.

Wayne was well known as an avid horse enthusiast who loved to use his team of Percheron draft horses for weddings, parades and Christmas caroling. He was fond of attending the Unadilla horse and tack auction, always using his number 166 for the best deal.

Wayne is survived by two daughters, Toni Griffith and husband, John and Kim Stahl and a son, Wayne K. Bush, Jr. and wife, Robin, all of Hartwick; five grandchildren, Kayla Griffith, Kenneth and Wade Stahl, and Joshua and Gabrielle Bush; and two great grandchildren, Bentley David Bush and Kinsley Griffith. He is further survived by three brothers, Douglas E. Bush and wife, Joan of Mount Vision, Leslie A. Bush and wife, Doreen of Edmeston and John W. Bush and wife, Mary of Hartwick; and several nieces and nephews.

In addition to his wife and parents, Wayne was predeceased by two brothers, Donald R. Bush who died July 26, 2018, and Larry Bush who died in infancy; a granddaughter, Johnelle Lea Griffith who died April 21, 2020; and a nephew, Donald R. “DJ” Bush, Jr. who died January 20, 2023.

A private graveside service in the Hartwick Cemetery will be held at the convenience of the family.

For those who wish to remember Wayne with a memorial donation, his family respectfully requests that donations be made to Helios Care, 297 River Street Service Road, Oneonta, NY 13820. The family would like to thank Helios Care, especially Tonya, Ellen and Paula who made it possible for Wayne to remain in his home until the end. They provided care and compassion above and beyond to Wayne and the family. We would also like to thank special family friends, Jim and Marcia Mumford for all their support of our family over many years.

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

Kenneth J. Tabor

1945 - 2023

HARTWICK – On April 2, 2023, after 77 years in service of John Christopher Hartwick’s promise of a New Jerusalem, Kenneth James Tabor finally earned a day off -- but just one, because the alarm goes off at 4:30 a.m., and there is a horse to feed and wood to cut.

Kenneth was born on September 22, 1945, to Elmer and Annabelle (Dibble) Tabor of Hartwick, New York. With Orlo Burch, Darrell Risley, Wayne Bunn, and John Winslow, Ken pressed his feet against every inch of soil from Main Street to the depths of the Hinman Hollow, raising Hell just within the bounds of his Methodist upbringing, and too many times only barely coming out alive.

Ken was an exceptional flanker for the Cooperstown High School football team who blended the qualities of rubber and concrete to earn an offer to play NCAA football; he was enshrined along with his 1962 teammates in the CCS Athletics Hall of Fame. He opted instead to enlist in the United States Navy at 17, and after graduating boot camp on the day of President Kennedy’s assassination, he reported to the USS Perry (DD-844). Ken excelled in electronics and became a Veteran of Foreign Wars through service in the Dominican Republic.

He met his wife Mary (Kane) the day after his release from the service. They were married for the remaining 55 years of his life.

Ken worked at IBM in Endicott before opting for an outdoor job with New York Telephone. As a lineman and cable splicer, Ken compiled an encyclopedic knowledge of every dirt road, home, and family in Otsego County. Across four decades, he did what he said he’d do, when he said he’d do it, and never left a house out of service -- and eventually worked with his son at Verizon until his retirement. While acting as a foreman, a payroll error resulted in no one receiving a paycheck, including Ken. He went to the bank, withdrew all he could, and divided his money amongst the men to have until they got paid.

He built his ranch-style home on Christian Hill after work at night and on weekends along with Mary, her father Ken Kane, and her uncle Leon. He was a witness to and participant in all endeavors of Hartwick and its hills, from fishing, trapping, and coon hunting to successfully navigating tenuous relationships with game wardens and snowmobiling law enforcement.

Ken was also an unshakable bowler who won the Cooperstown Winter Carnival Tournament four times with two of his sons. He was an uncannily good shot with both his Yorx bow and Belgian Browning Auto-5, and he committed his mind and body to every physical endeavor. He lifted weights, played softball, ran, and questioned no burden. When walking across hot coals in karate training blistered the entirety of both his feet, he went to work the next day.

When Ken wasn’t working, he was working. No soul who has sprouted from the loins of Old England District has ever, or will likely ever, achieve Ken’s unlimited capacity for physical labor -- and especially without complaint. He cloaked under a flannel shirt a powerful, indefatigable body built through kindness and obligation; it was only revealed through the completion of labors and preparation for the next one. To his final day, he paradoxically maintained the strength of a man a third of his age despite fueling his body almost exclusively with Sal’s pepperoni and mushroom pizza and Stewart’s ice cream.

In his retirement, Ken earned a degree in Carpentry from SUNY Delhi and worked the grounds of the Glimmerglass Opera. He spent years in his woodshop doting on a succession of adopted cats, most notably the orange stray OC, who rode on his shoulder everywhere he walked.

Ken never burdened his grandchildren with the word “no,” and he attended every one of their sporting events, plays, and performances, just as he did for all of his sons. He read and acquired knowledge prodigiously, especially related to local history -- two of his most prized books were Campbell’s “Annals of Tryon County” and BC Stevens’ “Tales from Hinman Hollow.” He transferred that knowledge through stories of his life, which appeared to be a series of yarns too fantastic to believe -- until the years revealed, both deliberately and accidentally, that they all checked out.

Ken continues to live in Hartwick through his wife Mary and their three boys, Jeffrey, Jason, and Matthew; his brother Gordon; and his grandchildren Allison, Jacob, Peyton, and Lucas.

The Tabor family will receive friends from 11a.m. to 1p.m. on Saturday, April 8, 2023, at the Connell, Dow & Deysenroth Funeral Home, 82 Chestnut Street, Cooperstown. At the conclusion of the visitation, a funeral service will be held at 1p.m. at the funeral home. The service of committal and burial with Military Honors will follow at Hartwick Cemetery.

In lieu of flowers, the family asks that donations in Ken’s memory be made to the Susquehanna SPCA at sqspca.org/donate, or donations of cat food to your local animal shelter.