Obituaries published the week of October 30, 2003

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In Memoriam

Donald E. Barrows

General Foods retiree

Donald E. Barrows, 93, of Winterhaven, Fla., formerly of Livonia, died Oct. 18, 2003 in Winterhaven. He was born the son of Louis and Agnes McCaughey Barrows on Feb. 5, 1910 in Geneseo. He was controller for General Foods in Avon retiring in 1975 after 45 years of service. He was past president of the Livonia Rotary Club, a member of the Lake Region Yacht and Country Club and was a member of St. Paul's Episcopal Church. He was predeceased by his wife Dorothy in 1978. He is survived by his son William (Jean) Barrows of Livonia; daughter Dona Lee Woodhead of Winterhaven, Fla.; sister Doris (Ray) Woolston of Lakeville; five grandchildren; 12 great grandchildren; and two great great grandchildren; several nieces and nephews. Friends called Wednesday at the Kevin W. Dougherty Funeral Home, Inc., Route 15, Livonia where Funeral Services were held Thursday. Burial Temple Hill Cemetery in Geneseo.

Margaret W. Bixby

Livonia resident

Margaret W. Bixby, 94, of Livonia, died Oct. 24, 2003 at the Conesus Lake Nursing Home in Livonia. She was born on Aug. 16, 1909. She was predeceased by her husband Ralph in 1960. She is survived by her daughters, Esther (Keith) Hadcock of Fairhaven, N.Y., Eleanor (Francis) Kosakowski of Lakeville; grandchildren, Dawn (William) Brennan, Laurie Brady, Todd (Wendy) Kosakowski, all of Livonia, Richard (Anita) Hadcock and Barbara (Ed) Diabo, all of Rochester. Friends attended a service on Monday at the Kevin W. Dougherty Funeral Home, Inc., Route 15, Livonia with the Rev. George Davis officiating. Burial, Temple Hill Cemetery, Geneseo. Friends wishing may make memorial contributions to the Rochester Area Multiple Sclerosis, 1650 South Ave., Rochester NY 14620 or to the Special Olympics of New York, P.O. Box 59, Livonia NY 14487.

Lois Gibbs Boyd

Retired teacher

Lois Gibbs Boyd, 90, of Livonia, died in Syracuse on Oct. 23, 2003. She was born the daughter of Thomas and Phebe Bush Gibbs on Oct. 20, 1913 in Canadice. She graduated from Hemlock High School in 1931 and from Geneseo Normal School in 1934 with a certificate to teach grammar school. Her first teaching job was in the county school in Richmond Center. She also did some subbing in the Rochester School District. She moved to Livonia in 1946 and substitute taught and was the school district treasurer in Livonia. Mrs. Boyd retired from the Livonia Primary School in 1976. She was predeceased by her husband Howard. She is survived by her daughters, Shirley Boyd and her partner Donna Ford of Camillus, N.Y. and Sharon (Delbert) Zogg of Rochester; two grandchildren, Allison and Kevin Zogg; cousin Winfield Bush of Avon; nieces and nephews. Friends called Sunday at the Kevin W. Dougherty Funeral Home, Inc., Route 15, Livonia where services followed calling with the Rev. Jan DeMocker officiating. Burial, Temple Hill Cemetery in Geneseo. Friends wishing may make memorial contributions to the Hemlock Methodist Church, Hemlock NY 14466 or the Livonia Public Library, Livonia NY 14487 or the St. Joseph's Hospital Foundation, 301 Prospect Ave., Syracuse NY 13203.

Doris E. Collins

Springwater/Rochester—Doris “Doe” E. Collins, 78, formerly of Sycamore St., Rochester, passed away Oct. 26, 2003 at the Livingston County Campus Skilled Nursing Facility in Mt. Morris. She was born Jan. 25, 1925 in Rochester to Milton and Anna (DeGraff) Hofferbert. She resided for many years in the Rochester area and then spent approximately 15 years in the Avon and Hemlock area prior to moving to Springwater approximately seven years ago. Doris and John F. Collins entered into a loving marriage on Sept. 4, 1948 at Blessed Sacrament Church in Rochester. Together they celebrated around 35 years of marriage prior to his passing away in 1983. Doris's employment career was mostly spent in the health care industry as a nurse's aid and unit secretary at Highland Hospital in Rochester. Over the years, Doris enjoyed spending time as a Cub Scout leader, listening to country music and she had a special interest in ceramics. Doris was predeceased by her husband John F. Collins and both of her parents. She is survived by her sons, Daniel (Ann) Collins, Kevin (Sandy) Collins, and Terrence (Cathy) Collins, all of Rochester; her daughters, Susan (Leroy) Day of Wayland, Eileen (John) Schied of Springwater and Christine (Les) Hall of Avon; and her 18 grandchildren. Family and friends called Tuesday at the St. George-Stanton Funeral Home, 109 W. Naples St., Wayland. A prayer service was conducted Wednesday morning at the Funeral Home followed by a Mass of Christian Burial at St. Joseph's Roman Catholic Church in Wayland with Rev. Stephen Kraus officiating. Interment, Whitehaven Cemetery, Rochester.

Commie R. Noah

Whispering Hills groundskeeper

Commie R. Noah, 50 of Steiner Lane, Conesus, formerly of Winston Salem, N.C., died Oct. 27, 2003 at his home. He was born the son of Herbert and Edna Teu Noah on Jan. 19, 1953 in Winston Salem. He was a groundskeeper at Whispering Hills Golf Course in Conesus. He was predeceased by his brothers, Bufford and Ruby Noah. He is survived by his wife Irene; daughter Jennifer Noah and son Jessie Noah of North Carolina; stepsons, Joseph Medina of Alabama, Delmer Steiner of Conesus; stepdaughters, Lisa (Michael) Williams of Avon, Pearl Cappadonia of Conesus, Alice Steiner of Rochester; brothers, Bernie (Donna) Noah, Harrison (Shirley) Noah, all of North Carolina, Larry (Mary Jane) Noah of Virginia; half brother James (Angie) Noah of North Carolina; sisters-in-law, Betty (Bill) Bennett of Bloomfield, Althea (Rip) Ezell of Texas; several aunts, uncles, nieces, nephews and grandchildren. Friends may call Thursday 2-4, 7-9 p.m. at the Kevin W. Dougherty Funeral Home, Inc., Route 15 in Livonia. His Funeral Service will be held Friday, 11 a.m. at the Conesus United Church with the Rev. David Hotchkiss officiating. Burial, Arnold Cemetery in Conesus. Memorial contributions to the Conesus United Church.

Frank T. Pecora

Retired mailman

Frank T. Pecora, 91, a retired mailman for the U.S. Postal Service in Geneseo, died Oct. 24, 2003 at Noyes Memorial Hospital in Dansville. He resided on Seminole Avenue in Geneseo. He is survived by two daughter, Judy (Dan) Scoville of Geneseo, Barb (Ron) Parker of Canandaigua; grandchildren, Kim (Larry) Levey of Geneseo, Lisa (Doug Carman) Scoville of Geneseo, Bonnie (Bob) Thomas of Manchester, N.Y., Shawn Parker of Cornelius, N.C.; eight great grandchildren, several nieces and nephews including David Champagne of Geneseo. He was born Sept. 10., 1912 in New York City, the son of Ross and Margarite (DeMarco) Pecora. He was a member of St. Mary's Church in Geneseo. No prior calling hours. Funeral Services were held Monday at St. Mary's Church in Geneseo with Father Daniel McMullin officiating. Interment, St. Mary's Cemetery in Geneseo. Memorials may be made to Adult Day Health Care, 1 Murray Hill Dr., Mt. Morris NY 14510. Reference: Rector-Hicks Funeral Home, 111 Main St. in Geneseo.

Whitten Reffett Jr.

World War II veteran

Whitten “Whitt” Reffett Jr., 76, of 8081 Sparta-Springwater Road, Springwater, passed away Sunday evening, Oct. 19, 2003 at Strong Memorial Hospital in Rochester. He was born Aug. 27, 1927, in Pyramid, Ky. the son of Whitten and Lucinda (Rattliff) Whitten Sr. He resided in Pyramid until he was around 10 years old. Whitt then moved to Fulton, Ind. where he lived until he entered the armed forces. Whitt served his country during World War II as a Fire Fighter for the United States Army. Whitt enter the service Dec. 22, 1945 and was honorably discharged May 17, 1947. Whitt received the Asiatic Pacific Theater Ribbon and the World War II Victory Medal. Subsequent to his career in the Army, Whitt moved back to Fulton, Ind. where he resided until he was 58 years old. It was at that time that he moved to the Springwater area. During his life, Whitt enjoyed different areas of employment. He spent time as a farmer and as a marketing representative for different book companies. He was awarded the Golden Book from Mutual of Omaha as their top sales representative from 1971-1978. It was often said that Whitt could turn a penny into a dollar and if you want to know how to make money you needed to know him. Whitt was a member of the Springwater American Legion Post 905 and of the VFW of US #6780 in Dansville. Of significance for Whitt however, was that he opened a school named Operation U Turn. Operation U Turn was designed to assist individuals with substance abuse. He was instrumental in assisting many people achieve sobriety and in saving their lives. Whitt also would travel around to local schools and speak on the issues of substance abuse. Whitten is survived by his children, Ronald Reffett and his wife Jamie of Ft. Lauderdale, Fla., Rhonda Schlienger and her husband Mike of Lake Placid, Fla., Cathy Lawrence and her husband Allen of Kokomo, Ind.; his grandchildren, Gregory, Amber, Jimmy and Brittney Reffett, Marine Corporal James Schlienger and his wife Kelly, Jennifer Schlienger and Ashley Wilborn; his great grandchild Tatianna Schlienger; sisters, Kelsa Carr and her husband Phil, Lottie Kotterman and her husband Clete; brothers, Shannon Reffett and is wife Ida, Paul Reffett and his wife Donna; along with several nieces and nephews. Whitt's family and friends called Saturday at the St. George-Stanton Funeral Home, 109 W. Naples St., Wayland, where Funeral Services were held following calling hours. Rev. Dennis Swart of the Springwater Church of the Nazarene officiated. Interment, Fulton Cemetery in Fulton, Indiana. Contributions in Whitten Reffett Jr.'s memory may be made to the American Cancer Society, 1400 Winton Road North, Rochester NY 14609 or to the Vincent House, 310 Second Ave., Wayland NY 14572.

Virginia Brown Ziegler

Former Livonia resident

Virginia Brown Ziegler, 90, formerly of Livonia, resident of Wesley Gardens in Rochester, due to a long decline, died Oct. 22, 2003, at the nursing home. She was born the daughter of Arthur and Victoria Mitchell Brown on March 1, 1913 in Forest Lawn, N.Y. She was predeceased by her husband George A. Ziegler. She is survived by her daughter Lonnie (David) Westfall; step granddaughter, Jerry Tookmanian; step grandson Todd Westfall and their respective families; several nieces, grandnieces, nephews, grandnephews, here and in Canada. Services and burial are private. Friends wishing may make memorial contributions to the Friends at Wesley, 630 East Avenue, Rochester NY 14607 or to the Livonia Ambulance Fund, P.O. Box 8, Livonia NY 14487. Arrangements, Kevin W. Dougherty Funeral Home, Inc. in Livonia.