Hess Engelking, 98, Dies In Connecticut; Remembered Here For Her Grit, Tenacity

COOPERSTOWN – Hess Engelking, widow of the legendary newspaperman L.L. Engelking, died Thursday, June 12, in Stamford, Conn., two weeks before her 98th birthday. The couple moved to Cooperstown after his retirement in 1977.
Hess Pringle Houghton Engelking was born on June 27, 1910, in New York City, daughter of William Morris Houghton and Mary Motte (Hess) Pringle. The family lived in Plainfield, N.J., where Hess attended The Hartridge School. She graduated from Radcliffe College and pursued graduate studies there in anthropology.
In the midst of the Depression, she moved to New York City where she worked at the New York Herald Tribune. There she met her husband – a Texan who built a reputation based on the ardent pursuit of accuracy – and they were married in 1939.
The Engelkings, soon a family with three children, lived for many years in Forest Hills, Queens, and then moved to Plainfield, N.J., where they lived across the street from the house where Hess had grown up.
In the 1950s, she returned to graduate school, earning a master’s of library science from Rutgers University. She was a librarian at the Plainfield as well as Madison for many years.
After the couple moved to Cooperstown, her husband died in 1980. Hess worked at the Village Library of Cooperstown, and later volunteered there and at Bassett Hospital and the New York Historical Association.
She was a redoubtable hiker on the back roads and trails of Cooperstown and all over Europe. In her 80s, she learned how to cross-country ski and climbed Mount Algonquin in the Adirondacks.
She was always the consummate reference librarian, never giving up on an explanation until she had the appropriate source material. She was an ultimate pragmatist and though reserved, possessed of an anthropologist’s immense insight into human behavior.
She was probably best known for her grit and tenacity and realistic approach to life. One of her many admirers has said, “If Hess dies, that means we all have to die.”
She is saluted, loved and missed by her children Elizabeth Mueller, Mary Motte Hall and Peter Engelking; their spouses David Barnes and Connie Engelking; her brother William Houghton and her niece Charlotte Houghton Friedman; her eight grandchildren, William, Joseph , Sarah and John Teitler, Timothy and Andrew Hall, and Emily and Joshua Engelking; and by her eight great-grandchildren.
Contributions in her memory would be welcome at the Friends of the Village Library and the Friends of Bassett Hospital in Cooperstown; the Wardlaw-Hartridge School in Edison, N.J., or Radcliffe Institute for Advanced Study at Harvard.
There will be a gathering in celebration of her at the Cooperstown library on Saturday, Sept. 13.

Harry Skillman Services Planned

COOPERSTOWN – A graveside service of committal and burial for Harry Walter Skillman, 62, who died Feb. 7 in Las Vegas, Nev., will be conducted at 3 p.m. Wednesday, June 25, at Lakewood Cemetery in his beloved Cooperstown, with Rev. Thomas E. Pullyblank, pastor of the Fly Creek United Methodist Church, officiating.
Arrangements are by the Connell, Dow & Deysenroth Funeral Home in Cooperstown.


Edwin S. Tipple, 93: Veteran Of 2 Wars, Firefighter, Worked For Local Concerns

COOPERSTOWN – Edwin S. Tipple, a veteran, firefighter and leader in his church, died Monday morning, June 16, 2008, at Otsego Manor. He was 93.
Ed was born Jan. 29, 1915, in Westford, a son of Fred and Lottie (Chase) Tipple. After attending several schools throughout Otsego County, he graduated from Hartwick High School.
On April 13, 1943, he married the former Ruth A. Myers in a ceremony at her family’s home in Fly Creek. The couple raised their family and continued to live in and be active residents of the Fly Creek community throughout their lives. Mrs. Tipple died Oct. 29, 1974.
A veteran of World War II, Ed served his country with the Army’s 41st Infantry Division in the Asiatic-Pacific Theatre as well as with the Army of Occupation in Japan. He received his honorable discharge in 1946 having attained the rank of first lieutenant.
With the outbreak of the Korean War, Ed once again responded to the call of his country and served with the 978th Ordnance Depot Company, an Otsego County Reserve Unit called to active duty in 1950. He saw duty at Camp McCoy in Wisconsin and in Stuttgart, Germany, until receiving his honorable discharge in 1952.
Ed worked for several Cooperstown businesses. He was front desk clerk, head bellman and accountant at The Cooper Inn. He later worked in the business offices of Jack Mitchell Moving & Storage and at Bassett Hospital. He also worked at the National Baseball Hall of Fame & Museum, finally retiring at age 80.
Of the Episcopal faith, Ed was a long-time member of Christ Church in Cooperstown where he was a member of the vestry. He faithfully served as treasurer for 18 years and as an usher for 35 years.
A charter member of the former Fly Creek Volunteer Fire Department, he actively served from 1950 until 2000. He once served as president, and, beginning in 1953, was secretary to the commissioner of the Fly Creek Fire District for many years. Throughout the recent changes and transition, Ed remained a source of knowledge and guidance to the current members of the Fly Creek Volunteer Fire Company.
Ed was also a member of the Clark F. Simmons American Legion Post No. 579 in Cooperstown, and was a former member of the Hartwick Grange No. 746.
After living in Fly Creek for many years, Ed moved to Woodside Hall in Cooperstown, and resided there until moving several years ago to the Hampshire House in Oneonta.
Ed is survived by his two daughters, Margaret Tipple and Jane Settle and her husband, Stuart; grandson Alex Settle and family; granddaughter Harriet Hansen and her husband; nephew Roger Hover and his wife; two grand nieces; and several cousins.
In addition to his wife, he was predeceased by his sisters, Ann and Dorothy.
The Office of the Burial of the Dead (Rite I) will be offered at 10:30 a.m. on Saturday, June 21, at Christ Church, with the Rev. Samuel B. Abbott, rector, officiating. Military honors will be accorded by members of Post No. 579. A reception will follow in the Parish House.
Memorial donations may be made to Catskill Area Hospice and Palliative Care, 1 Birchwood Drive, Oneonta, NY 13820.
Funeral arrangements are with the Connell, Dow & Deysenroth Funeral Home in Cooperstown.

Gertrude McLain Rites

SCHUYLER LAKE – A graveside service of committal and burial for Gertrude M. McLain, who died April 4, will be at 11 a.m. Monday, June 23, in Schuyler Lake Cemetery with Nancy Brown, parish life associate for St. Joseph’s Catholic Church, Richfield Springs, officiating.
Arrangements are by the Connell, Dow & Deysenroth Funeral Home in Cooperstown.

Labels: Obituaries