& Albany County Post - The Altamont Enterprise

26 The Altamont Enterprise – Thursday, December 20, 2012
Obituaries
VOORHEESVILLE — Cooking for a crowd was
something that Elinore R. Lawyer grew into. She
first raised seven children and then worked in
three cafeterias around the area.
Mrs. Lawyer died on Monday,
Dec. 16, 2012, at the hospice at
St. Peter’s Hospital. She was
88.
“She didn’t have an easy life,
but she was a hard worker,” said
her daughter, Phyllis Mazone.
Janet Shultes, another of her
children, echoed the sentiment,
saying of the family, “We didn’t
have a lot, but we had each other.
We had good parents.”
Mrs. Lawyer was born in
Cleveland, Ohio and moved with
her parents, the late Phillip and
Effie Georgia, to the Schoharie
Valley as a girl.
It was at a church dance there
that she met her husband, the
late Clinton Lawyer. The pair
married in 1941 and Mr. Lawyer
soon shipped out to fight in World
War II. He didn’t see his first
child until she was 2 years old,
when he returned from overseas.
Mr. Lawyer got a job at the Duffy Mott cider mill
in Voorheesville, where the family settled.
Mrs. Lawyer first got
a job in the cafeteria of
the Army Depot, said
Mrs. Shultes, and then
went on to work at the
Empire State Plaza
and the Voorheesville
school district.
She had always prepared
all of the quarry
from her husband’s
hunting and fishing trips, said Mrs. Mazone, and
she would treat her family to slaughter popeye, a
thick chicken dumpling stew, Mrs. Shultes said.
Kathleen E. Kaiser, a social worker, died unexpectedly
at home while attending to her pets —
Rusty, Liam, and Sophie — on Monday, Dec. 17,
2012. She was 60.
“She was hand-feeding Rusty
last night,” said her partner,
Andrew Tinning, referring to one
of their three dogs. “Rusty hadn’t
been feeling well. She just fell
over and never came up.”
Mr. Tinning went on to describe
his partner as “an incredibly
alive person, and very
loving.”
Born on Sept. 12, 1952 in
Schenectady, Ms. Kaiser was the
daughter of the late Melvin and
Esther Fry. Her father worked for
the post office, and her mother
died when she was 7, said her
sister, Charlotte Giardino.
Ms. Giardino described her
sister as “a wonderful cook and
homemaker.”
She went on, “She loved
recipes.” One of her specialties
was spinach brownies; another was homemade
stuffing.
“She used spices she grew herself,” said her
sister. “Her and Andy gardened together and grew
their own vegetables.”
Ms. Giardino went on, “She was versatile in home
decorating. Every time I visited, her house would
be set up differently….She had an appreciation of
antiques. She would find little trinkets at a garage
sale and know the value of them.”
Ms. Kaiser was employed
at Ellis Hospital
for 12 years as a social
worker and, before
that, had worked with
victims of domestic
violence.
She worked with psychiatric patients, said her
supervisor at Ellis, Claire Wieman. “She gravitated
towards really supporting the vulnerable.”
Throughout her career, Ms. Weiman said, “She
was an advocate for those who were abused or
neglected.”
Ms. Weiman went on, “It’s a very taxing, tiring
job and she did it even when she wasn’t feeling
good. She never complained.”
Elinore R. Lawyer
Elinore R. Lawyer
“She didn’t have an easy life,
but she was a hard worker.”
Kathleen E. Kaiser
Kathleen E. Kaiser
“She was very generous, very giving.”
She also delighted her children and grandchildren
with fudge and cream candies.
Mrs. Lawyer liked being around the kids in the
school cafeteria, Mrs. Shultes said, and she made
good friends in the kitchen.
“She was a quiet person,” said
Mrs. Shultes, but the family’s
house was always full of people.
Mrs. Lawyers was an understanding
person, someone who
cared about people and put herself
on the line to help them.
Mrs. Lawyer and her husband
always remained fond of
the Schoharie Valley and would
frequently go there on day trips,
their daughters said. “They always
had the love of the land,”
said Mrs. Mazone.
****
Mrs. Lawyer is survived by her
children: Phyllis Mazone and
her husband, Joseph; Clinton J.
Lawyer Jr.; Janet Shultes and
her husband, Robert; Pauline
Lawyer and her partner, Spencer
Flansburg; and Esther Klopfer
and her husband, George.
Her husband, Clinton Lawyer, died in 2006. Her
children, William and Frances Lawyer, also died
before her.
A memorial service
was held at noon on
Dec. 19 at the New
Comer Cannon Funeral
Home in Colonie, with
interment in the Prospect
Hill Cemetery in
Guilderland. A message
for the family may
be left at www.New-
ComerAlbany.com.
Memorial contributions may be made to the
Community Hospice of Albany, 445 New Karner
Rd., Albany, NY 12205.
—Saranac Hale Spencer
“It was very demanding work,” agreed Mr. Tinning.
Ms. kaiser enjoyed getting away on cruises. The
couple took a cruise in the Thousand Islands, and
also cruised Glimmerglass Lake
on one of their frequent trips to
Cooperstown as well as taking
overnight cruises out of New
York City. They also enjoyed a
trip to Niagara Falls, Mr. Tinning
said.
“She loved to travel, cook for
her family, spend time with
her children and pets, and participate
in local activities in the
Altamont area,” her family wrote
in a tribute.
Ms. Kaiser was artistic since
she was a child, her sister said.
She enjoyed traveling to art museums,
Mr. Tinning said, naming
several they had visited.
“She was very knowledgeable,”
her sister said. “She read quite
a bit….She liked to read selfimprovement
books to increase
her knowledge.”
Ms. Giardino concluded, “She was a very loving
sister and aunt. We had many good times together….She
was very generous, very giving.”
****
She is survived by her children, William and
Nora Cummings; her partner, Andrew Tinning; her
sister, Charlotte Giardino and her husband, Rich;
her brothers Bill Fry, Jim Fry and his wife, Peggy,
and John Fry and his wife, Denise.
Her brother Ray Fry
died before her.
Family and friends
are invited to calling
hours on Friday, Dec.
21, from 6 to 8 p.m.
at the Fredendall Funeral
Home at 199 Main Street in Altamont with
a funeral service to follow at 8 p.m.
Memorial donations may be made to the American
Heart Association or a local chapter of choice of
the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty
to Animals.
The family extends a special thanks to the Altamont
Rescue Squad and the staff at the Ellis
Hospital Emergency Room.
—Melissa Hale-Spencer
Patricia Ann Tymchyn
GUILDERLAND — Outgoing and caring, Patricia Ann Tymchyn
was as energetic line dancing as she was baking or making crafts.
She “went to her eternal rest, surrounded by her loving and
devoted family” on Wednesday, Dec. 12, 2012, her family wrote in
a tribute.
She was born on Jan. 28, 1941 in Albany, the daughter of the
late Alton and Blanche Fisher La Roche, and late stepmother,
Evangeline La Roche.
In 1958, she graduated from Vincentian Institute in Albany. Her
working career included employment with Travelers Insurance,
Friendly Hometoy Parties, and Georgia Pacific, where she met the
love of her life, Walter J. Tymchyn.
“It was love at first sight for me,” said Mr. Tymchyn. He was
working for Georgia Pacific as a trucker when he met the secretary
who would change his life.
“She was a terrific wife and mother, none better,” he said. “She
was very outgoing, caring, giving to a lot of people.”
One of the couple’s favorite activities was teaching line dancing in
and around Albany. Through their “Get in Line and Dance” company,
they met and made many friends.
“She was a terrific dancer when I stayed off her toes,” said her
husband with a chuckle.
He said she also liked to do crossword puzzles.
Mrs. Tymchyn was devoted to animals, particularly her beagle,
Lucy. “We’ve had her since she was eight weeks old; she’ll be six in
February,” said Mr. Tymchyn. The love between his wife and Lucy
“went two ways,” he said. “The dog was very protective of her.”
Mrs. Tymchyn’s daughter, Stacie Ann Farina, said, “She was
the epitome of a perfect mom…You never went without hugs and
kisses.”
She was very energetic and enthusiastic, her daughter said.
“When we had school field trips, she was always the first one to
go,” she said.
“She was a terrific dancer
when I stayed off her toes,”
Mrs. Farina went on, “She taught me how to bake when I was
so small I was tripping over the apron on the floor. And she got me
into arts and crafts.”
When Mrs. Farina was a girl, her mother was the “craft lady” for
her Girl Scout troop. “I could never surprise her with a craft like
the other girls,” she said.
The mother-daughter duo went to many craft fairs over the years.
“She sewed. She made doll clothes. She made clothes for my dolls,
for me, and for herself,” said Mrs. Farina.
Mrs. Tymchyn made the holidays fun. Around Halloween, for
example, she brought out cookie cutters in the shape of pumpkins,
ghosts, and witches. She’d make white sugar cookies with an eggyolk
glaze. She’d put dye into the glaze in different colors. “We’d
use our paintbrushes to dip in and decorate the cookies,” said her
daughter.
Mrs. Tymchyn relished many experiences. She loved taking a
pontoon boat ride in Saratoga, her daughter said, and was equally
thrilled with front-row tickets to see The Will Rogers Follies, a
surprise gift from the Farinas.
Mrs. Farina went on to fondly recall one adventure she had with
her mother. “We both read a book set in the 1890s about Maggie,
an Irish house servant in Glens Falls who was murdered,” she
said. “One Mother’s Day, she said, ‘Let’s find Maggie.’ We went to
all the cemeteries in the area on a hunt for her grave….We found
Maggie.”
Mrs. Tymchyn, who was known for her beautiful floral arrangements,
left a bouquet on Maggie’s grave.
“She always had a lot of empathy and compassion for everybody
else,” said Mrs. Farina. “At the hospital, her last evening, she was
apologizing to the staff for putting them out…She said there must
be people who were sicker who needed tending to.”
Mrs. Farina concluded of her mother, “She was always hands-on
and arms-around.”
****
She is survived by her husband and best friend of 42 years, Walter
Tymchyn; her sister and brother-in-law, Ida and Robert Trollinger
of San Antonio, Texas; her sisters-in-law, Gloria Rice and Elizabeth
Staroba; her sons, John M. Tymchyn of Connecticut and Scott A.
Tymchyn of Guilderland; her daughter and son-in-law, Stacie Ann
and Nick Farina of Stephentown; and many nieces, nephews, greatnieces,
and great-nephews.
Her brother, George Kenneth La Roche, died before her.
Her family gives heartfelt thanks to the staff at Albany Memorial
Hospital and Albany Dialysis Center for their care, kindness, and
love.
At the request of Mrs. Tymchyn and her family, there will be no
calling hours. A memorial service will be held to celebrate her life.
Friends and family are invited to the Church at the Crossroads,
State Route 43 in Stephentown, for 5 p.m. on Saturday, Dec. 22.
Arrangements are by Newcomer Cannon Funeral Home in Colonie.
Mourners may leave online messages for the family at www.NewcomerAlbany.com.
Mrs. Tymchyn requested donations be made to Steve Caporizzo’s
Pet Connection, 341 Northern Boulevard, Albany, NY 12204 or to
local chapters of the American Society for Prevention of Cruelty to
Animals.
— Melissa Hale-Spencer