Obituaries

Lois Kisiel of Batavia passed away on Wednesday, July 14, 2010, two days before her 84th birthday, at her home surrounded by her loving family.  She died from intestinal cancer, which was undetectable in spite of her regular tests and checkups.

Mrs. Kisiel was born Lois Ruth Quartley on July 16, 1926 in Oakfield.  She was the daughter of the lae Harold Clayton Quartley, Sr. and the lae Marion (Tully) Quartley.

Lois graduated from Batavia High School in the Class of 1944.  She began working at The New York Telephone Company as a local and long distance operator and as a Services Assistant.  She always prided herself on being able to remember all the old telephone numbers of her family, friends and local businesses and would amaze people on her instant recall of them.  She was working on the switchboard on two historic occasions, VE Day and VJ Day.  When remembering those wartime days she said, "the board lit up like a Christmas tree!"  Everyone was asked to work overtime to handle the flood of happy calls that would mark the end of the war and the return of the brave, young men and women who served in it.  This would include her own future husband, Henry John Kisiel, who was in the Navy serving on the Aircraft Carrier USS Cape Esperance.  She continued to work for The New York Telephone Company for 15 years and eventually left to devote her time to raising her three children.

Mrs. Kisiel's husband, Henry, has been in the die casting business for 68 years.  In 1972, the family die casting business, Pinnacle Manufacturing Company, Inc. of Batavia, was founded.  Mrs. Kisiel was a partner in the company and was working full-time up until Memorial Day of this year when she took ill.  She ran the office operation of the business at 56 Harvester Avenue in the Industrial Center.  She learned and mastered the computer programs in her late years, which she needed to automate the business.  Every day she enjoyed coming to work and found great fulfillment in her roll as a small business owner and the daily challenges it presented to her.

Those who know her, and others who came in contact with her, may have noticed the unusual hoarseness when she spoke.  Mrs. Kisiel suffered for years with a voice disorder known as "spasmodic dysphonia".  These involuntary "spasms" of the vocal cords affect the quality of the voice and cause interruptions of speech.

Mrs. Kisiel took great pleasure in her family and has enjoyed a rich life full of blessings.  She most loved her home, which was built for her by her husband in the country 54 years ago.  She often visited her children and grandchildren who llive in various parts of the United States, but she was always most content when she returned to her beautiful home and her beloved town of Batavia where she lived her entire life.

Lois Ruth Kisiel  is survived by her loving husband of 62 years, Henry John Kisiel.  They were married in St. Mary's Church in Batavia on September 8, 1948.  She is survived by her only two sisters, Betty Gautieri and Dorothy Quarterley both of Batavia.  She had five deceased brothers, Harold Clayton Jr., John, Robert, William and Gerald.

Mrs. Kisiel leaves behind her three children.  Her daughter, Diane Kisiel (Hiram) Kasten of Los Angeles, California and Batavia, two sons, Kim Henry (Katy Call) Kisiel of Geneseo and Kevin John Kisiel of Vero Beach, Florida.  Six grandchildren; Millicent Kasten of Los Angeles, California and Batavia; Courtney (Benjamin) Lundberg of Surprise, Arizona, Michael Kisiel and Daniel Kisiel of Byron and Kaylie Kisiel and Laine Kisiel of Orlando, Florida.  Two great-granchildren; Kennedy Lundberg and Bryce Lundberg of Surprise, Arizona.  Five sisters-in-law; Barbara Quartley of Rochester, June Stack of Batavia, Wanda Pulvino and Eleanor DeFilippo of Batavia and Adeline Kisiel of Rochester.  A brother-in-law; Henry Kujawski Sr. of Batavia.  Her dear cousin, Carol Stevens Rogers of Oakfield and also many beloved neices and nephews.

Family and friends may call this evening, Thursday, 7-9 p.m. and Friday, 2-4 p.m. and 7-9 p.m. at the J. Leonard McAndrew Funeral Home, 2 Bogue Avenue, Batavia.  Prayers will be Saturday at 8:45 a.m. at the J. Leonard McAndrew Funeral Home followed by a Mass of Christian Burial at Ressurection Parish (St. Mary's site) at 9:30 a.m..  Burial will be in St. Joseph's Cemetery.

Those desiring may make memorial contrubutions to the family for distribution to various charities.

Expressions of condolence may be made at:  www.mcandrewfuneralhomes.net

Arrangements were entrusted to the J. Leonard McAndrew Funeral Home of Batavia.  Ronald P. Konieczny, director & veteran.

Albion - Mr. Richard L. "Rick" Hollabaugh, 57, of Albion, died Sunday, (July 11, 2010)at the United Memorial Medical Center.

Mr. Hollabaugh was born January 18, 1953 in Punxsutawney, Pennsylvania, a son of the late William and Rose (Fliger) Hollabaugh.

Mr. Hollabaugh will be remembered for his great sense of humor. An animal lover, he enjoyed gardening and golfing.

Survivors include his wife, Kathleen (Miller) Hollabaugh of Albion; three daughters, Sherie Norris, Leighann Bissette and Sara Hollabaugh, all of North Carolina; three grandchildren, Cameren Allen, Amber Bissette and Kayla Childers; a brother, William (JoLynn) Hollabaugh of Oakfield; three sisters, Nancy (Daniel) Coughlin of Oakfield, Sandra (Walter) Olszewski of Ballston Spa and Linda Snyder of Batavia; several nieces and nephews and his two cats, Shelby and Cally.  

Calling hours are Thursday from 5 to 8 p.m. at the Burdett & Sanford Funeral Home, 11 Maple Avenue, Oakfield. Services will be at 10:00 a.m. Friday also at the funeral home. In lieu of flowers, memorials may be made to the family, to be distributed to various charities. Condolences may be made at www.burdettandsanford.com.

Age 57, of Bethany, a tireless Batavia City School advocate died Monday July 12, 2010 at Strong Memorial Hospital. She passed away peacefully surrounded by her family after a long battle with ALS Lou Gerhig's Disease. She was born April 21, 1953 in the Bronx, NY daughter of the late William Sauter and Agnes McWilliams of the Bronx. Mrs. Siegel received her Bachelor's from Lehman College in the Bronx and her Master's Degree from Brockport having been an RN in critical care and ER in New York City and Boston for 20 years. Most recently she was the nurse for Batavia High School until her illness prevented her from continuing. She was active with Volunteers for Animals, loved to travel and watch movies with her husband and kids who were her life. She should be remembered for her sense of humor, courage, strength and grace.

Pre-deceased by her loving and dedicated husband Dr. Alan L. Siegel on May 26, 2010. She is survived by her loving mother Agnes Sauter of Rochester, loving and devoted children William Siegel and Jacqueline (Stuart) McLean all at home, loving mother-in-law Phyllis Siegel of Florida; loving and devoted sister Whitey (Joseph) Valenti of Fairport; a loving niece Erin Valenti, loving nephew Jeffrey Valenti, a special devoted nephew Christopher Valenti, nephew Scott Siegel, and brother-in-law Bill Vido. Her dear friends who always supported her illness and her husband's illness Dr. & Mrs. Matthew Landfried, Deborah Johnson, Holly McAllister, Phil Smith, Marianne Samuelson, Pam Buresch, Tom Trosey, Kathy Broderick, Bev Hoy, Alexis Edelstien, Catherine Lodi, Laura Mulligan and Sharon May.She will be truly missed by her faithful companion, 3lb. Chihuahua Oji.

Roe and her family would like to extend a special thanks to Dr. Harold Lesser, Dr. John Markman, Dr. Mary O'Bear, Dr. Timothy Quill, and the nurses at Strong Memorial Hospital Palliative Care Unit for the kindness, understanding, and compassion they showed. A special thanks to Veronica Leiser for her constant support and care of Roe while at home.

Visitation will be from 2-5 & 6-8 PM Friday July 16, 2010 at the Michael S. Tomaszewski Funeral & Cremation Chapel, LLC 4120 West Main Street Road Batavia, NY where a Celebration of Life Service will be held at 1:00 PM Saturday July 17. In honor of Mrs. Siegel, her family requests donations be made to Crossroads House 11 Liberty Street Batavia or Volunteers for Animals. 

Arrangements completed by The Michael S. Tomaszewski Funeral & Cremation Chapel, LLC of 4120 West Main Street Batavia, New York 14020 ~ Please call Michael at (585)343-7500.

Batavia - James Irving Zipfel, 82, of Batavia, died Friday, July 9, 2010at his home in Batavia.

Mr. Zipfel was born September 29, 1927 in Batavia, the son of the late Irving and Marion (Gubb) Zipfel.

He was a member of the First Presbyterian Church of Elba since July 1, 1945, a lifetime member, charter member, and past chief of the Town of Batavia Fire Department, where he was a member of the Exempt Firemen's Club. He was a dairy farmer on Batavia-Elba Townline Road until 1974 and retired from Curtis Burns in 1996 after working for over 20 years. He was a member of the Dairymen's League Co-op and Pro-Fac Co-op.

His first wife, Dorothy Bower Zipfel, died April 29, 1982. 

He is survived by his wife, Delena Sue (Carter) Zipfel whom he married November 11, 1983; 2 sons, Robert (Linda) Zipfel of Elba and William (Joyce) Zipfel of Oakfield; 3 daughters, Carol (William) Green of Oakfield, Ellen (Mark) Edwards of Frisco, TX and Patricia (Barry) Aradine of Bergen; 2 stepdaughters, Kathy Yungfleisch and Rosie (Alan) Yungfleisch, both of Elba; 2 stepsons, David (Barb) Dietrich of Batavia and Daniel (Mary) Dietrich of Williamsville; a sister, June (John) Dresser of Medina; 16 grand-children, Craig Waterman of GA, Timothy (Christine) Zipfel of Pavilion, Amy (Mark) Herman of Warsaw, Sarah (Chris) Norton of Elba, Courtney Zipfel and Carissa Zipfel, both of Batavia, Caitlin Zipfel of Oakfield, Christine Edwards of Frisco, TX, Brandon Aradine and Justin Aradine, both of Bergen, Kristen Yungfleisch and Adam Yungfleisch, both of Elba, Joseph Dietrich and Petra Dietrich, both of Batavia, Thomas Bieler of Lancaster and Ann Marie (Ted) Bodenstiener of NE; 13 great-grandchildren, Maylee and Timothy Zipfel, Alyssa, Brittney, Leigha, Craig and Destiny Waterman, Emma and Taylor Herman, Adison, Grace and Fletcher Norton, Collin and Leo Bodenstiener. 

Friends may call on Monday from 3 to 6 p.m. at H.E. Turner & Co. Funeral Home, 403 E. Main St., Batavia. The Town of Batavia Fire Department will pay respects at 6 p.m. Monday.  Services will be at 11 a.m. Tuesday, at First Presbyterian Church of Elba. In lieu of flowers, memorials may be made to First Presbyterian Church of Elba, 23 N. Main St., Elba, NY 14058 or to Elba Fire Dept., P.O. Box 183, Elba, NY 14058. Burial will be in Maple Lawn Cemetery, Elba.  Condolences may be made at www.bataviafuneralhomes.com.