Obituaries

Riley C. Ohlson, of Batavia, passed away on Wednesday October 12, 2016 at United Memorial Medical Center in Batavia.  He was born on February 7, 2016 in Rock Hill, SC to Timothy Ohlson of South Carolina and Sondra Olcott of Batavia.

Riley will always be remembered for being very curious. He loved everything that he could get his hands on and loved being with his siblings.

In addition to his parents, he is survived by his siblings; Dora DeVay of Batavia, Hannah and Noah Ohlson of SC and Bela Olcott of Batavia; Grandparents Gene (Josephine) Jackett of Batavia, Tim (Diane) Ohlson of Darien and Maureen (Dale) Tompkins of Rock Hill, SC; aunt Lori (Ron) Haas of Brockport and Uncle Chris (Sian) Ohlson of Middletown, VA.

Family and friends are invited to call on Monday October 17, 2016 from 11:00AM – 1:00PM at Gilmartin Funeral Home & Cremation Company, Inc. 329-333 West Main Street Batavia, New York 14020. A 1:00PM Funeral Service will be held immediately following the visitation at the Funeral Home. Riley will be laid to rest in Grandview Cemetery in Batavia.

Memorials may be made to the Ronald McDonald House 780 W. Ferry St. Buffalo, NY 14222 http://rmhcwny.org/ . For more information please call 585-343-8260 or to leave a message of condolence please visit www.gilmartinfuneralhome.com. Arrangements completed by Gilmartin Funeral Home & Cremation Company, Inc. 329-333 West Main Street Batavia, New York 14020.

Sebastiana “Ann” Liberante, 100, a long time resident of Buffalo and Batavia passed away on October 6, 2016 at the Batavia Health Care Center. She was born on July 30, 1916 in Oakfield to the late Angelo and Sebastiana (Bordanaro) Trigilio.

Ann turned 100 on July 30th. She was the sixth of 10 children born to Angelo and Sebastiana Trigilio of Oakfield. She is the mother of Richard Liberante and grandmother of Richard and Dana Liberante of Port St. Lucie, Florida. Ann celebrated her birthday with her siblings John Trigilio and Jennie Paradowski, as well as nieces, nephews, cousins and friends. Mrs. Liberante enjoyed cooking and baking for family parties and loved the freedom of driving her own car and visiting local casinos, was a longtime member of St. Mary’s Church. She participates in all the activities, events and field trips organized by the staff at BHCC. Ann said she is very grateful for her good health, long life, good friends, a loving family and the gentle care she receives at BHCC.

There were no prior calling hours. A Memorial Service was held on October 13, 2016 at St. Joseph’s Mausoleum in Batavia where she will be entombed.

For more information please call 585-343-8260 or to leave a message of condolence please visit www.gilmartinfuneralhome.com. Arrangements completed by Gilmartin Funeral Home & Cremation Company, Inc. 329-333 West Main Street Batavia, New York 14020.

Cheryl Lynn Gates, 56, of Batavia passed away on Friday October 7, 2016 after a brief battle with pancreatic cancer.   Born in Bristol, Pennsylvania, on February 7, 1960, Cheryl was the third daughter of Ira MacDonald Gates and Irene Hogg Gates. She is survived by her father; sisters Susan J. Blanchard (Tom) of Lockport, NY, and Evalyn I. Gates (Eric Pelander) of Cleveland; nieces Kate Kleismit (Jeff) of Lockport, Anna Blanchard of Pittsburgh, PA, and Kendall Pelander of Denver, CO; nephews Greg Pelander (Shawna) of Portland, OR, and Jordan Pelander (Nicole) of Denver, CO; great-nephews Nathan Kleismit, Rowan Pelander and Cael Pelander, and great-niece Madeline Pelander.

Cheryl was a 1978 graduate of Batavia High School, and attended Northern Arizona University in Flagstaff Arizona.  Following college she moved to San Francisco, California and was a research analyst for Bailard, Biehl & Kaiser, an investment firm in the city. 

It is impossible to picture Cheryl without a beautiful and contagious smile on her face.  As a young child she was always the first one awake in the morning - singing, dancing, and giggling as she snuck into her big sister’s room to jump on her bed.  She had a wonderful mischievous streak, which she never lost, and her love of animals began before she could talk, when she snuggled her first puppy in her arms.

Throughout her life she was a caring and generous friend.  She was always there if someone needed support and love; and the one to instigate fun or adventure. Her wit and ability to inject silliness when needed will be long remembered by all of her friends and family. 

She was fearless in trying new ventures – whether heading across the country to live in a new city, hopping onto a surfboard or galloping across mountain trails on a horse. She loved California living and had many adventures with her friends there, driving a bright red pick-up truck to the beach, to the mountains or up into wine country.  She and a friend took 3^rd place in the novice category for wine-tasting in 1986 at the Greenwood Ridge Vineyards.

She returned to Batavia in 1987 when she suddenly became ill with what was eventually diagnosed as ME/CFIDS.  As she struggled with the challenges of ME/CFIDS in the following years, she also fought to help others, encouraging and supporting many friends, old and new. She was a dedicated advocate for research into the causes and treatments of this illness. 

She was also deeply devoted to her pets and committed to caring for all animals.  In addition to the many cats and kittens she rescued, a young ferret and an injured crow were nursed back to health under her care. She will be greatly missed by her family and her many friends – human and other.

Services will be held this Saturday at the First Presbyterian Church, 300 East Main Street, Batavia N.Y. The family will receive family and friends at the church at 1:30 p.m in the church parlor; services will begin in the Sanctuary at 2:30 p.m. and there will be a dinner and party as Cheryl requested immediately following the service at 4:00 pm at Bohn’s Restaurant, 5256 Clinton Street Road, Batavia.

In lieu of flowers, contributions in memory of Cheryl may be made to Volunteers for Animals, 3841 West Main Street Road, Batavia, NY 14020, http://www.vol4animals.org; or Solve ME/CFS Initiative, 5455 Wilshire Blvd, Suite 806, Los Angeles, CA 90036, http://solvecfs.org/donate/

To leave a condolence, share a story or light a candle in Cheryl's memory, please visit www.bataviafuneralhomes.com. Arrangements were entrusted to the H.E. Turner & Co. Funeral Home, 403 East Main Street, Batavia.