Donald H. Lammers
Donald Harold Lammers, 82, of Cortland, N.Y., died Jan. 5 at the Cortland Regional Medical Rehabilitation Center in Cortland.
He was the son of the late Marion and Harold Lammers and was born Oct. 29, 1927, in Fredonia, N.Y.
He is survived by his wife of 56 years, Beatrice Martsolf Lammers, a Butler native; and their son, Timothy of New York City. Surviving cousins include Ruth Dempsey of Arizona, Jean (David) Pricher and Maj. Robert (Choon Hong) Young of Washington; a sister-in-law, Joan Martsolf of Butler; nieces and nephews across the United States; and close family friends, Sara Williams and Christopher Wiss of New York City.
Following graduation from Fredonia High School, he joined the Army Air Corps.
Don also was a graduate of Westminster College and the Pittsburgh Theological Seminary, both in Pennsylvania. He served pastorates in Bethel, Bolivar and Indiana, Pa., as well as Bay Village and Lorain, Ohio.
At seminary, he met the Rev. Hugh Rose and Cathy Rose, who were instrumental in bringing him to the United Presbyterian Church in Cortland in 1981, where he served as minister of visitation and later as associate pastor. He retired at the end of 1994 but continued to serve as a volunteer.
One of the founding members of Caring Community of Cortland, now Hospice, he also served on the Board of Alternatives to Incarceration and as a Loaves & Fishes helper. A member of Cortland Rotary Club, he was gifted by the club as a Paul Harris Fellow. He was past president of the Cortland Council of Churches and was honored by the group at its first golf tournament.
He graduated from the Chautauqua Literary and Scientific Circle.
The family honors his caregivers Sue Cannone, Barb Aldrich, Tami Reddick and Carey Wilk, as well as the CRMC staff, nurses, aides, physical therapists and Adult Day Care personnel for their devotion and dedication to his care.
<B>LAMMERS</B> — A memorial service for Donald Harold Lammers, who died Tuesday, Jan. 5, 2010, will be held at 3:30 p.m. Sunday, Jan. 17, at the United Presbyterian Church of Cortland with a reception to follow in the church parlor. A spring burial is planned in Forest Hill Cemetery in Fredonia.In lieu of flowers, please consider a gift in Donald Lammers's name to the United Presbyterian Church of Cortland, 25 Church St., Cortland, NY 13045; or to the Parkinson's disease Support Group of Syracuse NY Inc., c/o Richard Olson, 4224 Trotwood Lane, Clay, NY 13041.