Platt M. Wheeler

Platt Monroe Wheeler, treasured father, uncle, grandfather, great grandfather, and friend, died peacefully at Crouse Hospital on Wednesday, April 25, 2018. Born on December 11, 1921, in Utica, NY, Platt was the son of the late Geraldine Walls Wheeler and Nathan Edward Wheeler of Hamilton, NY, the town in which Platt grew to adulthood distinguishing himself as both an excellent student and outstanding athlete. It was during his undergraduate years at St. Lawrence University that he met and subsequently married his adored and adoring wife Marilyn Merrill Wheeler (deceased July 2012). Thus began their 67-year love story - a beautiful model for their children and grandchildren. Platt completed both his B.A. and M.Ed. at St. Lawrence and undertook advanced study at both Cornell and Syracuse University. Their marriage and Platt's graduate program were interrupted by WWII as he went into the US Navy and served as Assistant Gunnery officer aboard the USS Stickell-DD 888, in the Atlantic Fleet. Upon his return from the war, Platt began his professional life as a Social Studies teacher and coach at Voorheesville Central Schools (1946-1948), and in 1948 he started his long and illustrious career at Fayetteville High School, which soon became Fayetteville-Manlius High School following the centralization of the district in 1951. Platt first taught Social Studies and coached and later added Department Chair to his duties, but once again duty called. Platt was re-called by the Navy for the Korean Conflict where he served as a lieutenant from 1950-1952, this time as Gunnery Officer aboard the USS Henley DD 762, another destroyer in the Atlantic Fleet. Platt taught from 1948-1963 when he was appointed to serve in the administration at FM from 1963 until his retirement in 1983. Platt's reputation as an excellent teacher transformed into that of a remarkable school administrator who always had his finger on the pulse of the school, always knew where students should be, and cared deeply for everyone's education, health and safety. He was known by all to be "tough but fair," and many students credit Platt with their graduating from FM. Until his death, Platt remembered students' names, teams' successes, historical facts and so much more. An avid reader, he subscribed to four newspapers and countless journals, and he read his way through the Fayetteville Library where he was both a patron and a board member for several years. It was a bit of a joke that Platt didn't want anything to do with computers, but his history of the formation of the Fayetteville-Manlius District is contained in a blog that is on the internet. In 1956, Platt and Marilyn moved into the home that they had built in Fayetteville and where they raised their five children. In his earlier years Platt gave a great deal of his time to Limestone Little League as a coach and an umpire, served as the Assistant Scoutmaster for Troop 51 in Fayetteville, and refereed basketball games for many years as a member of AABO Board 38. They lived very happily in their home for 62 years until age caught up with them and they could no longer maintain the large lawn and home, so Maple Downs became their new home where they made so many dear friends during their time there. In addition to his parents and his wife Marilyn, Platt was predeceased by their son Richard (Gini, Rochester) and his brother Richard Wheeler (Mary Jane, Brewster, MA). He is survived by his daughter Cynthia Manning (John, Jr.) Boxford, MA, and his threeanlius, Cynthia, Boston, MA, D. Merrill, Jr (Sarah Poe) Upper Arlington, OH, Dr. John (Jessica) Fountain Hills, AZ, Jessica Roche (Roger) Rochester, Andrew, Tallahassee, FL, Christopher, Fredericksburg, ,

What a perfect day for the Gutbuster! The air is crisp, the suns shining, and the cookies are made and ready to go! See you all there!!

Happy New Year 2018

The Blog is still functioning.

September 12th, 2017

The site is still open and functioning. Just no news to post. If you have any please let me know.

New race June 24th! Paddle on two rivers!

 2 Rivers Marathon, Blackwater to Booneville

Penrose Zimmerman Jackson

Penrose has been selected as President of the University of Vermont Alumni Association (2016-2018) and was the first recipient of the Association for Community Health Improvement’s Spirit of the Community Leadership Champion Award (2017)  ACHI is a subset of the American Hospital Association.

 

News for the Blog Anyone?

Does anyone have news for the blog.  Is anyone even looking at this blog?

Please get in touch with me at debbydoolittle@yahoo.com with your news

Please note, all obituary notices for classmates are on the memorial website.

Tributes for Mr. Petty

Tributes For Mr. Petty
Don't know how well you all knew him, but I always thought Warren Petty was the best teacher I ever had.  How nice that he had such a long life and probably had the chance to mentor so many more of us and even our children and theirs, too.  There's a reason we dedicated the '66 Oak Leaves to Mr Petty.  God bless the great ones like him!
Jim Myers

Fond memories of Mr. Petty's classes. What a great teacher! And a rich and full life all around.
John Bergstrom

Whenever I drive around Central NY I can always recognize drumlins, thanks to Mr. Petty!  He really sparked my interest in science!  Some of you had him for Biology, but I had him for earth science. I went on a summer long camping trip out west after my sophomore year & every day of the summer I was able to recall & see something he taught us...buttes, rock layers, oxbow lakes...so many things! What a fabulous teacher! RIP Mr. Petty. 

Cinda Meachem Sutton

Mr. Petty was one of my favorite teachers. He was creative - remember his paper bag periphera cell models - and  made every class interesting.

I grew up in Trinity Church and don't think I ever knew he was a member there. Love that he was a quilter!  A very interesting, peaceful soul. RIP Mr. Petty.

Lynne Gibson Lovett

So sad to hear of Mr. Petty passing away. He was one of my most influential teachers who instilled in me a love of science and learning. He had a love of teaching and enthusiasm that pushed me to do things like dissect frogs that was not easy for most of us  but taught me about myself and anatomy. Oddly I have even thought about and remembered his lesson about sweating and how we all should use underarm deodorant. Hey, some lessons from good old Mr. Petty. Nice to hear he had a long life with great family. My hats off to a great teacher.

Aarne Anton

You captured my thoughts and feelings about Mr. Petty. Wonderful teacher. Thanks Jim(Myers)
Bob Jacobson

Mr. Petty – what a wonderful guy!  He’s one of the ones that –even though I always liked him – I realized after leaving H.S what a true gem of a man he was.
Harriet Shaw Applegate

Mr. Petty would put 99% of teachers today to shame! I'm glad he had a long life-proof that he led an exemplary life.
Rod Burne Columbia,  SC

 Mr. Petty was the best teacher. For me he made biology interesting and relevant. I did great on the SAT Biology exam and thought that was going to be my life's work at the time, a biologist. I also remember getting an A+ on my science project about earth worms. He lived a long life with a wonderful family.
Debby Larus Doolittle

 

Warren Petty " Mr. Petty"

Warren R. Petty  

View Obituary

Warren R. Petty, 90, of Fayetteville passed away peacefully at home Friday, March 3, surrounded by his family. Warren is survived by his wife of 61 years, Beatrice , his two daughters, Beatrice (James) Hailes of Chester, NJ and Susan (Allen) Horn of Pomfret Center, CT as well as two grandsons, William Wishart and Allen Horn IV. Warren was born in Clarks Summit, PA. He served during WWII in Germany in the Infantry, 4th Armored Division....

2017

Happy New Year

Merry Christmas 2016

Ground Swell

Despite my statement about the 50th reunion being the last organized one, there is a ground swell of desire to have another get-together in two years to celebrate our collective 70th birthday. Suggested by Mr. Dave Eckerson.
Proposed places have been, Manlius again, Calloway Gardens in GA and most recently Las Vegas. 

The Casuals 1964 from Jim Myers

Here’s one for your nostalgia collection:  This is our old folk singing group, “The Casuals,” taken in March of 1964 shortly before we performed in “Showboat.”  I shot this with my phone off the cover of an old issue of “Hornet’s Nest,” that Cinda gave me at the reunion, and was able to sharpen it up a bit, enlarge it and get rid of the yellowish cast of the newsprint. It’s not great, but it’s the only photo I have of the old group. 

Left to right:  Joe Geiss - senior; Jim Myers - sophomore; Mark Hoffman - senior; Bob Sudmyer - junior; and Dave Buchanan - senior.  The following year the 3 seniors were all gone, but Sudsy and I soldiered on by adding Bob and Tom Gwynn to the group.  Tad Collins occasionally played banjo with us, too, if he wasn’t busy with his own group, called, “The Pompey Hollow Potlickers.”

I’ve done a lot of music since, and it’s all been enjoyable, but I think those days singing with those guys were the most musical fun I ever had!

Jim Myers

50th Reunion Site

CLASS 1966 FM 50TH REUNION

• Class1966 FM 50th Reunion click on this

To go to the 50th reunion site click on the link above

Seating Chart for class photo

Seating Chart for 50^th Class Reunion Photo going left to right

Top Row 4  standing        

Ed Siegenthaler

Larry English

Dave Wells

Tom Stone

Stew Davis

Dave Vermilya

Steve Bickelhaup

Gary Revercomb

Wayne Trivelpiece

Greg Bock

Bob Jacobson

Row 3 standing

Bill McGann

Sandy Crothers Jacobson

Ann Whitney

Bill Hall

Kevin Fitch

Phil Evans

Terry Euston

Nancy Martin White

Dyke Chapman

Teri Guhin Ayer

Jack Mapstone

Libby Rogers Cowan

Dan Kirkley

Janet MacMakin Wansack

Jim Myers

Barb Belton Robertson

Row 2 seated

Anita Cottrell

Suzanne Connor Myers

Jane Gaitley Collins

Cinda Meachem Sutton

Debby Larus Doolittle

Pamela Lipe Revercomb

Harriet Shaw Applegate

Kirsten Mackey Fleisher

Row 1 seated floor

MaryLu Casale Mingolelli

Sandy Mattison

Tad Collins

Dave Eckerson

Dave Neary

Lynne Gibson Lovett

Jamie Steele

Chris Perry

Sue Bassett Doolittle

Sue Bon Walden

Hi Debby:  Thanks so much for sending the photos!  From my perspective, who has not lived in the F-M area in over to 48 years, it took a few minutes to figure out who everyone was.  Some appear not to have changed much at all, where others looked very different.  I was like, who ARE all these old people, then all I need to do is look in the mirror for a reality check!

The mention of Hullars brought back memories.  My parents would stop by there on a Saturday afternoon occasionally.  And they are still in business-a "go to" destination?  So funny!

Thanks for all of your efforts putting everything together.  It will no doubt be enjoyed by all.

Susan Walden

From Bill Hall

Debby,

It was great to see you again this weekend. Thanks for all you did to support Pam, and all of us, with the reunion. I think you are our official historian and record keeper! Your efforts to keep track of all of us are, as always, very much appreciated.

Hope you have a safe trip back; and I'm glad that we at least got to catch up a bit during the reunion.

Best Regards,

Bill

Jamie Steele

I am quite happy in Dansville, and at the Geneseo air museum several days a week, and anyone who wants to visit should call me for a special tour. You can actually go inside most of the vintage planes, and if you bring your checkbook, you can take rides! I have been up in more planes since my C-47 ride on our D-Day vet, Whiskey 7. The Russian, Antonov 2, AN-2 was a real hoot. The gang got the rebuilt engine back on, did many tests, and our lead pilots did test runs. Then it was the volunteers turn for a spin. I got to sit right up front with Craig Wadsworth, (in the pic) chief pilot, and son of our prisident. It is the largest single engine bi plane in the world. Not real old, but huge! We call it Natasha, or just 'The Beast'. 

       Besides giving tours and dealing with our collections and displays, I try to help out with the actual airplane maintenance. I am no mechanic, but there is always a need for someone to fetch a tool for someone up on a wing, or deep inside some wheel well. One of the other volunteers was in my same class at Forestry College. That fact came in handy a week ago when we took out some wood bits to the AN-2 and needed to know what kind of wood we needed for replacements. We both decided it was either tulip poplar, or basswood. Gee, nearly 45 years later we still know our wood, but maybe not phone numbers.

         Grand daughter, Adelaide, is getting tall for her age at 2 1/2, and well on her way to be a Tom Boy, as she plays and rolls around with their two dogs plus mine, all big dogs, and underneath them much of the time laughing all the time. She hardly ever fusses, mostly over what food is offered, or some movie. Do we all now know who Woody and Buzz are? OK, hope all are well & see you next fall. Jamie Steele 315-375-8516 jrs127@hotmail.com

From Lynne Gibson Lovett:

Joyce's sister Gayle, is married to my brother, Gary. She has had a long battle with cervical cancer and until just these last few months, has never once complained or even acknowledged her illness. She was a wonderful, positive, fun force to be reckoned with - and will always be remembered with that beautiful, welcoming smile of hers. Lynne

From Joyce's husband Peter Donohoe:

  I am at a loss for words to adequately describe my sadness in announcing Joyce’s passing this morning, peacefully, at home with her daughter Jacque and me, after an epic struggle with cancer, and with a fierce determination to live every minute to its fullest, until her energy was totally spent. I know that I can speak for the rest of her family in thanking all of you who have been close enough to support Joyce and us during the very difficult past sixteen months of her twenty year ordeal. The constant stream of visitors to our home the past three weeks is in itself a fine tribute to this wonderful woman, my wife, my love, my Joyce

                I hope all that can will join us in a service for Joyce In Florida or in New York. Here are the details: 

Friday, November 13^th in Fort Myers at 11 AM at Harvey Engelhardt Funeral Home at 1600 ColonialBlvd (west from  Exit 136 on I-75 between Rt 41 and Summerlin) followed by a lunch at Fiddlesticks Country Club.( exit 131 from I-75 or from the funeral home south on RT 41 and east on Daniels Pkwy to Fiddlesticks Blvd)

Sunday, November 15^th, in Dewitt calling hours fron 2-5 pm at Fairchild Meech Funeral Home, 3690 Erie Blvd East, Syracuse, NY

Monday, November 16^th  funeral service at Dewitt Community Church, 3600 Erie Blvd East at 11 am followed by lunch at Bellevue Country Club 1900 Glenwood Ave. Syracuse.

Both the funeral home and church are across the street from Shoppingtown Mall.

Peter Donohoe

Dan Kirkley

Dan has left Canada and moved back to Fayetteville. 103 Fairfield St Fayetteville, NY 13066-2210 E-mail: dkirkley31@gmail.com

Jamie Steele

Hello Class of 66'ers from Jamie Steele, as we approach the 50 mark. I remember when my Dad went to his 50th HS reunion, and I thought 'how old' they all were when I saw the reunion picture. Well, that is now US. My Doc says I am pretty much OK, could lose 10+lbs. , but most of us should. No major body problems, and I recently strapped on my old tree climbing gear, and did some major tree trimming that pretty well impressed my 32 yr old neighbor, who is fond of calling me Mr. Wilson, as his 6 yr old is definitely a Dennis.

        My last communication to our site was likely about getting re-married in '05, and her job taking us to the 1,000 Islands, more specifically, Morristown, near Ogdensburg. I did a summer job on the last wooden, tour boat on the river for three years, and saw a lot of huge ocean going ships up real close. I created an exhibit at the local museum of some of my WWII collection, and restored the 1840's stone house, and grounds. I rather took a job break after 25 years of restoring houses in Syracuse, and ending up a landlord, having to deal with the four letter word; tenant. I had helped her and her two daughters finish advanced degrees, so it was a fair trade, but I was always busy. I also bought and sold antiques. Greg Wells helped me on the house restoration, as he did in Syracuse.

         A late life diagnosis of MS hit my wife, but she kept her job, however, it pretty much ended our dreams of hiking, canoeing, and huge gardens. Later, a near death illness, due to the MS, made her decide to live on her own, and dedicate herself to her children and grandkids. So, I had to sell the house, and move. Unfortunately, two plus years later the house remains unsold, it is really depressed in the north country.

        After a few difficult years, I ended up in Dansville, NY, an hour south of Rochester, with the sole purpose of being more active with the National Warplane Museum in Geneseo. About the time I made the move, they were preparing to fly our C-47 (civilian DC-3) back to Normandy for the 70th anniversary of D-Day. Reason being that our plane was the lead plane of the 2nd wave, the night of D-Day, and dropped 82nd Airborne troops into France. We did it. Look up Whiskey 7, or Return to Normandy, National Warplane Museum, and you can read all about it.

         As those paratroopers jumped feet first into France, I jumped into the museum with my rather extensive WWII collection of wings, pins, uniforms, home front, and other related items. They had no one to fill those shoes, so I was suddenly the display and collections manager, as it was never a place with exhibits, just piles of airplane parts, but they needed to be a real museum, and fast. It is all volunteer, but I just love it. I am often the only person there, in charge of the entire facility, and millions of dollars of historic airplanes. Yes, like most volunteer groups, only a few do most of the work.

      My pay off came with a ride in our W-7 on June 5th. We were to leave Geneseo around 7PM to do some fly overs for land events, and leave the plane in Rochester. Well, weather was the enemy for my trip, and we did not get airborne until 9PM. I did the math; add 5 hours to get to French time, made it June 6th, 2AM, exactly the day, and time our plane was spilling 82nd Troopers out the back door, 71 years prior. I looked at that door, and a chill overcame me. Our people found one man who jumped that day, and we took him up again in France. However, our folks also found four graves in Normandy of young men who jumped out that very door I was looking at, and did not survive the week. The pay back, bonus flight for me became a memorial flight, and I shall never forget it, or the men, our Fathers and Mothers, who saved our free world. If you find yourself near Geneseo, call me, and I'll give you the full tour.

      In the middle of all this transformation, my son, Andrew, and his wife, mostly his wife, gave the world Adelaide Braelyn Steele. They never talked about having kids, but here she is, nearly two now, and of course, very cute. She is so beautiful I told my son to give the mailman an extra twenty this year. Actually, she looks totally like his mom's family, and besides, he says his letter carrier is a lady. Both of them are social workers, and Andy works with our own Nancy Martin (White).

       My daughter, Elizabeth, was forced to leave her vet tech job due to back problems. She is now deep into a specialized radiology program, and will graduate soon. Kids these days really do have to adapt to the ever changing job market, and more education is the only way. Both my kids still live in the Syracuse area. Sadly, both my parents are  gone.

        So, here I am in a small town, rarely lock my doors, and love it. I have a huge garden, as I always have had, and keep busy with yet another old house. Greg Wells, again, has been here several times to help me do the fine tuning. He came down last winter from Old Forge just to stare at someone else's snow. We drank a lot of beer, toured around, and did more stuff on the house. He is the most skilled, and intelligent person I have ever known, he just doesn't look like it, (sorry Greg). We have great time. He fishes, I drink beer. I fuss with old uniforms, and he drinks beer. Perfect.

       I expect to see Terry Euston next week, and my door is open to any 66er who needs a place to stay in the west country. It is really beautiful here, and my dog is very friendly. If you have WWII stuff you don't need, bring it to the reunion, or call me. See you for the 50th (we all hope) Jamie Steele, jrs127@hotmail.com,  315-375-8516.

     

 

Camp Tellman

After 10 years labor and lots of $ we are leaving next week.  It is a major deal to close up house, throw out food, cancel cable, arrange for mail etc.

It will be a challenge to keep systems working, boat safe and wife happy!  We have the benefit of enthusiasm and a good resume of knowledge of our little ship "DULCINEA."

There will be a blog and we encourage your contributions.  We want to hear from you! 

Campbell Tellman

Hullar's Restaurant in Fayetteville

May 29, 2015

Jacob C. Hullar 3rd, 87, a lifelong resident of Fayetteville passed away peacefully on Friday. He was a graduate of Fayetteville High School and Morrisville College. During his school days he had his first job as bar mop at Hullar's working for his mother and father.

He continued what was to become a long and varied career, beginning as a farmer he combined from Pennsylvania to Connecticut. It was during this time that he met his wife Maria at The DeWitt restaurant where she was a waitress. He founded Hullar Enterprises and continued his work as an entrepreneur in many other business ventures. One which he was very proud was building Spring Ponds Hatchery on his property on Highbridge Street. He built the ponds and hatchery and for many years people have had the enjoyment of coming there to fish. Jake loved the challenge of work and the rewards it provided.

Nothing was more satisfying than a "hot tip" about a stock, especially if it proved true and made a profit! He loved farm animals and enjoyed the time he spent on his houseboat at Sylvan Beach.

Our father loved to tell stories about the characters that used to come and go in his life, when in fact he was the biggest character. He always looked forward to 6 a.m. breakfast with his breakfast club cronies. He loved nothing better than long rides in the country and reminiscing about his adventures and misadventures, over and over and over! (We'll leave Canada out!). Another love was the many years he enjoyed on the waters of Oneida Lake and the St. Lawrence River. Dad lead a colorful and checkered life. The stories spewed at family gatherings, appropriate or not. Dad would not want people to say "rest in peace", he would rather say "go raise a little hell" Dad always said "the after life must be pretty damn good, cause no one has ever come back", we love you Dad.

He is survived by his wife of 56 years, Maria Fabbri Hullar; his loving daughters, Susan Hullar, Nanette Hullar (Bernard Root III) and Nadia Hullar-Schepp; grandchildren, Joe and Jake Petro and Ethan and Larah Schepp; sister, Doris Bishop; and nephews and nieces, Don, Brad, Sherri and Jennie.

He was predeceased by his sister, Nancy Cross and brothers-in-law, Doug Cross and Ed Bishop.

Services will be private. Contributions in his memory may be made to Junior Diabetes Research Foundation, CNY Chapter, 100 Metropolitan Dr. #400, Liverpool, NY 13088.

Nancy Martin's father passed away

May 9, 2015 Lloyd Franklin Martin, Sr., 92, of Fayetteville, a winter resident of Jupiter, Florida, and most recently of the Nottingham in Jamesville, left this world on Saturday morning May 9, 2015, a year after his beloved wife of 70 years,...

Read Obituary

Published in Syracuse Post Standard from May 15 to May 17, 2015

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David Eckerson

 ... Dave Eckerson here ... I retired from the Foreign Service two years ago and now split time with my bride between houses in Northern Virginia and Seattle.  I was lured back to USAID to run our development program in Burma for a few months last September, and just did a month in El Salvador mentoring all the young'uns who now fill USAID's ranks.  On New Years Eve our daughter married the son of a family friend who died in the Asian Tsunami ten years ago.  We attended an amazing Buddhist remembrance ceremony on the remote island off the coast of Thailand where he died, along with survivors from around the world who came back to witness and relive that infamous day.  Five days later we had our daughter's wedding on the beach where her husband's dad was pulled out to sea.  Needless to say, the wedding and party afterward became one hell of a celebration of life on the island. We spent a month afterwards exploring Vietnam, Cambodia, and Laos before returning to Virginia.  We head out to Seattle mid June via a northern route, and will return via a southern tack in October.  My email handle is davesbirthday@gmail.com if anyone wants to connect when we are either going or coming.