James Edward Law passed away on November 8, 2018 at St. Johnsville Nursing and Rehabilitation Center in St. Johnsville, NY. He was born in 1920 in Truxton, NY to Merrill David and Ellen Della (Lynch) Law. He would have been 98 this month.
James grew up in Cortland, NY and attended high school through tenth grade. After moving to Buffalo, NY in 1937, he worked as a bicycle messenger for Western Union. He started as a night watchman at Terminal Petroleum in Buffalo and became an oil delivery driver.
In 1943 he entered the U.S. Navy, Construction Battalion, serving in the South Pacific until December 1945. After the war, James returned to work at Terminal Petroleum and then Pease Oil in Buffalo. He married Helen Maedl in 1946 in the parsonage of the United Methodist Church in Elma, NY.
They built a home in West Seneca, NY, and James became a milkman for the Cloverleaf Dairy. In 1957 he took the opportunity to become a regional salesman for Macklanburg-Duncan Builders Hardware, servicing upstate New York and Vermont. In 1968 James and Helen moved to Fultonville, NY and ran the Cloverleaf Motel until 1982.
During his time in Fultonville James served as Justice of the Town of Glen and as an ambulance driver for the Fonda-Fultonville Volunteer Ambulance Corps. He attended Fonda-Fultonville United Methodist Church where he was treasurer and a member of the board. James and Helen retired to Keller, TX; to Ocala, FL; and to Saratoga Springs, NY.
Following Helen’s death in 2012, James lived at Pineview Commons Assisted Living in Johnstown, NY. James held a private pilot’s license and was qualified to fly seven different models of recreational aircraft. He was an avid golfer and gardener, and enjoyed the beauty of nature.
He was a warm and generous person, an engaging story-teller, and a lover of children and animals. James is survived by his son James M. (Linda) Law of Fultonville, NY; daughter Kathleen (Gerald) Krieger of Worcester, MA; grandson James Patrick (Lisa) Law of Arlington, TX; granddaughter Courtney Ellen Law of Denver, CO; great-grandson Ryan Patriot Law of Texas; niece Ruth (Bill) Shupe of Clarence, NY; niece Mary Ellen (Tony) Sokol of Hinsdale, NY; and family by marriage: granddaughter Kylie McPherson of Guilderland, NY; great-granddaughter Avery McPherson and great-grandson Andrew McPherson of Guilderland, NY. He was preceded in death by his parents; his wife Helen; sister Ruth Law; brother Merrill Sylvester Law; sister Betty Jean Brume; nephew William Law; nephew Robert Maedl; and nephew David Ailing; A memorial service will be held at a time and location to be announced.
Interment will take place following the memorial service at Evergreen Cemetery in Fonda, NY. In lieu of flowers the family requests memorial donations be made to Ayres Memorial Animal Shelter, 133 Hilltop Road, Sprakers, NY 12166; or to the USO at www. uso.org.
Arrangements are under the direction of Compassionate Funeral Care, Inc, 402 Maple Ave. , Saratoga Springs, NY 12866.
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