Guilderland – John Charles DeLaMater, husband, father, and Poppy to his two grandsons, passed away gently at the Hospice Inn at St. Peter’s Hospital on Monday, January 14, 2019, after living bravely and gracefully with cancer and challenging urological issues this past year. Born in Troy on January 12, 1946, he was the son of the late Charles Cure and Jean Cookfair DeLaMater. He graduated from Averill Park HS in 1964 and earned his Associate’s Degree in Heating and Air Conditioning Technology from HVCC in 1966.
His career in HVAC spanned 47 years beginning at the Carrier labs in Syracuse for 3 years, almost 20 years at A.J. Eckert Co. in Albany as a project manager, and lastly 25 years as a Carrier sales engineer for R.J. Murray Co. in Latham. He was highly respected for his honesty and integrity by both his colleagues and clients throughout his career. He was an active communicant of St. Madeleine Sophie parish as a Eucharistic Minister for many years, and after retirement, a committed volunteer with the SMS Food Pantry.
He loved to play golf and was a member of the Sportsmen’s Golf League in Colonie for over 40 years, in recent years acting as the league’s president. He loved SU basketball and never gave up on his NY Giants. He and his wife,Kathy, traveled to many beautiful island destinations over the years, but for the past 10 years their favorite was Anna Maria Island on the Florida Gulf Coast where they wintered.
What he loved best, though, was being Poppy to Sean and Evan. Whether it was rides to the airport or field trips to fun learning sites or building sand castles on the Falmouth beach or spending hours in our yard playing whatever the boys wanted, John was in his glory! He is already sorely missed by his wife of 49 years and 6 months, minus 2 days, Kathy, and his daughters, Christy (Dan) Doyle of Delmar, and Lisa DeLaMater of Guilderland.
He is especially missed by his amazing grandsons, Sean and Evan Doyle, and his grand dog, Harris. He was the brother of Judy (Chuck) Musser of Lebanon, PA, and uncle to their daughters Terri, Julie, and Jill. The family feels blessed to have received loving and compassionate care from so many angels during John’s journey: Dr. Ira Zackon and all the staff at New York Oncology/Hematology; Dr. Ronald Kaufman and all the young Drs.
of the Albany Medical Center Urology team; the nurses and staff of the Apheresis/Transfusions Unit at Albany Medical Center; and the entire group of caregivers at the Hospice Inn at St. Peter’s. We are also grateful for two special friends, Chuck and Fred, who drove John to many of his appointments. Visitation with the family will take place on Tuesday, January 29, at St. Madeleine Sophie Church, 3500 Carman Rd.
, Guilderland, from 4-7 PM. A Mass of Christian Burial will be celebrated at the church on Wednesday, January 30, at 10 AM. Inurnment will be private at the convenience of the family.
In lieu of flowers, John has asked that donations be made to either City Mission of Schenectady, 425 Hamilton St., Schenectady, NY 12305, or St. Madeleine Sophie Church, 3500 Carman Rd. , Schenectady, NY 12303. Even more important than monetary gifts, John has asked that anyone who is able to please donate blood and/or platelets as he experienced that gift of life so often during his illness.
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