All Obituaries

Captain Edward G. Pflugheber, 89, of 23656 Ackerman Rd, Dexter passed away on May 1, 2021 at home, surrounded by family. Calling hours will be held from 12-2pm Friday, May 7, 2021 at Johnson Funeral Home, Dexter, NY. A short service will be held at the funeral home following calling hours. Burial with full military honors will be at Sacket’s Harbor Military cemetery immediately after. Ed was born on July 27, 1931 in Wanakena, NY, son of Edward and Fern (Hubbard) Pflugheber. He...

Donald “Donnie” J. Wills, 67, Dexter, passed away after a brief illness on April 30, 2021 at the Grandstrand Medical Center in Myrtle Beach, SC., an area where he spent the winter months. Born on April 23, 1954 in Watertown, NY, the son of Paul and Mary Elizabeth (Loveland)Wills, Donnie attended General Brown High School. He served in the Army from 1972 - 1975. During that time, he spent six months in Germany. He later re-enlisted with the Army National Guard and served in...

 Carol J. Fitzgerald of Stone Mills, passed away April 24, 2021 at the age of 87. She had moved to Hospice of Jefferson County on March 26th to be with her husband, Jack Fitzgerald. Jack passed that morning. Though it was said they survived COVID 19 together as they were shown on WWNY 7 leaving Samaritan Medical Center, they never truly recovered. Carol grew up on the family farm in Rutland where she learned the meaning of hard work and family. She graduated from Black River High...

Helen E. Guarino, 93, formerly of Three Mile Bay, passed away April 23, 2021 at the Samaritan Summit Village where she had been a resident. Born on August 16, 1927, in Brooklyn, NY, daughter of Bernard and Mildred (Binger) Pospisal, she graduated from school in NYC. She married Peter J. Guarino on September 2, 1951 at St. Angela’s Catholic Church, Bronx. They lived in Glen Oaks, Queens, until moving in 1961 to North Port and in 1985 to Three Mile Bay. The couple owned and operated a...

Ida (Dutchie) Dillenbeck 93, formerly of Limerick, NY, died at the home of her daughter in Troy, NY where she was under the care of her family and Community Hospice. A funeral service will be held on Saturday April 24th at 1 pm at the Johnson Funeral Home with burial to follow in Dexter Cemetery. Born in Watertown, NY, she was the daughter of Roswell P. and Ida L. (Villeneuve) Belcher, and the stepdaughter of Wesley Harris. Ida was the widow of Carl Dillenbeck, and was the former...

Judith A. McConnell, 80, of 315 E Bronson St., Dexter, passed away April 5, 2021 at the Samaritan Medical Center. She was born on November 14, 1940 in Rosiere, NY, daughter of Lloyd Gravele and Maude “Nora” Warren. She attended school in Ogdensburg and Adams Center. She married Lyndon L. McConnell, of Adams Center, on July 26, 1958 in Adams, NY. Lyndon was a truck driver, retiring from Consolidated Freight in 1998. He passed away September 9, 2016. Judy worked at...

Gerald H. Adams, 69, of Pillar Point, NY, passed away April 2, 2021 at the Samaritan Summit Village where he has resided since May 5, 2020. Born on November 29, 1951 in Watertown, NY, son of Wilford and Virginia Allen Adams, he graduated from General Brown High School in 1969. His father owned the family farm “Adamshore Farm” on the North Shore Road on Pillar Point.  Gerald worked by his father’s side from the time he was a young boy and became a partner in 1974. He...

As the storm front moved throughout the early hours of Friday morning, Trapper Jack, John W. Fitzgerald, 85, Stone Mills set his final trap on the waters of the Perch River. The man, the myth, the legend Trapper Jack, born the son of William and Francis Cummings Fitzgerald in the summer of 1935, he grew up navigating the waters of the St Lawrence River. His passion for the outdoors began with a small bait stand started with his father during his preteen years. Fishing, hunting and trapping...

Robert F. Van Brocklin, 89, of Foster Park Road, Dexter, passed away March 25, 2021 at the Samaritan Medical Center. Arrangements are with the Johnson Funeral Home. Burial with Military Honors and “Ringing of the Bell” by the Dexter Fire Department will be held 1p.m. Friday, May 7th at Dexter Cemetery. Born on September 15, 1931 in Watertown, son of Carl and Margarite Warren Van Brocklin, he attended Dexter High School. He served in the US. Navy from 1951 until he was...

After a long battle with Parkinson’s Disease, Charles Edward Reff died on Wednesday, March 3, 2021 at Samaritan Summit Village in Watertown, where he had been a resident since 2019. Charles was born in Clayton, New York on January 20th, 1929 to Charles Joseph and Mae (Mary) Minnoe Reff. Charles graduated from Immaculate Heart Academy in Watertown in 1947.  He enlisted in the Air Force and served 4 years during the Korean conflict. Most of his tour of duty was in the Philippines....