Obituary of Raymond K. Casadonte

LITTLE FALLS –Raymond K. Casadonte, 93, a long-time resident of Little Falls, passed away on Monday, June 28, 2004 at Little Falls Hospital. Born on December 19, 1910, in Herkimer, the son of the late Anthony and Esther (Miller) Casadonte, he was a graduate of Herkimer High School class of 1928. Soon afterwards he began work for Herkimer Hardware and was sent to Little Falls to open a new store. In 1939 he obtained the General Electric oil burner franchise for the Mohawk Valley and opened the business that later became the R. K. Casadonte Heating and Air Conditioning Company, which he moved in 1968 from its original location on Main Street, Little Falls to 343 South Second Street. He owned and operated the business along with Barge Oil of Little Falls for fifty years, until 1989, when he was succeeded as president by his grandson Richard. At its peak, the company employed 16 people and supplied oil and heating service to schools, churches, factories, and commercial and residential buildings within a forty-mile radius of Little Falls. He was united in marriage to his wife of 68 years the former Emily L. Stone on March 15, 1931 in Fonda. Mrs. Casadonte predeceased him on September 1, 1999. Ray served on the Board of Directors of the Fuel Oil Institute of Central New York and was well respected for his knowledge of high- and low-pressure steam heating systems. He was a member of the First Presbyterian Church of Little Falls as well as the Little Falls Elks Lodge # 42, B.P.O.E. and a life member of the Mohawk Valley Country Club. As a young man, he enjoyed baseball, tennis, fishing, and hunting, and later became an enthusiastic golfer. He is survived by his son Richard and wife Beverly, of Whitesboro, and his daughter Judith McDowell and her husband Alfred, of Little Falls. Other survivors include four grandchildren, Debra Gelson and her husband John of Point Pleasant Beach, New Jersey; Richard Casadonte and his wife Roxanne of Barre, Vermont; Amy McDowell, of Oak Park, Illinois; and Heather McDowell, of Athens, Ohio; and five great grandchildren. He is also survived by his brother Charles Casadonte and his wife Shirley of Newport. He was predeceased by a brother Robert Casadonte and by a sister Olive Casadonte Piper. Funeral services will be held on Thursday, July 1, 2004 at 10:00 am from the Chapman-Moser Funeral Home, Inc., 42 N. Ann Street, Little Falls with the Rev. Jon Noble, Pastor of the First Presbyterian Church, Little Falls officiating. Interment will take place in Fairview Cemetery, Town of Little Falls. Relatives and friends are invited to pay their respects at the funeral home on Wednesday, June 30, 2004 from 5-8 pm and to attend the funeral services Thursday morning. In lieu of flowers it is the wish of the family that contributions in memory of Ray be considered to the Van Allen’s Nursing Home, 755 E. Monroe St., Little Falls, NY 13365 or to the Little Falls Hospital, 140 Burwell Street, Little Falls, NY 13365. Envelopes are also available at the funeral home for this purpose. Members of the Little Falls Elk’s Lodge # 42, B.P.O.E. will call in a body on Wednesday evening at 7:00 pm to conduct their ritualistic services. The family would like to extend a special thank you to the staff of the Van Allen’s Nursing Home and Little Falls Hospital for their kindness and compassion shown to Ray and his family over the past several years.