OBITUARIES: Malamon, Mitchell

Dennis A. Malamon (1949 – 2015)

STUYVESANT—Dennis A. Malamon, 66, of Stuyvesant died at home Friday, May 8 in the comforting embrace of his dearest friends.

He was born in 1949 to Demetrius (Nick) and Wanda Bernas Malamon and was raised in Brooklyn.

After graduating from Central College in Pella, Iowa, in 1970, Mr. Malamon enlisted in the Air Force and, after less than a year of service, he was diagnosed with cancer of the thymus gland, for which he had surgery and extensive radiation treatments at Walter Reed Hospital.

He always said his early experience of surviving cancer made him grateful for every day. So when he was diagnosed with lung cancer in November, 2012, Mr. Malamon chose to go to work, do the things he loved, and live life fully, despite the challenges caused by the disease.

He was honorably discharged from the service and returned to Central College for his teaching certification. There he met Cydney Cross and in 1973 they moved to her hometown of Chatham. Mr. Malamon began teaching in Chatham and pursuing his master’s degree at SUNY Albany, when he was hired as a real estate title researcher with Paramount Abstract in 1974. Mr. Malamon and Ms. Cross were married from 1975 until 1984.

As a title searcher, Mr. Malamon worked primarily in the land records room of the Columbia County Clerk’s Office, where he made many close friends during his 40 years working for Paramount. To those who worked with him, he was not only a cherished friend, but an irreplaceable wealth of knowledge. To him, those friends were his family. Mr. Malamon genuinely enjoyed going to work each day, but he also had a great passion for horses and spent much of his time riding, training, trimming and driving them. He also loved the companionship of his many canine friends through the years.

Mr. Malamon will be deeply missed by people in many walks of life whom he touched with his always humble, generous and selfless way.

He is survived by: his sister, Georgiana Malamon and niece, Dawn Malamon, both of Plymouth Meeting, PA.

He is also survived by Rachel Samuels, whom he married in 1998, and although they were separated in 2010 she was there to help him from the time of his cancer diagnosis in 2012, and they remained close since.

He is also survived by his beloved friends, Ms. Cross and Jane DeGennaro, who together with Ms. Samuels, cared for Mr. Malamon during his illness.

They thank Dr. Linda DeMarco, Amy Boehme Silver, NP, and the staff of NYOH in Hudson; his many doctors and nurses affiliated with Columbia Memorial Hospital, including Dr. Kathryn Cullen and the nurses and aides on the fourth floor during Mr. Malamon’s recent stay there; and his visiting palliative care nurse, Elizabeth Hanlon, RN, of Eddy Visiting Nurse Association.

At Mr. Malamon’s request, no formal services will take place. Donations in his memory may be made to: Out of the Pits, Inc, P.O. Box 2311, Albany 12220, where Dennis acquired many of his dogs over the years, or Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center, 1275 York Avenue, New York, NY 10065.

Arrangements are with the French, Gifford, Preiter & Blasl Funeral Home, 25 Railroad Avenue, Chatham.

Condolences may be conveyed at frenchblasl.com.

Mary Campeta Nero Mitchell (1928 – 2015)

HUDSON—Mary Campeta Nero Mitchell, 87, born in Hudson, May 14, 1928, died Sunday, May 24, 2015 at Columbia Memorial Hospital.

She was the daughter of the late Gino and Mary (Balducci) Campeta. She graduated from Hudson High School in 1946 and married Carmen E. Nero in 1949.

She is survived by: three children, Fred James and (Anita) Nero of Naples, FL, Gina M. Nero of Belmont, MA, and Carmen J. and (Joan) Nero of Ancram; two brothers, Anthony and (Frances) Campeta and Frank Campeta; two sisters, Gloria Campeta and Jean Baney; grandchildren, Matthew (Leah) Nero, Janine, Andrea and Maria Nero.

She is also survived by a kind and loving step-daughter, Dorinda Hallenbeck and her husband, Robert as well as several nieces and nephews.

She married Onnie Mitchell in 1979. Mr. Mitchell died in 1996. She was also pre-deceased by: one brother, John Campeta in 1959 and a granddaughter, Erin Nero in 2007.

A Mass of Christian Burial will be celebrated Thursday, May 28, 2015, 11 a.m. at Holy Trinity Parish/ St. Mary’s Church, 429 East Allen Street, Hudson, with Fr. Winston Bath officiating. Burial will follow at Cedar Park Cemetery in Hudson. There are no calling hours.

Memorial contributions in her memory are requested to the Golisano Children’s Hospital, 1265 Creekside Parkway, Naples, FL 34108.

Arrangements are with the Sacco-McDonald-Valenti Funeral Home, 700 Town Hall Drive, Greenport.

To leave an online condolence visit www.saccomcdonaldvalenti.com

THROUGH THE WOODS: A Halloween Tale

In Communities - Columbia, The Columbia Paper

November 6, 2024

By NANCY JANE KERN

IT WAS LATE OCTOBER and good weather to do a final cleanup of the old rural cemetery before the winter snows began. The secluded little cemetery was surrounded by woods that still retained a few colorful leaves and lots of leaves and branches lay on the ground. The crisp clean air had that wonderful, indefinable smell of the damp earth of fall. The late 1700s to 1800s headstones had death’s heads and flower-like carvings on slate and sandstone, someone died of smallpox, another grave contained several children who had died from another disease or mishap. One man was buried near his three wives. Dates showed he had quickly remarried at the death of each wife. It was hard not to think about what these lives had been like and wonder if it was the wind or their spirits rustling through the leaves.

The old pickup truck was filled with debris as work continued from the front to the darkest corner in the back of the cemetery. Here were the remains of an old rotted tree with the modest stump almost sitting out of the ground. Soon it was excavated and found to have an interesting artistic shape, like a piece of driftwood. It was placed in the truck for addition to a home flower bed. The greenish coloration of the old wood would look very nice centered in the ferns. The now tidy cemetery was reverently left to itself for the winter. At home, the salvaged stump was placed on the porch near the front door until the right spot could be found for it. Friends and family came and went and admired it until one person returned from a party at a late hour.

It was pitch dark so the approach to the porch was made slowly and with unsteady steps. Looking up toward the door there sat an incredible horror, a huge glowing hand-like object with up thrust gnarly fingers pointing toward the now frozen and irrationally terrified man! Lights were turned on and family re-assured the poor fellow of his sanity.

It was a great relief to see and remember the old stump, and to know it was an explainable phenomenon, a first encounter with foxfire! The old wood had been infected with the bioluminescent mycelium (fungal filaments) of Armillaria mellea or other like species which can produce a bright light for up to several weeks. Curious late evening visitors observed the stump for days until it slowly dimmed and took its place in the ferns as an ordinary garden decoration. Foxfire is mentioned in The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain, was in a Halloween episode of Lassie, and has also been called “touchwood” or “Fairy Sparks.” Uses have included marking trails, aiding army troops, lighting the way at night, and has been part of stories from earliest times. This tale was a family joke for many years and always used as a reminder to stay alert and remain sober at Halloween. You just never know what or where “something” might appear…

OBITUARIES: Malamon, Mitchell

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