JOHN U. WASHBURN, ESQ.
GANSEVOORT/FORT EDWARD John Urban Washburn, 81, passed away Monday, February 16, 2015 at the Fort Hudson Nursing Home in Fort Edward.

He was born to the late Lester Gardner & Jessie Agnes (Smith) Washburn in Gansevoort, NY on May 28, 1933, 2-1/2 months premature and the youngest of three children. His parents kept him warm in a drawer by the woodstove and his sisters willed him to live.

On January 3, 1953 he married his childhood sweetheart, Joyce C. Webster, at the South Glens Falls Methodist Church.

He attended Albany Business College after graduating from South Glens Falls in 1951 and then enlisted in the Air Force during the Korean War, where he served as a high level cryptographer. After leaving the military he returned home to his young family and continued his education at Siena College and Albany Law School where he was valedictorian of his class in 1961.

John worked as a senior law clerk for the Honorable J. Clarence Herlihy with the Appellate Division of the NYS Supreme Court in Warren County for fourteen years and spent the remainder of his career in the same position working for the Honorable William Ford with the 3rd Division of the NYS Supreme Court in Saratoga County.

Upon retiring from the state in 1988 John continued in private practice for several years. He was a member and lay leader of the Gansevoort United Methodist Church. John was a great supporter of the musical arts. He was a member of the Lake George Opera Festival Guild and a founding member of Schuylerville Community Theater. John & Joyce also spent many years delivering meals to shut-ins for Meals on Wheels. He loved spending time with his family, traveling around the country attending rallies in their RV with the Adirondack Chapter of Holiday Ramblers and wintering in Florida. Proud of serving his country, John was also a life member of The American Legion and the Korean War Veterans Association.

Besides his parents John is predeceased by his sister Lesley (Washburn) Liddell.

Left to cherish his memory are his wife Joyce of 62 years and his sister, Maude Josephine (Washburn) Sumner of Yellowcreek, NC. John was blessed with four children that meant the world to him. Thomas (Patty) Washburn of Queensbury, Eileen (Brud) Hannay of Hudson Falls, Kathleen (R. Paul) McCarty of Fort Edward, Charleen (Patrick) Towers of South Glens Falls, and his foster daughter Sherry (Ted) Dufford Matteson of Monroe, NC. He is also survived by his grandchildren who lovingly called him Pop; Erica Washburn & her fiancé Richard Gilcoine of Halifax, MA, Elizabeth (James) Washburn Hyatt of Wingate, NC, Scott Hannay of Hudson Falls, Lyle Washburn of Fort Ann, Robert McCarty of Fort Edward, Chelsea Towers & Marissa Towers of South Glens Falls, Dawn (Steven) Meyer of Chatham, Linda (Matthew) Borton of Gerton, NC and his foster granddaughters Casey McCracken & Crystal Leopold of North Carolina, great-grandson, Gage Hyatt, of North Carolina and several nieces & nephews.

The family wishes to extend their sincere thanks to the staff at Fort Hudson Nursing Home and Community Hospice for their love, care and support during John’s illness.

Calling hours will be held on Saturday, February 21 at 1:00 PM at the Hudson Falls United Methodist Church, 227 Main St., Hudson Falls. A service to celebrate his life will be held immediately following with John's longtime friend, Rev. Paul L. Dufford officiating.

Graveside Services will be conducted at 11:00am on Friday, June 8, 2018 at Southside Cemetery, Town of Moreau.

In lieu of flowers, donations in John’s memory may be made to Fort Edward Historical Association (where he was a longtime member & volunteer), Box 106, Fort Edward, NY 12828 or the charity of one's choice.

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