Grace E. Vooys

Grace E. Vooys, 89, formerly of Canajoharie, passed away peacefully Thursday, April 9, 2009 at Samaritan Hospital in Troy, NY surrounded by her loving family. She was born in Mohawk, NY August 15, 1919 a daughter of the late Francis Rufus Edick and Ellen Maria Sweet Edick. Grace was Salutatorian of her class and Captain of the Women's basketball team at Mohawk High School. At the age of 18, she enrolled in Russell Sage College, majoring in Science and graduated with a Bachelor's Degree cum laude on June 2, 1941. She spoke often of attending the 1936 World's Fair with her father and also about the history of her ancestors of both her mother and father's families who had setteled in the Mohawk Valley before the Revolutionary War. During WWII, she worked with General Electric Company in Pittsfield, MA. Grace married Daniel W. Vooys in the spring of 1941 at the Second Reformed Church in Schenectady, during their marriage they resided in Fort Ethan Allen, VT, Trenton, NJ, Canajoharie, NY, Jamestown, NY and Albany, NY. The couple lived in Albany following Daniel's retirement as President at the Bank of New York in the Capital Region. They attended the Reformed Church in Canajoharie and the First Presbyterian Church of Jamestown. Grace enjoyed playing bridge, singing and was a member of the Order of the Eastern Star in Schenectady having joined in the Town of Mohawk. In addition to her parents, Grace was predeceased by her husband of 37 years, Daniel W. Vooys in 1978. Her loving family includes her two sons, Daniel F. Vooys and wife, Jane of Chelmsford, MA and James D. Vooys and wife, Julianne of Schenectady, one brother, Donald R. Edick of Prescott, AZ, six grandchildren, Daniel H. Vooys and wife, Robin of Chelmsford, MA, Dr. Elizabeth G. Vooys-DiBello and husband, Leonard of Rutland, MA, Victoria J. Vooys of St. Croix, Virgin Islands, James L. Vooys and wife, Carla of Chicopee, MA, Julie A. Vooys and husband, Seth Bertone-Gross of Feeding Hills, MA and Nicholas W. Vooys of Feeding Hills, MA, and four great-granddaughters, Katherine and Rebecca Vooys, Sara DiBello and Jolene Bertone-Gross. At Grace's request, there will be no calling hours. Graveside services will be at 1:30 PM on Saturday, April 18, 2009 at Canajoharie Falls Cemetery, State Hwy 10, Canajoharie, with Pastor William T. Hodgetts, Jr., officiating. Arrangements have been entrusted to Lenz & Betz Funeral Home, 69 Otsego Street, Canajoharie, NY, 13317. Contributions in Grace's memory may be made to the Office of Annual Giving, The Sage Colleges, 92 First St., Troy, NY 12180 or to SPAC, c/o Membership Office, Saratoga Performing Arts Center, 108 Avenue of the Pines, Saratoga Springs, New York 12866.