MIDDLEVILLE – Bernard C. L., Sr., 64, of Fairfield Street, died unexpectedly on September 13, 2009 at the hospital, following an apparent heart attack at home.

Mr. L was born on April 28, 1945 in Utica, a son of the late Ralph and Marie. He graduated from West Canada Valley Central School in 1963 and from M.V.C.C., from where he received his associate degree. Bernard furthered his education at Kennedy Western University, from where he obtained his bachelor degree. On July 24, 1965, he was united in marriage with the former June M. Rose at St. John’s Church, Newport. He was currently employed as a Certified Quality Control Engineer at Goodrich Corporation in Rome, where he had worked for the past 25 years. Bernard was previously employed for 20 years at Chicago Pneumatic in Schuyler.

He was a member of St. John’s Church, Newport and a senior member of the Society for Quality. Bernard enjoyed deer and turkey hunting and spending time with his four grandsons.

Survivors besides his wife of 44 years, June, include three sons and daughters-in-law, Butch and Mindy of Macedon, Brian and Kelly of Farmington and Brett and Suzanne of Central Square; four grandsons, Brandon, Brent, Benjamin and Braden; three brothers and four sisters-in-law, Edward and Patricia of Frankfort, Richard and Kim of Fairfield, John and Mary of Herkimer and Doreen of Schuyler; one sister and brother-in-law, Patricia and Bob McLaughlin of Manchester, CT; several nieces and nephews; and his canine companion “Beezy”. In addition to his parents, he was predeceased by a brother, Ronald, Sr.

A Mass of Christian Burial will be celebrated at St. John’s Church, Newport on Thursday at 9:00 a.m. with Father William A. Gorman, Pastor, officiating. Interment will follow in Mountain View Memorial Gardens, Town of Little Falls. Calling hours at the Autenrith Funeral Home, Newport are Wednesday from 4 to 7 p.m.

In lieu of flowers, please consider memorials to Middleville Volunteer Fire Department, P. O. Box 536, Middleville, NY 131406. Envelopes are available at the funeral home.








This is my grandpa’s obituary. As you can see he was a great man and loved his family. There’s just this one question in my head. Why now? He was our family’s rock and soul. He’s the glue. Why September. Why before he could see me perform any musical activity? Why?! I know it will never be answered ,but my experience wasn’t great.

It was a Sunday night. I was attempting to get all of my homework done for Monday and Tuesday. My father had called. My mom looked distressed while talking to him. I had no clue why. It was puzzling. I went and got my brother. He agreed that my mom did not look well. My mom pulled us into my brothers room and said, “Your grandfather may have had a heart attack. But, I think it was an anxiety attack. It’s going to be ok. Your father is on his way home from Denny’s. He is going to your grandmother’s. I’m not sure if we need to go yet.” She got another phone call and an answer. she pulls us back into his room and tells us, “your grandfather had a heart attack and has died.” At that moment I knew my life and things between my family would change forever. My family packed within 5 minutes and waited for my father. When he got home we unloaded the goats and jumped in the car for an hour silent drive to my grandmas. We got there first of the grandsons and a few people were there. My cousins families arrived and we went to sleep. We knew it would be a long day tomorrow. We woke up the next day and went to the funeral parlor. We picked out the casket and design for the prayer cards. But, the picking out the flowers was much harder. My mother, brother and I went home and took care of our pets and went back early the next morning. We spent time looking through the pictures for storyboards that night. We laughed and cried through these pictures. We found pictures of our grandpa in short shorts and pictures of old dogs that have been long gone. But the pictures that stuck out the most to me were the pictures of him holding my brother and I when we were babies. It was mostly the way he looked at us. Kind and gentle. And oh the pictures of my grandfather playing football and baseball. He always seemed to get hurt. He never backed down knowing he would end up falling and cutting his leg open on the stone driveway. Seeing my grandpa in his casket fixed to look peaceful the first time broke my heart. It wasn’t the grandpa I would remember. He almost looked manikin like. So stiff. The calling hours following this were a blur. So many faces. So long and so many people from where he worked. He called us the twins at his work apparently and talked about us to everyone and anyone. It made my heart warm knowing how much he loved us and talked about us. The funeral came and I had written a piece to read. It was the hardest thing I have ever done. I felt weightless ,the pressure and sadness almost overtook me I couldn’t finish it but I did. All of my cousins read their pieces and my oldest cousin almost didn’t get through his. But he did it for grandpa. We went to the grave site and laid flowers on his casket and went to the firehouse. After the dinner at the firehouse ,my uncles and cousins walked through the town and we talked about places they broke their arm and where they played football. All memories were shared. Some of the memories I will never forget ,will be playing football at Easter with him. Christmas this year was awkward. My grandpa was like the family plug that we all connected to. He kept us all connected.

As you can see this story does not give me an answer to why he had to die now. But, it does show how much I loved my grandpa and how much I truly miss him. The pain in your heart that you have when you lose someone dear is overwhelming. It never truly goes away. Ever.