McDONOUGH - Lois Deuel (Wackford), 94, passed away Monday, Dec. 3, 2012 at the Fairport Baptist Homes in Rochester.
Lois, the daughter of Floyd and Addie Wackford of Oxford, was born on Aug. 22, 1918, in Oxford. She was predeceased by husbands Joseph and Walter; her parents; brothers Kenneth and Warren; sister Rebecca Stewart; and great granddaughter Leah Osterhout. She is survived by her brother, retired USAF Colonel Reginald Wackford (Mary Jane); sons Dr. Dennis R. DeLong (Deborah), and Douglas J. DeLong (Linda); daughter Nancy D. Bodziak (Thomas); the following ten grandchildren, Dr. Robert DeLong (Elizabeth), Andrea Morgan (James), Tami Loya (Daniel), Pamela Rothwell (Robert), Melinda Condon (Rick), Bruce Osterhout II (Melissa), Timothy Osterhout (Vicki), Shannon Sheridan (Michael), Corey Vance (Erin), and Michael Bodziak; the following eighteen great grandchildren, Clare and Samuel DeLong, Jonathan, Charles, Nicholas and William Morgan, Sarah and Daniel Loya, Nichole and Shelby Condon, Aaron and Joseph Bishop (Crystal), Kyli, Kaci, Michael and Samuel Osterhout, Kyleigh and Michael Sheridan; the following five great-great grandchildren, Collin, Jordyn, Jayden and Cambrie Bishop, and Jayden Crandall; as well as several nieces and nephews.
Lois graduated from Oxford Academy and Central School in 1936, and from SUNY Delhi in 1938. While married to Richard DeLong, Lois lived in Bainbridge, Binghamton and Oxford. In 1951 Lois married Joseph Zukauskas, and with her children, moved to a farm in McDonough. In addition to being a busy farmwife and mother, Lois was active in the McDonough Methodist Church, the National Grange, and the Women’s Home Bureau. A few years after the death of Joseph in 1969, Lois moved to Ft. Myers, Florida, living there until her marriage to her high school sweetheart, Walter Deuel in 1985. Lois and Walter lived in Corning, while enjoying most winters in their Florida condo. Lois and Walter traveled to Europe, Central America, and the Middle East, and also enjoyed several cruises. She and Walter also played golf and bridge, and were active in many community and service activities; including First United Methodist Church of Corning, Meals-on-Wheels, Hospice, hospital volunteering, and mission trips to Guatemala and Haiti. Shortly after Walter’s death in 2005, Lois moved to Rochester, near her daughter Nancy. In 2010, she moved to the Norwich Rehabilitation & Nursing Center, residing there until her recent return to Rochester.
Lois enjoyed many creative activities, including sewing, knitting, oil painting, sea shell collecting, and especially loved gathering her family together every summer in the Finger Lakes.
The family would like to thank the staffs of the Norwich Rehabilitation & Nursing Center, as well as Cottage Grove Memory Care, and the Fairport Baptist Homes, both located in Rochester, for their compassionate care.
Funeral services will be held at 10 a.m. Saturday at the Behe Funeral Home, 21 Main Street, Oxford. Rev. Allen Lang of the United Church of Oxford officiating. Burial will follow at Union Cemetery, McDonough.
Friends and family may call at the Behe Funeral Home from 3 to 7 p.m. Friday.
Memorial contributions may be made to McDonough Village Union Cemetery, 1640 State Highway 220, McDonough, NY 13801. Memories and condolences may be shared by visiting www.behefuneralhome.com.