NORWICH – Viola E. Kroder, 81, passed away peacefully on Monday, Jan. 26, 2009 at the Gilmour Health Care Facility in Norwich.
Born in Holmesville on Dec. 24, 1927, Viola was the daughter of Jady and Goldie (Davis) Blackman. She graduated from Mt. Upton High School with the Class of 1945 and then worked as a bookkeeper at NBT until May of 1946. She became secretary to the president of Wilber Bank in Oneonta and secretary to the Operating Department of NYSEG in Oneonta until her retirement in 1981.
Viola will be remembered by her many friends as being “a little artistic.” She always thanked God for her many blessings and tried to live by the “Golden Rule.”
On May 18, 1946, in the Broad Street United Methodist Church, Viola married George W. Kroder. George died on Aug. 29, 1999. She is survived by two daughters and their husbands, Joan and David Downs of Bradford, Pa. and Paula and Kenneth Lorenz of Norwich; four grandchildren and their spouses, Christopher and Kimberly Downs of Montoursville, Pa., Todd and Amy Downs, of Millheim, Pa., Sean Lorenz of Norwich and Rachel Lorenz, also of Norwich and three great grandchildren, Brendan, Justin and Madison Downs. Viola was predeceased by a sister, Jessie Stevens.
A memorial service for Viola will be held at 2 p.m. on Sunday at the Wilson Funeral Home. Friends are invited to call at the funeral home from 1 p.m. until the time of the service. Burial will take place at a later date in Mt. Hope Cemetery.
Contributions in memory of Viola may be made to Hospice of Chenango County, 21 Hayes Street, Norwich, NY 13815 or to the Broad Street United Methodist Church, 74 No. Broad Street, Norwich, NY 13815.
Condolences may be sent to the family by visiting the Wilson Funeral Home website at: http://wilsonfh.com.