OBITUARY

Name:    Jessie Viola (Morehouse) Irwin

From:  The Press Republican, Plattsburg, New York
Date:  Saturday, April 10, 2004 

Hartford, N.Y.-- Jessie Viola Morehouse Irwin, 88, of East Street, Hartford, N.Y., passed away Wednesday, April 7, 2004, at the home of her granddaughter, JoAnne Marie Huguley.

Born in Johnsburg on Aug. 5, 1915, she was the daughter of the late Charles and Daisy Mabel (Rand) Morehouse.  She married Thomas B. Irwin on Sept. 30, 1936. Thomas passed away in 1965.

Jessie moved to Hartford when she was four, where she attended Hartford School. Jessie always took care of her family and sacrificed for them constantly. Her greatest joys were her grandchildren, especially Adriana Marie Huguley, who she nurtured since birth and with whom she had a special bond. They enjoyed picking strawberries and walking together, as well as Jessie having her hair and nails done by Adriana and dancing to the latest music.

She held many jobs, often two or three at one time. They included Chase Bag, Mohawk Carpet, sitting with the elderly and being a Green Thumb worker. When her husband became ill, Jessie ran his farm. She picked potatoes and wallpapered. She also sat on the Board of Elections for many years. She was a member of the Eastern Star and the Hartford Methodist Church.

Jessie was particularly close to her granddaughter JoAnne, who she helped raise since birth and with whom she resided for the last several years.

In addition to her parents and husband, she was also predeceased by her sisters, Freda and Julia Morehouse, Lucy Hart and Hazel Fowler; her brothers, Ira (Ted), William, Howard, Carlos and Forrest Morehouse; a granddaughter, Pamela J. Snide; and Jessie's special companion of more than 30 years, Alphonse Corrigan.

Survivors include her son, William Rand Irwin Sr. and his wife Shirley of West Chazy, N.Y.; her daughter, Sandra E. Woodard and her husband Frank of Hartford; her granddaughter, JoAnne Marie Huguley and her husband Joseph of Hartford; her sister, Harriet Cross of Fort Edward; her grandchildren, Amanda Winters and her husband Timothy of Malone, William R. Irwin Jr. and his wife Nancy of Rouses Point, Tammy LaBonte and her husband Gordon and Ronnie Burnell and his wife Julie, all of West Chazy; her great-grandchildren, Adriana Huguley, Zachary Huguley, Nathan Irwin, Michelle Irwin, Danielle Irwin, David Seymour, Aaron Seymour, Emma Winters, Natasha Snide, Ronnie Snide Jr., Nicholas LaBonte, Scott LaBonte, Madison Burnell and Sidney Burnell; and several nieces and nephews. Jessie was also about to become a great-great-grandmother.

Friends may call from 2 to 4 and 6 to 8 p.m. on Friday, April 9, at the M. B. Kilmer Funeral Home, 123 Main Street, Argyle, N.Y.

Funeral services will be conducted at 10 a.m. on Saturday at the funeral home. Burial will be later this spring at Morningside Cemetery in Hartford.

Following the services, a reception will be held at the home of Jessie's daughter, Sandra Woodard, at 49 Main St., Hartford.

Donations may be made in Jessie's memory to the Hartford Volunteer Fire Co., PO Box 121, Hartford, NY 12838, the Argyle Emergency Squad, Inc., 248 Pleasant Valley Road, Argyle, NY 12809, or to the Hospice of Washington County, 15 Lower Main St., Hudson Falls, NY 12839.