Donald W. Champney

Funeral Services for 86 year old Donald W. Champney of Potsdam, NY will be held on Monday, September 18 at 4pm at the Garner Funeral Service with Rev. Lee Sweeney celebrant. Friends may call at the Garner Funeral Service on Monday from 1-4 pm with funeral service immediately following at 4 p.m. Burial will be at Bayside Cemetery in Potsdam, NY.

Donald passed away Friday, September 15, 2017 at Canton Potsdam Hospital, following a brief illness. He was born October 13, 1930 to Kenneth and Leah Dygert Champney. A graduate of Potsdam Central School, Don enlisted in the US Air Force during the Korean Conflict, attended the Spartan School of Aeronautics in Tulsa, Oklahoma, and repaired jet aircraft engines at Nellis Air Force Base in Nevada. After his honorable discharge, he worked at Clarkson College and later for the Village of Potsdam, retiring after 20 years, as a grounds man, as well as repairing water meters and parking meters.

He married Carol Berger on November 16, 1957 in Rensselaer Falls NY, and they made their home on the Old Parishville Road in a house that they built themselves. The couple ran Champney’s Greenhouse in the 1960’s and later Don turned his interest to beekeeping, selling beekeeping supplies as well as honey for many years. He was an avid gardener, as well as a skilled woodworker.

Don is survived by his wife Carol, his daughter Kathryn (Mark) Mulkin, twin grandchildren Megan and Matthew (Emma) Mulkin, and two great grandchildren, Blake and Charlotte. He was predeceased by his parents, his brothers Leslie and Douglas, and a sister, Gwendolyn.

Contributions in his memory can be made to the Potsdam Volunteer Rescue Squad, Hospice and Palliative Care of the St. Lawrence Valley or to the Potsdam Humane Society. Online condolences can be sent @www.garnerfh.com.

The family would like to thank the nursing staff on the second floor at Canton Potsdam Hospital for their outstanding care and compassion for Don and his family during his illness.

Drive her slow, Dad!