Ralph Smalley

Cobleskill- Ralph R. Smalley, 90, of Cleveland Ave., died at his residence after a short illness.

Mr. Smalley was born August 26, 1919 in the Township of Starkey, Yates County, New York and was the son of James Ray and Edith Dell (Hammond) Smalley.

He was a 1936 graduate of Watkins Glen High School. He worked on the family farm from 1936 to 1940, and followed that by working at Shepard Niles in Montour Falls, NY. He enlisted in the United States Marine Corps in 1942, serving two years in the Pacific and received an Honorable Discharge in 1946.

Mr. Smalley attended Hobart College in Geneva, NY under the G.I. Bill for three semesters and then transferred to Cornell University in Ithaca, NY for a BS and MS in Agronomy. He taught Agricultural courses for seven years in Farmingdale on Long Island before transferring to the University of Florida Soils Department and was awarded his PhD in Soils with a minor in Ornamental Horticulture. He was then employed in Turfgrass Management at the Florida Experiment Station in Plantation, FL. In September of 1962, he came to the Agricultural and Technical College at Cobleskill, NY to assist in the development of facilities and programs for the Plant Science Department, while teaching mainly Soils and Plants courses. He retired from SUNY Cobleskill in June of 1983, but continued a working relationship with Soils and Plants in the surrounding area. He was an avid gardener.

He was a member of the US Marine VMF 422 Association, the American Society of Agronomy, the SUNY Cobleskill Chapter of UUP, the Schoharie County Retired Teachers Assoc., and the Cobleskill United Methodist Church.

He was predeceased by son, David Ralph Smalley, who died March 22, 2008.

Mr. Smalley is survived by his wife, Dorothy "Dot" Smith Smalley, whom he married March 16, 1946 in New Bern, NC after his discharge from the United States Marine Corps; a daughter, Patricia (Stuart)Chandler of Cobleskill; a son, Timothy J. (Barbara) Smalley of Athens, GA; three grandsons, Daniel (Amy) Eldredge of Saratoga Springs, NY, Logan Smalley and Ben Smalley, both of Athens, GA.; one granddaughter, Suzanne Czechowski of Cobleskill, and four great-grandchildren, Austin, Brooke and Lucas Czechowski of Cobleskill, and Mary Elizabeth Eldredge of Saratoga Springs, NY. He is also survived by one sister, Mary Wright of Beaver Dams, NY, and an aunt, Erma Biernat of Wildwood, FL and cousins, Mary Ruth Sorensen of Ovid, NY and Ellen Sonner of Horseheads, NY.

A Celebration of Life will be held at 11:00 AM on Friday, May 28, 2010 at Mereness-Putnam Funeral Home, 171 Elm St., Cobleskill with Rev. Pamela Mikel Hayes officiating. Friends are also invited to a period of visitation to be held at the funeral home from 6 to 8 PM on Thursday. Inurnment with full military honors will be held following the service at Cobleskill Rural Cemetery.

Memorial contributions may be made to Catskill Area Hospice and Palliative Care, 795 East Main St., Suite 11, Cobleskill, NY 12043 or Cobleskill United Methodist Church, 109 Chapel St., Cobleskill, NY 12043.

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