Byron S. "Barney" Brokaw

Byron S. "Barney" Brokaw
of VestalByron S. "Barney" Brokaw, 96, died Monday, June 13, 2005, at his home. He was predeceased by his beloved, multi-talented wife of 67 years, Dotti, in June 2002. He is survived by two daughters and one son, Barbara B. Morse (and her husband, David), Triangle; Jacqueline W. Brokaw, Vestal; Byron S. "Shep" Brokaw, Jr. (and his wife, Mary Ann), Endicott. He is also survived by three grandchildren and five great-grandchildren, David E. Morse, Jr. (and his wife, Diana), and their sons, Christopher Byron and David John, Waldorf, Md., Amy Morse Persons (and her husband, John), and their three children, Alexa Rae, Grace Ann, and John David, Clarence, N.Y., Sandra Ann Brokaw, Endwell. Also surviving him are his brother, Robert V. Brokaw, Walden, N.Y.; a niece; and several nephews. Barney joined IBM at its world headquarters in New York City in 1930. In 1938 he was transferred, at his request, to its engineering/manufacturing facility in Endicott, where he became Secretary of Manufacturing. In 1941 he left IBM to join Link Aviation, Inc., where he served it (and its successor companies) until his retirement in 1974. During that period, while he served as executive assistant to seven successive presidents of the company, from time to time he was assigned a variety of ancillary duties, among which it amused him to recount, acting as assistant secretary to nine affiliated corporations. Barney became a licensed aircraft pilot in 1929. Some of his most treasured memories were those of his "barnstorming" activities, during which he gave scores of people their first ride in an airplane. Prior to this retirement he was a member of the Binghamton Club and was active in community affairs as a charter member of the Broome County Airport Advisory Board, a member of the Board of Directors of the Broome County United Way, a member of the Board of Trustees of Charles S. Wilson Memorial Foundation, and as a member of the Transportation Committee of the Broome County Chamber of Commerce. He was a deacon of the First Presbyterian Church of Binghamton.
Memorial services will be held Friday at 2:00 p.m. in the chapel at First Presbyterian Church of Binghamton, 42 Chenango St., Binghamton, N.Y., please enter through the back parking lot. The Rev. Dr. Bianca Podesta will officiate. At the family's request, burial at Vestal Hills Memorial Park will be private. The family will receive friends on Friday from 1:00 until the time of the service. Arrangements are by the Ernest H. Parsons Funeral Home, Inc.