Elton Reed Sanford

Elton Reed Sanford
Sidney Center, N.Y.Elton Reed Sanford, 78, of Sidney Center, passed away after a battle with Parkinson's disease Saturday, November 25, 2006, at his home surrounded by family. He was born April 22, 1928, a son of the late Reed John and Evelyn (McDonald) in Delhi. He graduated from Walton High School in 1948. Elton married Shirley LaTourette on September 21, 1952 in Trout Creek. She predeceased him in 1994. He owned and operated dairy farms first in Walton, and in 1971 they moved to Coventry and farmed there until he retired in 1995. Elton was a member of the Coventry Volunteer Fire Department and was a past councilman for the town of Coventry. He also had served on various levels for the Hamden Presbyterian Church, the First United Methodist Church in Greene, and the United Methodist Church of Sidney Center. Elton was an avid outdoorsman who loved to hunt and fish. He married Jean (Morenus) Gossoo in 1995 in the Plymouth Church in Walton. She survives in Sidney Center. He is also survived by two daughters and sons-in-law, Nancy and Buz Getzke, Cairo, Elizabeth and Stephen Collins, Oviedo, Fla., three sons and two daughters-in-law, Mark and Marcia Sanford, Vestal, John and Carol Sanford, Afton, James R. Sanford, Afton; step-children, Kathryn and James Fey, Ithaca, Joe and Robin Gossoo, Sidney Center; 19 grandchildren, Danny, Derek, Shana, Brandon, Megan, Travis, Reed, Taylor, Rebecca, Heather, Thomas, Timothy, Philip, Michael, Kate, Andy, Nathan, Amber and Jerry, Rodney; one great-grandchild, Makayla; sister, Clare Holcombe, Venice, Fla.; brother and sister-in-law, Rolyn and Pat Sanford, Walton. He is also predeceased by brother, Glenn Sanford.
Friends may call Tuesday, November 28, 2006, from 4-7 p.m. at C.H. Landers Funeral Chapel, 21 Main St., Sidney. Committal services will be Wednesday, November 29, 2006, at 10:00 a.m. in Walton Cemetery. A Celebration of Life will follow at 12 Noon at the United Methodist Church in Sidney Center. Rev. Kip Stratton will officiate. Memorial contributions may be made to the United Methodist Church in Sidney Center. Arrangements by C.H. Landers Funeral Chapel, 21 Main St., Sidney.