James Lee Kaman

James Lee Kaman
HURLEY- James Kaman passed away peacefully on July 9, 2013 at the home of his daughter in New Hartford, N.Y., after an extended struggle with Lewy Body Dementia. He was under the care of Hospice.
Born in 1932, he was the son of Paul J. Kaman Jr. and his wife Helen McCann Kaman.
He was a graduate of the Kingston High School class of 1950. Upon graduation he joined the U.S. Air Force. He was assigned to the Pentagon in Washington during the Korean War, working in the department of photography. Upon completion of his services with the USAF, he attended Florida Southern College in Lakeland, Fla., obtaining a BA degree in English and Arts. He later attended SUNY New Paltz where he obtained his teaching degree. He taught art at the Kingston High School before joining the staff at J. Watson Bailey Jr. High School, where he taught for 25 years until his retirement in 1987.
His great love for aviation led him to obtain his pilot's license. He was a member of the Mid-Hudson Model Masters Club, where he combined his love of model airplanes with this talent for art, designing cartoons for their monthly newsletter. His comic strips were picked up by the Academy of Model Aeronautics, a division of the National Aeronautic Association, and published nationally. He designed many model aircraft plans for the Cleveland Model and Supply Company. He worked as a commercial artist and worked with Mayor John Heitzman and the Committee that produced the Kingston City Seal. He also designed the insignia for New York's Year of History in 1959. He was past president of the Woodstock Guild of Craftsmen and studied the art of watercolor with John Pike. In addition to his paintings shown in private collections, one of his watercolors of the Hurley Reformed Church was presented to Princess Beatrix of the Netherlands, by the Town of Hurley, on the occasion of her visit to the United States in 1959.
Besides his parents, he was predeceased by his brother, Paul J. Kaman, III.
He is survived by his wife of 54 years, Pamela C. Kaman, formerly of Cottenham, England, and his three daughters and their husbands, Ruth and Stewart Lehman of Albany, N.Y., Elizabeth and Matthew Worth of New Hartford, N.Y., and Jennifer and James Macarille of Bloomington, N.Y.
His family is deeply grateful to the nurses and doctors of Hospice of Oneida County. It is due to their kindness, professionalism, expertise and generosity of spirit, that we were able to care for him at home. The family also acknowledges the Hurley Rescue Squad, which is staffed and run by friends and family. They came to our assistance on numerous occasions, at all hours of the day and night. We also thank the numerous doctors, nurses and support staff in Kingston and New Hartford who cared for Jim over the last few years, especially Dr. John Weeks and Dr. Toby Taylor, as well as their nurses and support staff.
Funeral Arrangements are under the guidance of the Joseph V. Leahy Funeral Home, Inc., 27 Smith Avenue. www.jvleahyfh.com Friends will be received at the funeral home Friday from 3:30 to 7:30 p.m. Funeral procession will form at 9:00 a.m. on Saturday at the funeral home. A mass of Christian burial will be celebrated 10 a.m. at Saint Joseph's Church. Burial will follow Hurley Cemetery.
In lieu of flowers, memorial donations in his name may be made to Oneida County Hospice at 4277 Middle Settlement Road, New Hartford, N.Y. 13413, and to the Hurley Rescue Squad, P.O. Box 181, Hurley, N.Y., 12443.