Douglass Raymond Waring

1924 - 2013

MALTA - Douglass Raymond Waring, 88, died Monday, Jan. 14, 2013, at Lawrence and Memorial Hospital in New London, Conn., after an age-related illness.
Dad was born Oct. 5, 1924, in New Jersey, the son of Raymond and Aileen (Shaeffer) Waring. He graduated from Saratoga High School and went on to serve his country as a pilot in the Army Air Corps during World War II.
After being discharged, he attended Skidmore College on the GI bill and he met his first wife, Gretchen Schoonmaker, whom he married in 1950. They had three children.
Dad worked for more than 25 years as a project designer at the Malta Test Station, a research and design division of GE.
In the '70s, he was the director of building management for Wesley Health Care Center. There, he met his second wife, Nancy (Utley) Waring. They married in 1978 and had two children.
Doug worked an additional 10 years as a project designer for MTI. He later worked as clerk of the works for the Malta Town Hall building project.
He had a lifelong passion for public service. He joined the Malta Zoning Board of Appeals in 1969. He became chairman in 1971, maintaining that position for nearly 30 years. He became a member of the Saratoga Lions Club in 1959 and was recognized for more than 30 years of perfect attendance.
During his service with the Lions Club, he was Saratoga club president; Substance Abuse chairman; zone chairman; deputy district governor; and district International Relations chairman.
In 1994, Doug received the Melvin Jones Award. He was honored with the Knight of the Blind in 1997 and was the Guiding Lion for Malta.
One of Doug's proudest achievements in Lionism was his effort to collect $15,000 of medical supplies for the Ukraine Relief Project sponsored by the Kentucky District 43 Lions Club. He was also the recipient of the Past District Governor's Leadership Achievement Award.
Doug spent his retirement years at his home on Old Post Road in Malta, not far from where he grew up.
As his friends and family knew, there was never a subject Doug didn't have an opinion on.
He was always up for a game of pool at a local bar.
Doug was an avid photographer, hunter and archer, and he often spent time with friends in the Adirondacks tracking deer.
In addition, he was a member of a small, dedicated poker group. It was a great opportunity for the guys to get together on a cold winter night and play for fun. Whenever Doug recounted his poker nights, he always came out better than the house. He never seemed to lose. Perhaps they all had the same recollection.
Their father shared his life with two remarkable women, Nancy (Utley) Waring and Gretchen (Schoonmaker) Waring, who predeceased him. He was also predeceased by his daughter, Sally Waring.
He is survived by two sisters, Patricia (Waring) Kohn of Saratoga Springs and Nancie (Waring) Tyler of Malta; two brothers, Winston Waring and his wife, Judy, of Turnersville, N.J., and C. Joseph Waring and his wife, Barbara, of Delanson; two daughters, Jill Waring of Palo Alto, Calif., and Ashley Waring of Delft, Netherlands; two sons, Scott Waring and his wife, Karen Ethier-Waring, of Mystic, Conn., and Todd Waring and his wife, Eve Gordon, and children Tessa and Grace of Santa Monica, Calif.; sister-in-law Anne Latham and her husband, Tom, of Eastford, Conn.; and brother-in-law Robert L. Utley Jr. and his wife, Joanne, of Winston-Salem, N.C.
The family is grateful for the kind care Doug received in his last year of life from the staff at Academy Point of Mystic; the nurses and doctors at L&M hospital and by caregiver, Elizabeth.
Calling hours will be from 5 to 8 p.m. Monday, Jan. 21, 2013, at Tunison Funeral Home
The funeral service will be held at 11 a.m. Tuesday, Jan. 22, at the First Baptist Church of Saratoga Springs, 45 Washington St., Saratoga Springs.
The family has requested that in lieu of flowers, donations be made to the Saratoga Springs Lions Foundation, P.O. Box 166, Saratoga Springs, NY 12866; or to Vitas Hospice Care, 628 Hebron Ave., Suite 300, Glastonbury, CT 06033.
Arrangements are with Tunison Funeral Home, 105 Lake Ave., Saratoga Springs.