Francis Barrass

Francis (Chuck) Elwood Barrass BALLSTON SPA - Francis (Chuck) Elwood Barrass passed away on Thanksgiving, November 27, 2014 at Maplewood Manor, Ballston Spa following a very brief illness. He was born October 17, 1920 in Corinth to the late Charles and Mildred (Frye) Barrass. He picked up the nickname Chuck from a boarder with his family who commented that he looked like a woodchuck with chubby cheeks as a baby. Chuck attended the one room school house in the Kendall District through the eighth grade. Worked for his uncle, Cecil Barrass, on the Town Highway crew. Prior to entering the army he operated the Town grader for the federal government at what is now the Queensbury Airport upgrading the runway at the start of WWII. He was drafted into the Army October 21, 1942 and honorably discharged on November 17, 1945. He participated in the battles at Ardennes, Rhineland and Central Europe as a tank driver with the 772nd Tank Destroyer unit. He was commended for driving 3,000 miles without losing a tank. A story he often shared with the family was his unit finding a grain bag full of white sugar hidden in a barn. He and another soldier in his unit knew how to make old-fashioned fudge and used the chocolate bars and milk in their rations to make fudge with the sugar. When others in their unit realized what they were doing a line formed and they made fudge for many others. Upon discharge from the Army he returned to work for the Town Highway Department but soon went to work for the Village of Corinth Department of Public Works. He served as equipment operator, foreman, and retired as Superintendent in 1983. He worked off and on following retirement as needed to assist the village by returning to run equipment or help locate underground pipes. Shortly after his retirement he and Don Williams volunteered their skills to create the hockey rink/tennis courts on River Street. While he was able he enjoyed helping with the hockey boards and clearing the snow as well as watching his grandchildren play. On March 16, 1947 he married Eunice Ogden. She predeceased him in 1992 after 45 years of marriage. They enjoyed square dancing at the Stony Creek Grange where they met, functions with the IOOF (Odd Fellows/Rebekahs), snowmobiling and camping with friends and family. Chuck enjoyed deer hunting with family and friends and was a member of the Macomber club. He only gave up hunting when unable to see clearly in the woods but still enjoyed the hunters gathering at his house before the hunt and to process the deer. Following retirement he drove for the Operation Joy program and loved to share the stories of his adventures with the high school students that rode with him. He enjoyed the companionship of a well-fed beagle and his weekly visits with his nephew, Dick Prescott. He was a member of the Stony Creek Grange and then the Corinth Grange. He was a member of the International Order of Odd Fellows. Chuck was predeceased by three sisters, Margaret Brownell, Janet Rosenbrock and Leta Barrass as well as a brother Harold who died in infancy. He was also predeceased by nine brothers-in-law – Phillip Newton, Harley Newton, Walton Brownell, Richard Jenks, Richard Rosenbrock, Forrest Ogden, Benjamin Ogden, John Carpenter and Kenneth Prescott as well as four sisters-in-law, Ruth Newton, Erma (Ogden) Carpenter, Bertha Ogden and Ima (Ogden) Prescott. Chuck is survived by three children – David (Linda) Barrass of Corinth, Douglas (Karen) Barrass of Hudson Falls, and Ellen Barrass of Corinth. Three grandchildren – William (Amy Herlihy) Barrass of Barrington, Rhode Island, Jamie (Nathan) Pinkham of St. Albans, Vermont, and Amy (Paul) Beaulieu of Fredericksburg, Virginia. Five great grandchildren – Faith Barrass, Amelia Pinkham, Jack Beaulieu, Jay Barrass and the soon to arrive Nathaniel Pinkham. He is survived by one sister – Shirley Jenks, and three sisters-in-law, Elizabeth “Bib” Ogden, AnnaMae Newton and Martha Brownell. He is also survived by many nieces, nephews and cousins. Services will be conducted at 11 a.m., Monday, Dec. 1, 2014 at the Densmore Funeral Home, Inc., 7 Sherman Ave., Corinth with the Rev. Bonnie Bates, officiating. Burial with military honors will be held at Corinth Rural Cemetery. Friends may call from 2-4 and 7-9 p.m., Sunday at the funeral home. Members of the Horace D. Washburn American Legion Post 533 of Corinth will hold a short service at 8 p.m., Sunday, at the funeral home Donations to Jessup’s Landing EMS, 101 Sherman Avenue, Corinth, NY 12822 in lieu of flowers.