Phil E. Shurtleff

PHIL E. SHURTLEFF
GROTON - Phil E. Shurtleff, 84, of Groton, passed away Tuesday, May 11, 2010, at Cortland Regional Medical Center following a period of declining health.
Phil was born July 20, 1925 in Gouverneur, NY, a son of the late Glenn C. and Emma Robinson Shurtleff, and was a graduate of the Theresa High School. Phil graduated from the Simmons School of Mortuary Science in Syracuse, as did his sons, Michael and Lee.
Phil owned and operated funeral, furniture and general insurance businesses in Evans Mills, NY, prior to relocating to Groton in 1960, where he had purchased the Alvin Booth Company, a funeral, furniture and ambulance service. He operated the Booth Company Funeral Home until 1974. In 1975, he established N E A Realty of Groton, engaging in the sale and management of properties and businesses. Phil re-entered the funeral service with the Shurtleff Funeral Homes in Genoa (1985) and Groton (1989), and had remained active in the operation of the family business until his passing. Phil was also associated for many years with the Rexford Chatterton and Robert C. Dempsey Insurance Agencies, both in Groton.
Phil devoted a "second career" to public service, serving in elective offices for over thirty years as a Groton Village Trustee and Mayor, Town of Groton Justice and Councilman, and for over twelve years as a Member of the Tompkins County Board of Representatives. He served additionally on the Tompkins County Industrial Development Agency and as the County's liaison to Tompkins Cortland Community College. He had been a member of the Town of Groton and Tompkins County Republican Committees for nearly fifty years, and served as Groton Town Chairman in the late 1960s, and again for the past thirty years. He was honored as Tompkins County's "Republican of the Year" in February 2007.
Phil was a retired member of the Citizens Hook & Ladder Company #3 of the Groton Fire Department, where in 1967, he organized the Department's Ambulance Squad, serving for many years as its first Captain. A Veteran of World War II (Infantry), he was a forty-five year member of Carrington-Fuller Post 800 American Legion. He was also a longtime member of the Village Water Board and a member and past President of the Groton Rural Cemetery Association.
He was Past President of the Finger Lakes Funeral Directors Association, a Past President of the Tompkins County Magistrates Association, and helped in forming both the Groton Business Association and Stonehedges Golf Course.
He is survived by his children, James (Sheri), Michael (Lori), Lee and Lisa Shurtleff; his grandchildren, Bryan (Cassie) and Chad (Angela) Shurtleff, Julianne (Chad) Scaglione, Rebecca, Riley and Ross Shurtleff; six great-grandchildren; a sister, Ruberta (Douglas) Gleason of Theresa, NY; many nieces, nephews, cousins and friends.
In addition to his parents, Phil was predeceased by his wife, Norma (Kimball) Shurtleff on May 14, 1995; and by his brothers, Sgt. Wendell A. Shurtleff (US Army Active Duty, 1942) and Lyle G. Shurtleff (2007).
Funeral Services will be held on Saturday, May 15, 2010, at 1:00 p.m. from the Shurtleff Funeral Home, 103 Lincoln Ave., Groton, with the Rev. Sam Neno officiating. Calling hours will be held at the Funeral Home on Friday, May 14, 2010, from 3:00-5:00 p.m. and from 6:30-8:30 p.m. Interment will take place at a later time.
Contributions, in lieu of flowers, may be made to the Groton Fire Department Ambulance Fund, P.O. Box 96, Groton, NY 13073, or to the Cortland Memorial Foundation, 134 Homer Avenue, Cortland, NY 13045.