Lawrence Edward Colyer

Colyer, Lawrence Edward
Niskayuna - Lawrence Edward Colyer, 84, passed away peacefully on Tuesday, April 30, at Kingsway Arms Nursing Center.
Lawrence was born December 13, 1939, in Queens, N.Y., to parents, Howard Lawrence Colyer and Edna May Franker. A graduate of Huntington High School, Huntington, N.Y., he also studied at Brooklyn Polytech, before graduating from State University of New York Maritime College at Fort Schuyler, The Bronx. Later in life, he also obtained a Master's Degree in Nuclear Engineering from Union College, in Schenectady, N.Y.
Immediately after college, he worked as a Merchant Mariner Engineer, including passage through the Panama Canal, tending a banana boat for the United Fruit Company. A U.S. Army veteran, he served with the Corp. of Engineers aerial survey in Southeast Asia, and later, the Cold Regions Research and Engineering Laboratory in Hanover, N.H.
After military service, he worked for a time at Knolls Atomic Power Laboratory, in Niskayuna, N.Y., before being hired by General Electric. He proudly held several positions in International Sales, before retiring from General Electric Power Systems in Schenectady, N.Y.
Lawrence was an avid model airplane enthusiast as well as an amateur pilot, who built and flew his own experimental airplane. Traveling around the world several times over, he also enjoyed studying foreign languages. He was a self-taught guitarist, who had a lifelong love of music, which he shared with family and friends. A prolific home renovator, he also loved to spend time improving his homes in Saratoga Springs and Castleton, Vt. He spent his years of retirement in Sarasota, and then Bradenton, Fla., where he enjoyed playing the game of golf, as well as summering at the family camp on Lake Bomoseen, Vt.
He will be lovingly remembered by his wife of 58 years, Jane; children, Charles (Michelle) Colyer, Lauren (Anthony) Colyer-Pendas and Daniel (Tracy) Colyer; grandchild, Jaxon Colyer-Pendas; sisters, Diane (Tom) Gooding and Mary Jane Colyer; nephews, David (Melanie) DiPietro, Larry (Nancy) DiPietro, John (Rosemary) DiPietro, Edward (Farley) Ezekiel; cousins, Peter (Shirley) Conlin, Jeanne Conlin, Judith Iliniski; as well as numerous grandnieces, grandnephews, relatives and friends.
A visitation will be held on May 17, 2024, from 4 p.m. to 7 p.m., at William J. Burke & Sons Bussing & Cunniff, Inc. Funeral Homes, located at 628 N. Broadway, Saratoga Springs, N.Y. 12866. For inquiries contact (518) 584-5373.
A memorial service will be held on May 18, 2024, at 10 a.m., at William J. Burke & Sons Bussing & Cunniff, Inc. Funeral Homes.
Memorial donations can be made in Lawrence Edward Colyer's name to the Parkinson's Foundation, 1359 Broadway, Suite 1509, New York, N.Y. 10018, or https://www.parkinson.org/ ; the Brain Injury Association of New York State, 5 Pine West Plaza, Suite 506, Albany, N.Y. 12205, or https://bianys.org/ ; and the Academy of Model Aeronautics, Eric Williams, Vice President District II, 4242 Amanda Lane, Schenectady, N.Y. 12303, or https://rcpilot.wixsite.com/amadistrictii
The family wishes to send a special thank you to the staff at the Kingsway Arms Nursing Center for their dedicated care and compassion.
Online remembrances may be made at www.burkefuneralhome.com