Obituary of William D. Luzier

WILLIAM D. LUZIER, SR. LAKELAND, FL - William D. Luzier, Sr., 92, of Lakeland, Fla., and Ellicottville died Sunday, August, 4, 2002, at Olean General Hospital after a brief illness. He was born in Thomas, West Virginia, and he received a degree in education from Shepherd State College in Shepherdstown, West Virginia. He worked at various jobs throughout the Depression and was employed in sales at Sears & Roebuck for several years before he began work for the Baltimore & Ohio Railroad as a fireman. After over thirty-five years he retired from the Chessie System Railroad at Salamanca as Road Foreman of Engines and Trainmaster for the Rochester and Buffalo Division, having become an expert in smoke and noise abatement. After his retirement he volunteered for Volunteers in Service to America (VISTA) and was later employed as a VISTA supervisor. Through his VISTA work he became interested in advocacy for seniors and was later elected as President of the New York Statewide Senior Action Council. He was a Mason, and a member of the Aleppo Shrine of the Shriners. He was also a member of the Elks in Salamanca and a former member of the Salamanca Kiwanis Club. He was the former chair of the Salamanca Republican City Committee. Kind, quick-witted, and always ready to brighten a day with humor, he leaves his loving wife Sally (Fenner). He was preceded by his former wife Gypsy (Ashburn). Also remaining are his sister Helen Paine of Sebring, FL and his children Mary V. Wichlacz of Lakeview, NY., William D. Luzier, Jr. and his wife Joan of Allston, MA, Stella S. Johnston and her husband Garth of Little Valley, and John C. Luzier and his wife Aileen of Buffalo, several adult children from his second marriage, grandchildren, great-grandchildren, nieces and nephews. There will be no public visitations. A memorial service will be announced at a later date. Donations in lieu of flowers are requested to the Shriners Hospital for Children, Office of Development, International Shrine Headquarters, 2900 Rock Point Dr., Tampa, FL 33607. Funeral arrangements are under the direction of the Casey, Halwig & Hartle Funeral Home, 3128 West State Road, Olean.