Obituary of Grant Covill

COVILL, Grant Edwin Covill, 85, passed away peacefully Jan 21, 2013 at the Homestead in Penn Yan, NY. He was born in Wellsville, NY on March 27, 1927 to Charles and Hazel (Norton) Covill. He is a graduate of Wellsville High School and Alfred University. In 1950 he married Virginia “Ginger” Pflager, who predeceased him in 2003. They lived in Wellsville most of their lives until moving to Easton, PA in 1972. Grant was employed as a Service Engineer with Ingersoll Rand Corporation in Phillipsburg, NJ and traveled throughout the world. In 1986 they moved to Keuka Lake to enjoy their retirement years. In his earlier years he worked at Norton Oil Company which was owned by his Grandfather, Grant T. Norton and Covill’s Jewelry Store in Wellsville. A past member of the Willing fire Department, Order of the Free & Accepted Masons, 50 year member of the Corning Consistory, American Legion Post in Genera, St. John’s Episcopal Church, the Boy Scouts of America and the Nancy Howe Players. He joined the United States Navy in 1946 and did his basic training at Sampson Naval Training Base on Seneca Lake, NY. In the early 1990’s he helped organize the Sampson Naval Museum and served many years on the Board of Directors. He was a volunteer at the Curtis Museum in Hammondsport and worked part time at Bully Hill Winery in Hammondsport, NY. He enjoyed the outdoors by hunting, camping and canoe trips with the Boy Scouts. His hobbies included reading, coin collecting, tracing his ancestry back to the early 1200’s and Naval History. He is survived by his daughter Linda (Marshall) Young of Hammondsport, NY; a grandson Blakeney (Katie) Hedrick, a great-granddaughter Kailey of La Mesa, CA; a sister-in-law Rachael Anne (Richard) Bellows of Waterloo, NY; nieces Susan Allen, Margaret Kernan, Nancy (Dale) Smith and several great nieces and nephews. Memorial service will be held at the convenience of the family. www.barberfuneralhome.com