Obituary of Marlene N. Cooney

Marlene (Mikels) Gaughan Cooney, 77, of Maine, NY passed away peacefully at her home on Friday afternoon May 29, 2015, due to an extended bout with pancreatic cancer. The youngest of her family, Marlene was predeceased by her parents, Charles and Frances (Colvin) Mikels, and her brother and sister-in-law Richard and Nancy Mikels. She is survived by her husband, Jerry; daughter, Brenda (Louis) Fick of Newton, PA; Charles (Micki) Gaughan of Auburn Hills, GA; stepchildren, Gerry (Trina) Cooney of Chenango Bridge, Michele Cooney of Orlando FL, Corey Cooney of Ballston Spa, NY, Colleen (Tony) Covey of Blueridge, GA; grandchildren, Cheryl and Candace Gaughan, Auburn Hills GA, Patrick Cooney, NYC, Alanna and Tyler Lenga, Chenango Bridge, Rebecca Cooney, Buffalo, NY, Chystal Ann Covey,GA; her close and loved nieces and nephews, Rhonda (Mark) Holbrook, Rick (Karen) Mikels, Sheila (Dan) Stulir, Bruce (Cindy) Mikels and Sue Jorgensen. Marlene was a lifelong resident of this area, a graduate of U-E class of '55, and a Endicott-Johnson retiree after 42 years. She and her husband joined the Shufflin shoes square dance club where she met a lot of new and dear friends. Retirement opened the door to many more great friends, daily trips to the Western Broome Boys & Girls club for pilates or swimming, summertime golfing at Apalachin or Newark Valley Golf Course, and for the last 15 years a staunch but excitable Bearcat Fan. Marlene was an avid reader, and loved to travel to places she found in the books, most out of the way in the mountains of West Virginia, Tennessee, and of course the Smokies where she made yearly trips, either on golfing or square dance excursions, Civil War trails, or just plain wandering. Adventurous to a point, she did whitewater on the Ottawa River, plus boated through the gators in the Okefendkee Swamp. She became an accomplished co-pilot while traveling and kept getting lost to a minimum. Marlene is now, and will always be, sorely missed. The family would like to thank the doctors and nurses at Broome Oncology and the staff of Lourdes Hospice, especially the aides, for their great care of Marlene. A memorial service will be held Wednesday June 3, 2015 at 11AM from the Coleman and Daniels Funeral Home, LLC., 300 East Main St, Endicott. Father Mark Giroux Rector of St. Marks Episcopal Church will officiate. The family will receive friends at the funeral home Tuesday from 3-6PM. In lieu of flowers, contributions may be made in her memory to the Boys and Girls Club of Western Broome, 1 Clubhouse Rd., Endicott, NY 13760.