Luella E. Beck

Port Leyden- Luella (Sullivan) Beck, 97, a longtime resident of Lyonsdale and Port Leyden, passed away on Tuesday, August 16, 2011, at the residence of her granddaughter, Laura, while under the care of The Community Hospice of Albany County. Luella was born on January 18, 1914, in Frankfort, to Timothy and Elizabeth Hoffman Sullivan. At an early age, she moved with her family to the Town of Lyonsdale, where she received her education at the Gould Town Rural School, Lyonsdale. On November 22, 1934, Luella married Martin W. Beck at St. John's Church, Lyons Falls, where Rev. Fr. J.P. Divinney officiated. Thereafter the couple lived on Lyonsdale Road. She was first employed with Moyer & Pratt Paper Co. of Lyonsdale. From 1957 until they retired, the Becks were employed as caretakers at the Adirondack League Club of Little Moose in Herkimer Co. Luella was a life-long cat lover who would regularly feed any cat that stopped at her house, whether stray or just visiting. She was also an avid gardener. Although in later years she was unable to grow and can her own vegetables, she maintained a flower garden into her mid-90s. Luella was predeceased by her husband, Martin W. Beck, on July 15, 1986; her son, Martin, who died at the age of eleven on October 11, 1949; her sisters: Gladys Fitzgerald and Evelyn Beck; her brother, Henry Sullivan; and her son-in-law, Richard J. Kirch, on June 5, 2011. She is survived by two daughters, Thelma Kirch, Albany, and Mary Beck, Boonville; five grandchildren: Charles, Martin, Michele, Laura, and Patrick Kirch; great-grandchildren and great-great-grandchildren. A prayer will be held on Friday at 10:00 AM at the Trainor Funeral Home, Inc. 143 Schuyler Street, Boonville, with a Mass of Christian Burial at 11:00 at St. Martin's Church, Port Leyden, with Rev. Stephen Rocker, nephew and pastor of St. James Church, Gouvernuer, officiating. Interment will be made in Calvary Cemetery, Port Leyden. Visitation is Thursday from 6-8 PM at the funeral home. In lieu of flowers, memorial donations may be made to Spring Farm CARES, Animal Sanctuary and Adoption Center, Clinton. For an on-line message of sympathy, or to share a memory of Luella, please go to www.trainorfuneralhome.com.