Max A. Stoker

A lifelong area resident, he was born February 3, 1927 a son of the late Alson C. and Carrie F. McConnell Stoker.

Max honorably served in the US Army from March 27, 1945-September 30, 1946 as a paratrooper in World War II.

He married his first wife Shirley Cook in 1948 and purchased his own dairy farm in 1955. In 1962, he won the Cortland County Outstanding Young Farmers Award and finished second place at the state level. He retired from farming in the late 1980’s and Shirley predeceased him in 1989.

Max was a longtime and active member of the Scott United Methodist Church, where he co-chaired the rebuilding of the church and was instrumental in the establishment of the Scott Senior Center. He was also an associate member of the Preble Congregational Church.

He served as Cortland County Legislator for 21 years, retiring in 2001; he served on the Homer School Board, Cortland Bulk Board, Scott Town Board, Industrial Development Agency and the Soil Conservation Board.

Max was a life-member of the Homer Grange and a longtime member of the David Harum Senior Center. He served on the Board of Directors for Atwater Cemetery, served as a RSVP Volunteer for Meals on Wheels for 20 years, the Older American Advisory Council and the Board of Directors for the Salvation Army and served on the County Nutrition Program.

He was the Emeritus Director for the Central Co-Op Insurance Board and was retired from the State Advisory Board for the Office of the Aging, an appointment made by former Governor George Pataki.

For all of Max's hard work and devotion to civic affairs, he was honored in 2007 as the Cortland County Senior of the Year.

A loving and devoted husband, father, grandfather, great grandfather, brother and friend to many, Max was a humble, kind man with a great sense of humor. He loved God and his family above all else.

Surviving is his wife of 20 years, Marilyn Twentyman Stoker; four daughters, Janice (Sam) Cincotta of Cortland; Connie (James) Meisner of Saratoga Springs; Nancy Ruscio (Joseph; deceased son-in-law) of Cortland and Brenda (Frank) Struder of Cary, NC; step-children, Ellen Shirley and Dan (Patricia) Twentyman both of Tully; Shari (Dan) Raymond of Cortland and Loribeth (Paul) Dalton of Las Vegas, NV. Also, 22 Grandchildren, 21 Great Grandchildren, his sister, Barbara Crandall of Cortland, sister-in-law, Jean Stoker of Little York and several nieces and nephews.

In addition to his first wife, Shirley, he was predeceased by three brothers; Charles, Dale and Ralph 'Bud' Stoker, two sisters, Dorothy Sweeney and Shirley LeFever and two granddaughters; Maxine Eaton and Korilyn Struder.

Funeral services will be held at 11 a.m. on Monday, November 26, 2012 at the Scott United Methodist Church, 6816 State Route 41, with Pastor John Aukema and Pastor Rebecca West co-officiating. Interment, with Military Honors, will follow in Scott Union Cemetery.

The family will receive friends on Sunday from 4-8 p.m. at the Donald L. Barber Funeral Home, 5016 N. Main St., Homer.

In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions in Mr. Stoker's memory can be made to the Endowment Fund at the Scott United Methodist Church, 6816 State Route 41, Homer, NY 13077, the Endowment Fund at the Preble Congregational Church, 1953 Preble Rd., Preble, NY 13141 or the Cortland County Nutrition Program, County Office Building, 60 Central Ave., Cortland, NY 13045.