GARDNER – William H. January 7, 2019, of Williamsville, NY. Son of the late William and Diane Gardner; “surrogate son” of Micheline Hice; loving brother of Kenneth (Katherine) Gardner; beloved uncle of Lindsay (Daniel) Wright and Hannah Gardner; great-uncle of Adrianna and Scarlett Wright; also survived by cousins and many close friends. Family and Friends are invited to attend visitation on Friday, from 6:30-7:30PM, immediately followed by a celebration of life service at Randall Church, 6301 Main St., Williamsville. Bill was a great lover of family, friends, fishing and funny stories. Please share your condolences online at: www.denglerrobertspernafuneral.com.
December 10, 2018. Beloved wife of Gary H.; dear mother of Chris (Wendy), James (Elizabeth), and Jonathan (Teresa) Runckel; dear grandmother of Haley, Victoria, David, Matthew, and Samantha. Friends may call Saturday, December 22, 8:30 am- 9:30 am, at the St. Paul’s Lutheran Church, 4007 Main St., Eggertsville, where a memorial service will follow at 9:30 AM. In lieu of flowers, memorials may be made to the Alzheimer’s Association of WNY.
G. David Baer, of West Falls, a computer analyst who co-founded Computer Task Group, died Aug. 21. His family said the cause was a heart attack. He was 82.
Born in Buffalo, he was a 1952 graduate of Amherst High School and earned a bachelor’s degree in biology from Bowling Green State University. He also took graduate courses at the University at Buffalo.
After working as a researcher at Roswell Park Cancer Institute from 1956 to 1960, Mr. Baer joined IBM in Buffalo, holding technical and management positions.
Foreseeing a need for companies to hire technical consulting services as they began to computerize their data processing operations, he and an IBM account representative, Randolph A. Marks, started their own firm, Marks-Baer Inc., in 1966. It became CTG in 1968 and soon was the largest software development company in the state outside New York City.
Mr. Baer helped oversee the growth of the company, first nationwide, then internationally, until he retired as executive vice president in 1995. He retired from the board of directors the following year. He returned as executive vice president in 2001, serving for another six years.
On the CTG website, current president and CEO Arthur “Bud” Crumlish wrote, “At his core, David was a people person and cared deeply about all of our employees. He was dedicated to client satisfaction, and saw this as everyone’s responsibility regardless of their position in the company.”
A sailor all his life, Mr. Baer took his favorite vessel, Ursa Major, to the Caribbean via the Erie Canal and the Hudson River. Later, when the boat’s home port was in the Chesapeake Bay area, he hosted friends on annual charter trips to the islands.
In his 30s, he trained for a private pilot’s license, joined a local flying club and attained his instrument flight rating. He built a two-thirds replica of a P-51 Mustang fighter plane and continued flying into his 70s.
He and his wife also bought and renovated a series of farms in Western New York, Virginia and Connecticut, where he honed his skills at plumbing, carpentry, wiring and working in the fields, accompanied by a succession of his beloved dogs, which were mostly rescue animals.
Survivors include his wife of 60 years, the former Carol A. Long; a son, Jonathan D.; two daughters, Christine Baer and Wendy Johnson; a sister, Susan Potenza; seven grandchildren and a great-grandson.
Visitation was held Sunday, Aug. 26, in Kenneth Howe Funeral Home, 64 Maple St., East Aurora.
David M. Watts, Sr. entered into God’s glorious kingdom August 29, 218. Born February 20, 1959, he is the son of David Watts and Rosanne Rudnik and the late James Rudnik.
David will be remembered with such a contagious smile and for a love for life, always happy and always positive.
David will forever be in the hearts and memories of his beloved wife, Kelly LaPort-Watts; and his beloved children, David (Melissa) Watts, Jr., Sarah Watts, Kyle LaPort, Andrew Watts, Maggie Watts, Morgan Watts and Mary Farns; cherished grandfather of Anna Rose.
There will be no prior visitaion. A memorial service to celebrate the life of David will be held on Saturday, September 1, 2018 at 11:00 AM at Hess Road Wesleyan Church, 2514 Hess Road, Appleton NY 14008.
In lieu of flowers, the family is asking that donations be made to Ontario Shores Federal Credit Union in Newfane NY, for their children.
Arrangements by Taylor & Reynolds Funeral Home, 70 Niagara St. Please visit Taylorandreynolds.com.
David will be remembered with such a contagious smile and for a love for life, always happy and always positive.
