Donald A. Dill

Donald A. Dill, age 79, a longtime resident of Elm Beach, passed away on March 12, 2021, following an extended illness.

 Donnie was born in Niagara Falls on May 17, 1941, the oldest son of the late Howard and Sally Dill. He was entrusted to the care of Cyrus P. and Marguerite E. Lee of Sheldrake at a very young age.  He was a 1959 graduate of Interlaken Central School and was a Boys State delegate his senior year.  He received his bachelor’s degree in accounting from Ithaca College in 1965 and had a long career at Cornell University as a purchasing agent, retiring in 1997.  Donnie took great pride in his achievements throughout the many degrees of Free Masonry. His local lodge, Farmerville Union Lodge #183 was the catalyst for his many works within the Ontario-Seneca-Yates District and then into the state and Grand Lodge. Don genuinely enjoyed life on Cayuga Lake- boating, fishing, hunting waterfowl & deer; he also had been a member of the South Seneca Sportsmen’s Club and Ducks Unlimited. He put his green thumb to use with raspberry patches, gardens, raised beds and a blooming spider plant. Don also savored a well-made drink, good food, grilling year-round, and filling the margins of cookbooks with his own critique. Those accepted into his inner circle knew Don thought of them when he gave article clippings with passages underlined in red ink.

He is survived by his children; Julie (Bill) Dill Swank of Ovid, Brian Dill of Groton and his beloved granddaughter, Macy Swank; the mother of his children, Linda (Barbara Rosenblum) Beck of Geneva and several cousins. He was preceded in death by his parents, his adoptive parents and a brother, Richard Dill. 

A graveside service with Masonic Rites will be held at Grove Cemetery in Trumansburg on Saturday, May 15th at 12PM.  Please join the family in a celebration of Donnie’s nearly 80 years at the South Seneca Sportsmen’s Club on Yarnell Road in Ovid at 1PM.

In lieu of flowers, kindly consider a donation to Shriners Hospitals for Children at www.lovetotherescue.org

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