|
|
|
Joseph G. “Jerry” Rauber, the former Retail Division chairman of the Dansville Area Chamber of Commerce who was instrumental in obtaining state recognition for the hot air balloon festival now known as the New York State Festival of Balloons, died Wednesday at the Bath Veterans Administration Healthcare Facility in Bath. He was 79.
Rauber had a long career in public service and was devoted the the greater Dansville community, serving as town justice in the Town of North Dansville and acting village justice in the Village of Dansville. He was also formerly a part-time deputy sheriff and a member of the Livingston County Sheriff’s Association. Perhaps his greatest accomplishment was helping to turn a small hot air balloon festival into a state recognized event.
“Jerry did a great deal for the Dansville community. It was Jerry’s persistence that the prompted the New York state Legislature to give Dansville the distinction of being the home of the New York State Festival of Balloons,” said Barry Haywood, a former Dansville village mayor.
Haywood noted that Rauber was the first chairman of the the Dogwood Festival and the Jackson Hose Fire Company’s Oktoberfest. The Dogwood Festival has become a much-anticipated annual event in Dansville, and will turn 43 years old this year.
“He planted the seeds, and the events just grew,” commented North Dansville town Supervisor Dennis Mahus.
Both Haywood and Mahus said Rauber had stepped back somewhat in recent years as health concerns rose, however they said the example he set of giving back to the community served as an example for the generations that followed.
In 1985, Rauber was named the Dansville Area Chamber of Commerce’s “Citizen of the Year.” In that regard, he followed in the footsteps of his father, Wilfred Rauber, the long-time Dansville historian who also earned that Chamber of Commerce honor.
Rauber, a United States Coast Guard veteran who served during the Korean Conflict and later as a reservist with the 98th Division, is survived by his wife, Marilyn, three daughters, one son, and many grandchildren and great-grandchildren. A funeral service with military honors will take place at 2 p.m., Saturday, in the George-Stanton Funeral Home in Wayland.
Joseph G. “Jerry” Rauber, the former Retail Division chairman of the Dansville Area Chamber of Commerce who was instrumental in obtaining state recognition for the hot air balloon festival now known as the New York State Festival of Balloons, died Wednesday at the Bath Veterans Administration Healthcare Facility in Bath. He was 79.
Rauber had a long career in public service and was devoted the the greater Dansville community, serving as town justice in the Town of North Dansville and acting village justice in the Village of Dansville. He was also formerly a part-time deputy sheriff and a member of the Livingston County Sheriff’s Association. Perhaps his greatest accomplishment was helping to turn a small hot air balloon festival into a state recognized event.
“Jerry did a great deal for the Dansville community. It was Jerry’s persistence that the prompted the New York state Legislature to give Dansville the distinction of being the home of the New York State Festival of Balloons,” said Barry Haywood, a former Dansville village mayor.
Haywood noted that Rauber was the first chairman of the the Dogwood Festival and the Jackson Hose Fire Company’s Oktoberfest. The Dogwood Festival has become a much-anticipated annual event in Dansville, and will turn 43 years old this year.
“He planted the seeds, and the events just grew,” commented North Dansville town Supervisor Dennis Mahus.
Both Haywood and Mahus said Rauber had stepped back somewhat in recent years as health concerns rose, however they said the example he set of giving back to the community served as an example for the generations that followed.
In 1985, Rauber was named the Dansville Area Chamber of Commerce’s “Citizen of the Year.” In that regard, he followed in the footsteps of his father, Wilfred Rauber, the long-time Dansville historian who also earned that Chamber of Commerce honor.
Rauber, a United States Coast Guard veteran who served during the Korean Conflict and later as a reservist with the 98th Division, is survived by his wife, Marilyn, three daughters, one son, and many grandchildren and great-grandchildren. A funeral service with military honors will take place at 2 p.m., Saturday, in the George-Stanton Funeral Home in Wayland.
