Obituary of Alice Ann Damp

WARRENSBURG: Alice Ann (Whittemore) Damp, 91, formerly of 12 James St. Warrensburg, New York passed away on January 6, 2024 at the Pines of Glens Falls where she resided since December 2019. She was born in 1932 in Glens Falls to the late Bertram (Bertie) and Margaret (Singleton) Whittemore of Warrensburg New York.

Alice grew up in Warrensburg with her older sister, Peggy whom she treasured. After the death of her Mother, when Alice was 16 years old, she cherished the love and support from the family housekeepers, Mrs. Balch & Katie Smith. Alice graduated from Warrensburg Central School and SUNY College for Teachers in Albany. She & Ed lived on Madison Ave. in Albany for several years until her father died and they decided to move out of the city and live in Warrensburg in the house she grew up in so their girls could grow up in a rural town.

Alice spent a lifetime of volunteering in addition to teaching and raising a family with Ed. She taught reading and writing for 24 years in the Title One program at Warrensburg Central School and often said if she could get a student to read something that interested them such as outdoor magazines, TV Guide, or Popular Mechanics they would build confidence, improve skills, and move forward in other classes and their lives outside the classroom. Tutoring kids and helping them understand their homework for any of their classes was something she truly enjoyed. Alice had fun being a class advisor and helping with graduations. She valued the friendships she made at WCS. As an alumni, she and Ed became involved with the WCS Alumni Association helping with events and maintaining the mailing lists for years

 Summers found her riding bikes with the girls to Echo Lake for swim lessons. Autumn meant sitting on the hill at the Rec Field with the family dog, Sandy, shouting encouragement to the field hockey players. Winter months were for ice skating and tobogganing at the Rec Field, watching from the wooden bleachers at school to cheer on her daughters, and coordinating carpools to Hickory Hill Ski Area as well as organizing Christmas caroling. Whether it was 4-H or Girl Scouts (including their cooking projects!), Florence LaPoint tap/ballet lessons, tennis lessons, church school in Chestertown or school activities, Alice supported her girls.

The Adirondacks played a lifelong part in Alice’s life. Early in their marriage, Alice and Ed enjoyed chaperoning the “singles” camping trips with Ed’s NYS Thruway employee group, including washing and drying cloth diapers in the rain! She and Ed took their family camping and canoeing in the state campgrounds of the Adirondacks and later were volunteer chaperones for 4-H canoe camping trips. Alice and Ed were Hudson River White Water Derby Gate Watchers for many years. She always remembered being taken across the river in a boat to a gate. She enjoyed going to Firemen’s breakfast and suppers, jack-wax parties and church suppers around the area. Alice was always up for seeing what was going on at area winter festivals and her daughters remember being woken up early to get to the Warren County Airport from Warrensburg for the Balloon Festival FFA breakfast followed by seeing the balloons take off in the morning mist. On the weekends she loved to head out in the car with family to check out the backroads to see what wildlife could be found along the way. In her later years on the rides, she would keep us up to date on who lived (or used to) where. We always had to stop in Chestertown to see the horses with an “occasional” visit to the Main Street Ice Cream Parlor…

Alice was active in Saint Cecilia’s Catholic Church community, Music Ministry, Ministers of Care and other aspects of church life. Singing in church was a time of joy in her life.  Many cherished friendships were formed. A warm Thank You to “the Soup Ladies”. At the Richards Library she was a long-time member, volunteered with book sales, the children’s summer reading and film programs as well as being on the Board of Trustees for many years.

She is predeceased by her parents, her husband Ed, of over 60 years (2016), her sister Margaret (Peggy) (2013) and her daughter Kathleen Wright, Sandy UT (2022). She is survived by her daughters; Sue (Jerry) Sawn, Queensbury NY and Linda Damp, Greenfield MA; son-in-law Fred Wright, Sandy UT, grandson Tyler (Kendall) Wright, Salt Lake City UT and great-grandson Miles; and two nephews and their families, Mark (Mary Kay) Phelps, John (Mary Lou) Phelps with whom she enjoyed bantering and following their lives from children to parents to grandparents.

On behalf of Mom, we thank the staff at The Pines of Glens Falls. We truly appreciate their kind, skilled compassionate care of our mother. We also are forever grateful for the years of friendship, thoughtfulness and kindness from Mom and Dad’s neighbors and friends. From shoveling the front steps to mowing the side hill, dropping off soup or dinner, saying hello from the sidewalk, “sharing” your dogs, or calling to chat; they (and we) felt the love being “from Warrensburg” always brings.

If you would like to make a memorial contribution in Mom’s memory; she had a soft spot for Richard’s Library, Warrensburg Fire Dept. and the Warrensburg Rescue Squad. Or take a good friend to lunch. She’d like that.

Friends may call on Alice’s family from 1pm – 3pm, Friday, January 12, 2023, at Alexander Funeral Home, 3809 Main St., Warrensburg.

A funeral service will take place at the funeral home at 3 pm, following the visitation. Reverend Joseph Busch will be officiating

Burial will take place in the spring 0f 2024 at St. Cecilia's Cemetery in Warrensburg. 

Please visit www.alexanderfh.net for online condolences, guestbook and directions.