Marcus H. "Mickey" Millspaugh, Jr.

Marcus H. “Mickey” Millspaugh, Jr of Walden NY embarked on his final portage on Wednesday, June 1, 2022.  He was 95. 

The son of Marcus “Mick” and Jeannette “Johnnie” Millspaugh he was born June 26, 1926 in Poughkeepsie, NY.

Mickey accomplished much in his near 96 year run; things left undone, he felt, were just beyond him.  He grew up in Walden, married his high school sweetheart and truly enjoyed small town life.  At the age of 18 he enlisted in the US Navy serving on the Bushnell during WWII; an experience he said he would not have wanted to miss.  After the war, taking advantage of the GI Bill, he completed his education at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute earning a degree in civil engineering.

His jobs in engineering included work in heavy construction during the building of the NY Colliseum, as Resident Engineer at Kings Park State Hospital on LI, and as Sanitary Engineer for NYS Department of Health.  Through these years, Mickey and his wife, Barbara Charron lived in Troy, NY, Long Island, Ohio, Ft. Lee, NJ and Endicott, NY. When their family began to grow, they returned to Walden. In the latter part of the ‘60s, he decided to become involved in the family business, which was started by his great-grandfather. He became a licensed funeral director in 1969 and worked in both the funeral home and furniture store until 1998. After retiring, part of his daily routine was a stop at the furniture store, funeral home and often the Walden Savings Bank to visit.

He was a trustee and past president of the Walden Historical Society, an Assistant Scout Master for BSA Troop 33, an Elder and lifelong member of the First Reformed Church of Walden, Life member of the Walden American Legion Wm. Deakin-Joel H. Cook Post 158, Walden VFW Memorial Post 2946, Orange Hose Fire Co. #1 and the North Tonawanda Historical Society. He was a director emeritus of Walden Savings Bank, former trustee of the Village of Walden and for a time served as the Town of Montgomery Engineer.

He loved local history and was a collector of arrowheads, Schrade knives, coins, and clocks.  At one time his house was full of antique clocks; all of them were right at least twice a day.   He also enjoyed researching his family history; not only could he trace the Millspaugh (Melsbach) family back to Germany, he also was descended from the Long and Rand families who were instrumental in settling Western NY.

Wildwood Cottage at Oquaga Lake was a special place where he was often seen paddling the antique wooden Old Town Canoes that were purchased a decade before he was born.  He was passionate about canoeing and canoe restoration.  He was a frequent paddler on the Wallkill River and enthusiastically participated in multiple marathon canoe events through the Adirondacks initially as a paddler, then as the pit crew and ultimately a spectator.

Mickey saw much of the world through his stint in the Navy.  As a teen, he had taken a road trip out west with his aunt. The sights he saw impressed him so much that he and Barbara bought a pop-up camper and took the kids on an equally impressive trip out west. He enjoyed “bank trips” with Barbara to destination conventions all over the country. In his 60s he completed a bicycle tour along the Danube with his sister Joanne and her husband Don.  He enjoyed traveling with one grandchild at a time to places near and far.

Mickey leaves behind a family of furniture merchants, funeral directors, engineers, firefighters, artists, photographers, marathon paddlers and lovers of Oquaga Lake.  Survivors to bask in his memory are Barbara, his wife of more than 70 years; his children Mark (Kathleen), Keith (Rachel) and Susan; 12 grandchildren Charron (Chris) Carucci, Sarah (Bill) Heslin, Philip (Erica)Millspaugh, Peter (Chelsea) Millspaugh, Andrew (Diana) Millspaugh, Helen Tighe, Laura (Mike) McNamee, Robert Millspaugh, Mary Tighe, Julia Tighe, Emma Millspaugh and Dorothy Tighe; 12 great grandchildren with at least one more on order, sister Joanne Carr, several nieces and nephews and their families. He was predeceased by his sister-in-law Phyllis and her husband Bob Hausner and his brother-in-law Don Carr.

Mickey was a 27 year cancer survivor thanks to Barbara’s perceptive nursing skills and fine doctors who treated him over the years. He so appreciated the compassionate care he received at Castle Point VA Hospital over the past six months. As he said “I did my best”; he truly did.

Visitation will be Tuesday, June 7, 2022, 1-3 PM and 7-9 PM at Millspaugh Funeral Home, 22 Bank St. Walden, NY.

Funeral services will be held Wednesday, June 8, 2022 10:30 AM at First Reformed Church of Walden, 70 Scofield St. Walden.

Memorial contributions may be made in Mickey’s name to the Walden Historical Society, P.O. Box 48, Walden, NY 12586 or First Reformed Church of Walden, 70 Scofield St. Walden, NY.

Please visit millspaughfuneralhome.com for directions or to leave a condolence. If you have a memory or story for the family please share it with us by sending it to MemoriesofMickey626@gmail.com.

To send flowers to the family or plant a tree in memory of Marcus H. "Mickey" Millspaugh, Jr., please visit our floral store.