ONEONTA - Frank Winsor Getman passed away peacefully on April 8, 2009 with his family present as the result of complications from a brief illness. He was 77. Frank was a lifelong resident of Oneonta, having been born on February 8, 1932. His parents were Damon Getman and Julia Winsor Getman.



Frank graduated from Oneonta High School, where he played on successful baseball and basketball teams. He often reminisced about playing baseball at Ebbets Field. Frank graduated from Colgate University in 1953, where he played baseball and ice hockey. Shortly thereafter he joined the United States Marine Corps and served in Korea until 1955. He continued in the Marine Corps Reserves until 1959 and was honorably discharged. He was proud of his service to his country and celebrated the Marine Corps birthday every year. Frank earned his law degree from Albany Law School in 1958 and returned to Oneonta to practice law. After serving as an Assistant District Attorney, in 1971 Frank was elected to the first of five four-year terms as Oneonta City Court Judge. Frank left the bench after his final term expired in 1991 as Oneonta's longest-serving elected official. Until he became ill in January of this year, Frank maintained a busy law practice with his eldest son, Michael. Frank was an astute businessman as well as a successful and respected attorney.



Frank's legacy of service to the Oneonta community included membership on many Boards of Directors, including the A.O. Fox Hospital Board, the Key Bank Board, the Riverside Cemetery Board and the Hartwick College Board of Trustees. In 2000, Hartwick College awarded Frank an honorary degree of Doctor of Humane Letters. Frank was most passionate about his over twenty years of service on the Dewar Foundation Board of Directors. During that time, under Frank's leadership, the Dewar Foundation awarded millions of dollars of grants to local organizations, set up numerous college scholarships for Oneonta High School graduates and assisted in funding the construction of at least a half-dozen public buildings in Oneonta.



Frank's first wife, Maggie, passed away in 1976. Frank later married Kathy Moore, who currently resides in Florida. Frank is survived by his daughter, Margaret, of Harrisonburg, Virginia; his son, Michael and his wife, Ellyn, of Oneonta; his son, Frank Jr. and his wife, Ingrid, of Portsmouth, New Hampshire; and his son, Willie and his wife, J.Jaye, of Austin, Texas. Frank was most proud of his eleven grandchildren: Sean, Ceili, Mary Margaret, Maggie, Grace, Frances, John Paul, Isabel, Jack, Luke and Jillian. Frank's older brother, Larry, predeceased him, but he is survived by Larry's wife, June, and their children Susan, Larry and Peter.



Calling hours will be held on Monday, April 13, 2009 from 4:00 p.m. to 7:00 p.m. at the Lewis, Hurley & Pietrobono Funeral Home at 51 Dietz Street in Oneonta.



A Funeral Service/Liturgy of the Word will be held on Tuesday, April 14, 2009 at 9:00 a.m. at St. Mary's Roman Catholic Church on Walnut Street in Oneonta, with the Rev. Joseph Benintende, officiating. Interment with Military Honors will follow at the Mt. Calvary Cemetery.



Friends and family are invited to a reception to celebrate Frank's life, on Tuesday, April 14, 2009 at 4:00 p.m. at Stella Luna Restaurant on Market Street in Oneonta.



In lieu of flowers, the family requests that contributions in Frank's honor be made to the Dewar Foundation, Inc., 16 Dietz Street, Oneonta, New York 13820.



To send a condolence to the family, visit, www.lhpfuneralhome.com



The Lewis, Hurley & Pietrobono Funeral Home, 51 Dietz Street, Oneonta, is serving the family