ONEONTA – Willis "Bill" Calvin Dailey Jr., 88, passed away peacefully in the early morning hours on Friday, March 2, 2012, at the Otsego Manor in Cooperstown.

He was born February 10, 1924 in Oneonta, NY, son of Willis Catlin Dailey and Helen Coleman Dailey.

During his youth Bill lived in a number of places with his family including Rochester, NY, Toronto, Canada and Johnson City, NY.

Willis graduated from Binghamton Central High School in 1942 and went to work for IBM. His job lasted less than a year as he was drafted in to the US Navy in March of 1943. He served aboard the Destroyer Escort USS Hopping in the Atlantic and Pacific during WWII, as a Radar Man First Class, achieving the rank of Petty Officer. He received the US Naval Victory Medal upon discharge in 1946.

After his time in the Navy, he went to work with his father, opening the Oneonta Family Cleaners at 22 Main Street, Oneonta. Bill operated the business until his retirement in 1989. He also built U-Totem, one of the first laundromats in Oneonta, on Chestnut Street.

He married Barbara Ann Cummings on July 24, 1949, at the First United Methodist Church in Oneonta. They lived together on Woodside Avenue and later built a home on Ravine Park South in Oneonta.

While tending to both businesses, and raising three children, he and Barbara took great pleasure in taking their children on frequent skiing and camping trips and traveling throughout the country. Summer trips ranged from Nova Scotia to Florida Keys, with the entire family piled into a station wagon.

During his business career, he was a member of The Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks, Grand Lodge of Free & Accepted Masons of The State of NY, and Kiwanis International. He was also a member of the Hartwick College Citizens Board, the Oneonta Concert Association and supported many local non-profit organizations.

His love for classical music drove him to support and attend concerts through the Northeast and wherever he traveled. He was a subscription holder to Carnegie Hall, SPAC, Proctor's in Schenectady and the Stanley Center for the Arts in Utica for over 20 years. He also was an avid organ music aficionado.

Besides music, Bill loved gardening, skiing with the family and camping at Cape Cod and Indian Lake. After retirement he became interested in baking and became the family pie expert, also dabbling in breads and soups. He and Barbara traveled extensively throughout the United States, including to Hawaii and Alaska also to Europe, and a highlight was a cruise through the Panama Canal.

Bill is survived by his sister, Shirley Baker of Oneonta; brother-in-laws, William Cummings of Sidney, Ohio and Robert Goodwin, of Hamilton, NY; son, Bruce Gordon Dailey and fiancée, Valerie Kriney, of Wyckoff, NJ, and grandson, Andrew Michaels Dailey; son, Douglas Allen Dailey and wife, Karen Roesch Dailey, of Burlington VT, and grandchildren, Sean Roesch Dailey and wife, Michele Gutsick Dailey, James William Dailey, Daniel Cooper Dailey, Jacob Joseph Roesch and wife, Diana Marinovic, Benjamin Baldwin Roesch and wife, Shannon Delahanty Roesch, and great-grandchildren, Felix Delahanty Roesch and Leo West Roesch; daughter, Kathryn Jean Dailey Sason and husband, Raphael Rousseau Sason, of Oneonta, NY and grandchildren, Sara Catlin Sason, Rachel Danielle Sason and partner, Wayne Goulet, Michelle Clara Sason; and several nieces and nephews.

He was predeceased by his wife, Barbara C. Dailey, who passed away on January 14th, 2012 and his sisters, Emogene Deutsch and Irene Fox.

A memorial service for both Willis "Bill" and Barbara Dailey will be held 1:00 PM on Saturday, May 26, 2012 at the Lewis, Hurley, Pietrobono Funeral Home, with the Rev. Teressa Sivers, pastor at the First United Methodist Church, officiating; followed by internment with Military Honors at the Glenwood Cemetery in Oneonta.

Donations may be sent to The Glenwood Cemetery, PO Box 854, Oneonta, NY 13820, The Oneonta Concert Association http://www.oneonta.edu/oca/ or to the AAUW, 1111 16th St NW, Washington, DC 20036, www.aauw.org.

Expressions of sympathy may be sent to the family at, www.lhpfuneralhome.com

Arrangements are under the guidance of the Lewis, Hurley & Pietrobono Funeral Home, 51 Dietz St., Oneonta.