Obituary of Paul R. Desnoyers

Paul R. Desnoyers Allegany, NY Paul R. Desnoyers, of Allegany, passed away Saturday (August 7, 2021) at the Olean General Hospital. Born June 28, 1945 in Utica, he was the son of Archibald R. and Ruth Arber Krebs Desnoyers. He was married to Harriet Penensick who predeceased him. On August 22, 1998, he married Esther Scott Barrett who survives. Paul earned his Master of Science in Mechanical Engineering in 1968 from the Rochester Institute of Technology. He worked in his field of expertise, engineering and manufacturing, for his whole career. Upon moving to the Olean area, he worked for Olean Advanced Products, then Sprague Electric Co., and from 1990 until his retirement in 2005 he worked for Cooper Power Systems. Paul always kept busy. His primary enjoyment came from spending time with his son Mike and his wife Steph, both of whom he loved very much. He thrived being in a blended family with the many grandchildren and great grandchildren, and was faithful in attending their concerts, sports events, and just hanging out with all of them. He gave of his time to others in so many ways, the longest being his years of dedication to both the Boy Scout and Cub Scout programs. In his younger years he held many positions, from both Cub Scout and Boy Scout leader to event planning, leadership training to District positions, and, in his semi-retirement, making sure every boy could afford a uniform. Many times he refused to accept payment from families he felt needed the help, and did so anonymously. He especially loved his years as a program camp leader at Elk Lick Scout Reserve. He supported many other organizations (also anonymously), including the Food Pantry, SPCA and any individual who would sell "items", or ask for donations for school or church sales. Often he volunteered baked goods for school sales, especially brownies and peanut butter fudge. Paul was interested in anything historical, including family trees, the Vietnam War, museums, and the Civil War, especially Gettysburg. He also enjoyed trains and train sets and would discuss these topics at length and watch all specials on PBS when they were offered. He kept track of all the trains parked, painted and restored on the Olean tracks on Constitution Avenue and would show them to visitors in our area. Nature was another topic he liked. He had sets of Peterson Nature Tapes and Books that he displayed in his office. He loved teaching scouts about nature, science and trains. He was especially fond of the Pfeiffer Nature Center. Paul loved to go camping, and being outdoors in nature was one of his favorite places to be. Paul was an active and avid supporter of the arts, especially music. He got his love of jazz and classical music from his father Archie and passed that passion on to his son Mike. He played trumpet in his younger years and always loved singing at Scout campfires. Paul always encouraged Mike's performances in music and encouraged his pursuit of music education as a career. "You were right, Dad." Paul was also a recovering alcoholic and had many years of sobriety thanks to friends he met in Alcoholics Anonymous. Over the years, he helped many people and was one of the persons who organized the Council on Alcoholism in Olean. Paul was a staunch Democrat and would “discuss politics almost anywhere unless Esther shut him up”. As a young man he was an anti-war protester, a hippie, but was forever a friend to many who remained friends his whole life. He also was very diverse and "suffered fools and rude people lightly". He was happiest when he was with his family, especially at the yearly Desnoyers’ family reunions where he and his brothers teased each other and their only sister. Over the years they would compete to see who did not do the stupidest thing that year. Paul won the most of all of them in the past 50 years and he was given the Lifetime Achievement "DF" Award. He is survived by his loving wife Esther; a son Michael R. (Stephanie) Desnoyers of San Francisco, CA; stepchildren Patrick (Jan) Barrett of Fort Wayne, IN, Paul (Tammy) Barrett of Peckville, PA, Phillip (Kelly Chafee) Barrett of Hinsdale, Peter (Angela) Barrett of Amherst and Jackline (Steve Aloi) Barrett Whitus of Allegany; 9 grandchildren Erin and Jason Barrett of Fort Wayne, IN, Courtney (Tim Stromeski) Hilliard of Olean, Cody Barrett of FL, Dylan Barrett of Peckville, Christopher Barrett of Freedom, Amy (Jacob) Goode of Olean, Ryan and Alyssa Barrett of Amherst; 8 great grandchildren Brooke Miller, Brandi Miller, Rabecca Miller, Penelope Goode, Declan Goode, Emily Stanford, Gavin Abrams and Angel Stromecki; his mother-in-law Ruth Penensick of Florida; 1 sister Cheryl Woloszyn of Fayetteville, NC; 2 brothers Mark Desnoyers of Plattsburgh, PA and Peter Desnoyers of Center Barnstead, NY; 4 sisters-in-law Carol (Randy) Curtis of Duke Center, PA, Patricia (Gary) Baldwin of Olean, Mary (Donald) Haddock of Grifton, NC and Dawn (Robert) Peters of Cuba; 1 brother-in-law Tommy (Celeste) Scott of Southern Pines, NC and many nieces and nephews. He was best friends with Bill and Allyson Sponsler of Portville and Dave and Connie Razey of Olean, and he enjoyed a special friendship with Sharon and Dave Orcutt of Portville and Dr. Srinivas Thandla and Dr. Sushama Kotmire of Allegany. In addition to his parents and his first wife, he was predeceased by a stepmother Mary Bowser Desnoyers, a mother-in-law Louise Decker Scott Maynard; a special nephew Matthew Woloszyn, a brother-in-law Tom Woloszyn; a father-in-law Dr. Louis Penensick and a sister-in-law Dawn Best. Family and friends are welcome to join for a celebration of Paul’s life being held picnic style, in Sizerville (PA) State Park (Pavilion 2) located in Portage Township in Cameron County, from 10-5pm on Saturday (September 11, 2021). Burial will be near his mother and father in nearby Portage Township Cemetery, about a mile down the road from the park. The burial will take place at noon. To celebrate Paul’s devotion to scouting, a potluck dinner at Elk Lick Scout Camp (Orlos Lodge) will be held on Saturday (September 4, 2021) from noon until 4pm. All are welcome, especially scouters. Please bring a dish to pass as well as your own drinks. Memorials, if desired, may be made to Allegany Rescue and EMS, Inc., PO Box 217, Allegany, NY 14706, Pfeiffer Nature Center, PO Box 802, Portville, NY 14770 or to Against All Oddz (Animal Rescue), 2166 Church Rd., Darien Center, NY 14040. Arrangements are under the direction of the Casey, Halwig & Hartle Funeral Home, Olean. Online condolences may be expressed at oleanfuneralhome.com.