Obituaries: Philip Bruce Conklin
November 01, 2015
Philip Bruce ConklinNovember 2, 1927 - October 28, 2015
Bud Conklin, an outdoorsman, sportsman, Teamster, and father of three children, died peacefully at his home in Cornwall-on-Hudson on October 28 at the age of 87.
He was born Philip Bruce Conklin in Central Valley, NY, on November 2, 1927 to John and Jennie Marie Conklyn. His father changed the spelling of the family name for a period in the 1930s, according to Bud, to resolve the confusion of mail deliveries among the many Conklin families then living in that community. Bud learned the skills of year-round fishing, deer-, duck-, pheasant-, and bear-hunting, and responsible gun ownership as a child during the Great Depression, accompanying his father into the woods on excursions to find food for his family. As a teenager, he emerged as a star baseball pitcher for Central Valley High School under the coaching of George Balcanoff.
Reminiscing in 1988 about the days in the 1940s when local baseball teams played a major role in the civic life of Hudson Valley communities, Newburgh Evening News sports columnist Bo Gill named Bud Conklin as one of just a handful of regional baseball pitchers who “drew record crowds to high school games along with major league scouts.” These other star athletes included Bud’s lifelong friends Bob Pelz and “Bullet” Bob Hansen.
The first person in his family to obtain a high school diploma, in 1945, Bud passed up the opportunity to pursue a major league baseball career in favor of establishing his family in the Hudson Valley. He married Elizabeth Ann (Betty) Conk of Newburgh on Fathers’ Day, 1953, settling initially in the town of Woodbury and, later in Cornwall on Hudson, being the first person in his family to buy a home. Bud retired in 2000 from the Town of Woodbury Highway Department, his final place of employment after a long career working as a freight handler for the McLean Trucking Company and as a milk tank truck driver for the Provan Company. He was proud, also, to have worked on the road construction crews that made the New York State Thruway possible in 1954. He is survived by his longtime companion, LaVerne Roy of LaGrangeville, children Melissa and Kurt, grandchildren Bill, Daniel, Lisa, and Nicholas, and great grandson Jose Jr. His daughter Stasia predeceased him in 2013. His wife of 25 years, Betty Conklin, predeceased him in 1978. Bud was loved by his family and friends and will be remembered as a provider and for his good nature, generosity, hard work, and love for the outdoors.
Bud’s ashes will be interred with his wife Betty in the Cemetery of the Highlands, Highland Mills, NY.
Arrangements are under the direction of James F. Lulves Funeral Home. To send condolences please visit www.lulvesfuneralhome.com
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