Obituary of Joseph G. Gdovin

On May 16, 2024, Joe Gdovin passed away in the mountaintop log cabin that he built in retirement. He was 79 years old. Born in Binghamton on July 27, 1944, and raised on Mather Street, Joe graduated from St. Patrick's Academy and Broome Technical College where he trained to become a civil engineer. He married his soul mate and high school sweetheart, Fran. They made a home in Conklin where they raised their daughters Anita and Lynette, always the apples of his eye, near the banks of the Susquehanna River. Characteristically, he memorialized it simply as "ever so humble," and as a place where they loved, lived, and cried together. Always down-to-earth and good humored, Joe devoted his career to the care and safety of the people of the Southern Tier. As a leader of New York State Department of Transportation District 9, he supervised the construction and maintenance of roads, highways, and bridges that hundreds of thousands of people rely on daily. Later he became renowned as a safety coordinator who was requested to make presentations throughout the United States, and he regularly lent his expertise to legal teams representing NYSDOT in state and federal court proceedings. An avid hunter, gardener, cook, and fisherman, the great outdoors provided a lifetime spiritual connection to the world around him, to the friends and family members who had passed before him, and the people that he kept closest to his heart. These included the members of Kirkwood Sportsmen Association, which had elected him president, several of whom joined him for annual pilgrimages to hunt game in Wyoming. Family, however, was his watchword, and his definition of it extended broadly to his in-laws, coworkers, neighbors, and friends. And while always intentionally modest personally, he brimmed with pride over the home life he shared with Fran, the tremendous accomplishments of Lyn and Anita, and the burgeoning potential of his grandchildren. In them, he departed this world self-assured that his legacy is indelible. Joseph G. Gdovin was predeceased by his parents Joseph L. and Helen (Sedor) Gdovin. In addition to many close friends and other family members, he is survived by his wife of 57 years, Frances (Mannino) Gdovin of the Town of Binghamton; their daughter Anita Johnson and son-in-law Mark Johnson, their daughter Lynette Bertelmann and son-in-law Doug Bertelmann, their grandson Thomas Romano, and their granddaughter Victoria Romano ---all of Fort Mill, South Carolina; his sisters Diane Williams and Rita McHugh;, and several adored nephews and nieces including his goddaughter, Carrie Goodwin. A Funeral Mass will be offered at St. Patrick's Church, corner of Oak and Leroy Streets, Binghamton, Monday at 11 a.m. Burial will be in Vestal Hills Memorial Park. The family will receive friends at the J.A. McCormack Sons Funeral Home, 141 Main Street, Binghamton, Sunday from 2 to 4 p.m. In lieu of flowers, the family requests donations be sent to the Rochester Regional Health's Sands-Constellation Heart Institute. The Mass will be livestreamed at www.sta-sp.org