Obituary of Gary DeFraia

Gary Steven DeFraia of Tillson, NY, born to Salvatore and Anna of Poughkeepsie, NY, husband to Isabelle DeFraia, father to Christopher and Daniel, and friend to so many, died May 19, 2016. He was 64. Gary was a talented and accomplished person. He was passionate about his work, obtaining a Ph.D in social welfare at Hunter College, and had recently published several articles in international and national journals, while also consulting with others in his field. He was most proud of his work at Magellan, setting up programs for returning vets with post-traumatic stress, for which he was recognized with his team by the Department of Defense. However, Gary would be the first to say it is not the "accomplishments that make the man." The man most loved by family and friends was the man who was passionate about learning, passionate about questioning what you took for granted to be true, passionate about his music, and his love of nature. It will be his quiet and intimate acts of emotional charity, his consistent devotion to family and friends, and his "Dad humor" that will be so missed. He wrote the DeFraia family history, traveling to Italy to write about five generations of DeFraias and their collective journey from Italy to upstate New York. He wrote songs for his children when they were young. He counseled friends. Gary's friends were a significant part of his life. To his college reunion friends, his golf and basketball buddies, his biking friends, his childhood friends, and to his family, particularly his nieces and nephews, Gary would want to say thank you for your love and comradery all these years. As Gary was a great lover of the Mohonk Preserve, his family asks that in lieu of flowers, those so inclined can, in Gary's memory, donate to the Mohonk Preserve at http://www.mohonkpreserve.org/donate, or by mail to Mohonk Preserve P.O. Box 715 New Paltz, N.Y. 12561. Calling hours will take place Tuesday, May 24, 2016 from 4pm to 8pm at the Timothy P. Doyle Funeral Home 371 Hooker Avenue Poughkeepsie, NY 12603. Funeral services will take place Wednesday, May 25, 2016 at 10am in the Funeral Home. Burial will follow in Highland Cemetery, Highland, NY. For directions or to leave an online condolence please visit www.doylefuneralhome.com.