Laing Funeral Home

12/26/2025

https://laingfuneralhome.com/tribute/details/890/Fr-James-Vacco-OFM/obituary.html -start

Fr. James Vacco, 70, passed away on Friday, Dec. 19, 2025 at Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary Friary in Pulaski, Wisconsin. A beloved educator, pastor and counselor, he served as a Franciscan friar for 48 years and a priest for 43 years. Born on December 28, 1954, in Buffalo, New York, to the l...

12/19/2025

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Raymond E. Witte, age 95, of Hamburg, New York, died Friday, December 19, 2025. Ray was born December 24, 1929. He was the son of the late Richard and Amelia Witte. He married his loving wife Marjorie on November 15, 1958. He served in the United State Army from 1951-1953. He was the devoted husband...

12/15/2025

“Christmas, my child, is love in action. Every time we love, every time we give, it’s Christmas.”
--Dale Evans


The holiday season always sees an increase in requests for donations to help those less fortunate by providing food, clothing, and gifts for families who otherwise would not have a Christmas. Unfortunately, those needs are not limited to one particular time of the year. Let's remember that many of our neighbors need our help on a daily basis throughout the year.

This year make a simple vow to honor the spirit of Christmas all year and let it show in your actions. Christmas is but one day on the calendar but, through giving and caring for others, its spirit can live all year and shine as a beacon of hope in a world that often seems especially troubled.

Merry Christmas and blessings to all.

12/08/2025

"Yesterday ended last night. Every day is a new beginning. Learn the skill of forgetting. And move on.”-- Norman Vincent Peale

How true. Every day truly is a new beginning.... a chance to start over, to do new things, to make new mistakes and learn from them. It’s also a chance to apologize and make amends to someone you may have wronged, and a chance to forget things that have been holding you back.

It does no good to fret about the past and worry about what “might have been.” But that’s sometimes easier said than done! We’ve all had those nights when we’ve been wide awake in bed stewing over the past day and worrying. How much better we would all feel the next day if we could just put things behind us and move on.

Brighter days lie ahead if we can just remember that “yesterday” is over and it’s time to move forward.

12/07/2025

https://laingfuneralhome.com/tribute/details/887/Mary-Cleary/obituary.html -start

Mary Lynn Cleary (Owen), age 84, of Farmsville Station, New York, formerly of Eden, New York passed away on Friday, December 5, 2025 in Olean General Hospital surrounded by loving family. Mary was born in Eden, New York on October 11, 1941. She was the daughter of the late Clifford W. and Mildred C....

11/30/2025

Memory is the diary that we carry with us every day. Memory was given to us that we might have roses in December and snowflakes in July if we wish to call them up in our mind’s eye.

We are all ruled by our memories, but we can choose what we remember. A person with a bad memory is often not one who forgets, but one who remembers the wrong things.

You sometimes hear it said that someone has “long” memories. They cherish grudges for a lifetime. They remember unwise and hateful words or thoughtless acts which hurt. Others also might have “long” memories, but theirs are joyful and pleasant —the highlights of their years, favors done in an hour of need, support from friends, tender thoughts of family and friends, joyful times.

Memory is a God-given gift. The capacity to forget is also a gift when the things that need to be forgotten are bitter to the taste and incapable of being remedied.

Make remembrances a blessing, not a burden, in your life

11/24/2025

"When you get where you’re going, where will you be?”

This is a leading question that often is very provocative for people who are willing to do a little soul-searching. There are always some people who answer, “I’m not going anywhere, anymore.” They assume they are going nowhere in life, that they are standing still.

The fact is we’re always moving in some direction. There may be times when we might want to stop the world and get off, but life moves on, even when we think we are standing still.

Actually, none of us are created to stand still in life. We are created to grow and develop, not just in the beginning of life but through to the very end. From the moment of conception we are moving on a course that carries us through life to death, and we trust, to something beyond.

“Where will YOU be when you get where you’re going?”

11/20/2025

11/17/2025

“I am grateful for what I am and have. My thanksgiving is perpetual.”--Henry David Thoreau

While we celebrate Thanksgiving next week it would be wise to keep in mind this thought from Thoreau. We have so much to be grateful for in our lives, but we often forget to express our thanks or to even think how lucky we are.

Some people keep “Gratitude Journals” where each day they record something for which they are thankful. Whether you make it an actual written record or merely take time at the end of the day to reflect on what you received that day, this is a mindful way to keep gratitude uppermost in our minds. We should be happy to realize the blessings in our lives and how they have helped to shape us.

Our “thanksgiving” should be perpetual. Share your gratitude on Thanksgiving -- and every day!

11/15/2025

https://laingfuneralhome.com/tribute/details/885/R-Randall/obituary.html -start

It is with great sadness that we share the loss of a true Legend. Our community, our family, and countless friends mourn the passing of a remarkable man whose warmth, strength, and unwavering spirit made the world a better place. R. Ferris Randall, age 98, of Eden, New York died Friday, November 14,...