John DeLong

John DeLong, 60, passed away at home, with his family by his side, on Friday, February 7, after a long courageous battle with ALS.

Born in Schenectady, NY, on August 5, 1959, he was the son of the late Jesse and Shirley DeLong. John joined the service directly after high school and was very proud to have served in the US Army and later in the Reserves.

John worked as a manager for several area supermarkets after leaving the army before becoming head custodian at Lincoln Elementary School in Scotia. It was there that John was encouraged to pursue his lifelong dream of becoming a nurse. John attended Ellis School of Nursing, graduating as an RN in 2006. John was a wonderful, compassionate nurse and worked at Ellis Hospital in the ICU and emergency room as a critical care nurse. John also did contract work for several area nursing agencies and spent some time with VNS, where he was their wound care and pediatric nurse. John worked in the emergency room at the St. Clare's campus of Ellis Hospital until the onset of his illness.

John was a volunteer firefighter and EMT with the Beukendaal fire department and then later with the Scotia Fire Department, where he served as their medical captain during his last year of service with them.

John loved the Mets, the Jets and Syracuse basketball. He was an avid photographer and spent many hours photographing various forms of nature.

Predeceased by his parents and brother, Daniel DeLong, John is survived by his wife of 34 years, Bobbie DeLong, his children, Sonia Older (Mark) of Roanoke, VA, Kaitlyn DeLong of Scotia, John DeLong Jr. of Tempe, AZ and Jesse DeLong of Scotia, as well as his sister, Judie Taft (Larry) of Schenectady, his sister-in law, Claudia DeLong, of Delaware, Ohio, his grandchildren, Thomas DeLong, Christopher Ball and Natalie Older, several nieces and a nephew, his in-laws, Bob and Elsie Clayton of Ballston Spa and his best friend since childhood, Jim Rowland.

The family would like to thank Dr. Roberta Miller and the staff at the ALS center for the wonderful and compassionate care they gave John throughout his illness, as well as Dr. John Pezzulo, for all the years he served as John's primary doctor. They would also like to thank Amber, from Home Instead, for the compassionate way you helped to care for John during the last two years of his illness. And to Brenda, our visiting nurse- we can't thank you enough for all you did to care for him (and us) throughout these last two years of his life.

The family will receive visitors from 5-8 p.m. on Tuesday, February 11th, at the Bekkering-Ellis Funeral Home in Scotia, NY., with a memorial service to be held at 7:45. Interment will be in the Gerald B. Solomon Veterans cemetery, with a private service for the family at a date to be determined.

In lieu of flowers, contributions can be made in John's memory to the ALS center, Albany, NY, or to the charity of your choice .

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