Lansing Funeral Home

Barbara Olmsted Thomas, 94, passed away at home on November 5, 2023, in Ithaca, NY. She was born February 13, 1929, in Ottawa, Ontario, to Howard Russell and Claire Robertson Olmsted. She was predeceased in 2020 by her beloved husband of 69 years, Herbert Edwin Thomas. She was also predeceased by a brother Charles Robertson Olmsted in 1944, a sister Cathryn Olmsted Laver in 2019, and a grandson Will Brenton Thomas in 2021. Barbara is survived by her four children: Joanne Thomas Asbill (Henry) of Washington, DC, Herbert Charles Thomas (Brooke) of Baltimore, MD, Heather Thomas Stevens (John) of Ithaca, NY, and Ruth Thomas Suh (Chan) of New York, NY, as well as 14 grandchildren and three great...

Rebecca Lin "Becca" Harber, 72, passed away in Ithaca, NY, on November 16, 2022. She was born September 30, 1950, in Chicago, IL, to William Harber, a college chemistry professor, and Adrienne Harber, a community activist and child wellbeing proponent. Becca grew up on the South Side of Chicago and graduated from Hyde Park High School. Excelling in academics, she received a full merit-based scholarship to Cornell University. This was the beginning of her love affair with Ithaca and the incredible people she met in that community. Becca loved the outdoors and studied Ornithology at a young age. Being in Nature transformed her. As a child, she learned to play the piano and taught herself to...

Robert A. Brenner, 91, recently of Ithaca, NY, died on January 12, 2021. He was born on July 5, 1929 and grew up in Buffalo, NY. He attended Buffalo public schools, Phillips Academy at Andover, and Cornell University before attending and completing his orthopedic surgery residency at the University of Buffalo School of Medicine. He was a Fellow of the American Academy of Orthopedic Surgeons. He practiced at Auburn Memorial Hospital and the Syracuse VA Medical Center. He volunteered at Chiang Mai, Thailand; Miraj, India; Surabaya, Indonesia; and the Westminster Manor in Auburn, NY. He served as an elder at the First Presbyterian Church in Auburn. Bob and his wife of 54 years, Carol,...

Barbara Jean Bills, 78, of Lansing, NY died at the Cayuga Medical Center, Ithaca, NY on February 9, 2020 after a short illness. Born in Adrian, MI on November 4, 1941 to Clifford and Marie (Hagen) Jarboe, Barbara was the youngest of nine children and spent her early years on her parents' farm near Adrian. She graduated from Adrian Catholic Central High School in 1959. After graduating, she was employed in the office of a local insurance agency in Adrian. She met the love of her life, Nelson Bills, on a blind date when she was 16 years old. She and Nelson married when he was an undergraduate student at Michigan State University. They began a 59-year journey that included three children and...

Russell Dean Sprague of Lansing died on Monday January 20, 2020, at the age of 92. He was born in Rochester, NY, to William Delos and Mary Axelby Sprague. The family moved to Little Valley in southwestern New York in 1937. Russ graduated from Little Valley High School in 1945. Two days after graduation, he started basic training at Sampson Navy Base on Seneca Lake. He served on the light cruiser USS Philadelphia. After the war, he entered Cornell University College of Agriculture, receiving an associate degree in 1948. In 1951, Russ married Mary Doyle of Salamanca. Together they had four daughters. His first job was as a salesman of Ford Tractor products. In 1953 began a new career...

September 17, 1928 - September 20, 2019 Barbara passed away peacefully on 9/20/2019 in Cortand, New York. Barbara was born and raised in Newton, Mass., and spent the last half of her life living in Atlantis, Florida where she enjoyed many friends, golfing, and the community of Atlantis. She was married to Joe Veaner, who pre-deceased her in 2016, for 68 years. She was a kind, warm, loving, thoughtful, generous and humorful woman who touched the lives of so many. She was a loving grandmother, mother, and friend. She is survived by her son, Dan (Karen), her grandchildren Ben (Famirka) and Allison (Hannah), and daughter Betsy Rosander (Paul), and her family. In addition she is survived by her...

Robin Kay (Goetz) Wharton, 58, a resident of Ithaca, NY, for the past three years, passed away on Wednesday, September 11, 2019. Robin lived most of her life in Stevensville and Bridgman, Michigan. She is a 1980 graduate of Lakeshore High School Special Education Class in Stevensville. A highlight of her senior year, Robin won the first place trophy on the Lakeshore Special Olympics Swim Team in Michigan. Robin is survived by her mother, Betty J. Goetz of Ithaca, NY, and a brother, Kent L. Goetz of Ithaca, NY; aunts, Joyce (Craig) Deardorff and Georgia (Ralph) Forsyth; and many cousins and friends. Preceding her in death is her father, Donald H. Goetz, and brother, David J. Goetz. Robin...