Francis Wyss, 93
Francis H. Wyss, formerly of East Hampton, died on Saturday at the Orchard Nursing Home in Granville, N.Y. He was 93 and had been in deteriorating health for several years.
In World War II, from 1943 to 1945, Mr. Wyss, whom friends called Frank, served with distinction in northern France, the Ardennes, the Rhineland, and Central Europe. His family wrote that “because of his heroic service, he was awarded the American Theater Ribbon, the European-African-Middle Eastern Campaign Medal with four Bronze Stars, the Good Conduct Medal, and the World War II Victory Medal.”
He was born in Brooklyn, one of four children of the former Theresa Zihlar and Joseph Wyss. The family moved to Deer Park, where he grew up and went to school. After returning from the war, Mr. Wyss worked as a driver for Duggan’s Bed Company and later for Joe’s Excavating Company, which was founded by his brother, Joe Wyss.
Mr. Wyss was married first to the former Mary Traffica, with whom he had one son. She died in 1974. In 1976 he married the former Ethel Grover Mullen of East Hampton. They lived in the house she had built here in 1954, where he enjoyed gardening.
He continued working for his brother into his 70s. Even at 86, he was still working, as a part-time custodian for East Hampton High School, “just to keep himself busy,” his family wrote. He was a member of the congregation of St. Luke’s Episcopal Church in East Hampton, and a lifetime member of the Veterans of Foreign Wars.
Mr. Wyss and his wife made many happy trips in their motor coach, traveling through more than a dozen states before 2001, when she died. In 2013, he moved to Hudson Falls to be closer to his stepchildren. When he was 91, they said, he traveled to the island of Jamaica to be at a grandson’s wedding.
He and his son, James Wyss, went to the races often in Saratoga Springs, N.Y. “Frank was a generous, gentle man, never raising his voice to anyone, and he would give the shirt off his back to anyone in need,” said his children.
His bother died before him, as did his sister Theresa Wood. In addition to his son, who lives in Saratoga, and his stepchildren, John Mullen of Lufkin, Tex., Phillip Mullen Sr. of Hyattsville, Md., Edward Mullen, and Patricia Boucher, both of Hudson Falls, he leaves another sister, Marie Trabona of Deer Park. Eighteen grandchildren, 22 great-grandchildren, and 4 great-great-grandchildren survive as well.
The family will receive visitors today from 7 to 9:30 p.m. at the Mangano Funeral Home, 1701 Deer Park Avenue in Deer Park. There will be a short funeral service there tomorrow at 11 a.m., followed by burial with military honors at Calverton National Cemetery in Wading River. Donations have been suggested to the Cerebral Palsy Foundation, 3 Columbus Circle, 16th Floor, New York 10019, or online at yourcpf.org. Condolences can be left at manganofh.com or carletonfuneralhome.net.