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Arthur L. Blymiller
 
?, 1952 - September
16, 2023
Arthur Leroy Blymiller Jr.
(Art, Leroy, Bly) of Clinton, NY,
passed away on September 16th,
2023. The son of Arthur L.
Blymiller Sr. and Lauretta Gibson
Blymiller, he was born in
Pittsburgh, PA and raised in Rome,
NY.
Art is survived by his wife of 43
years, Christine (Crissy) Herbst
Blymiller. He is predeceased by
brother-in-law Peter Herbst
(Bridget). He also survived by his
sisters and brothers-in-law,
Patricia Herbst Burke (Barry) of
Buffalo, NY, and Barbara Herbst
Banghart (Jim) of Atlanta, GA, and
several nieces and nephews.
Art was active from the start. He
began competing on local swim
teams at a young age and continued
through high school leading to
working as a lifeguard for many
summers at Lake Delta State Park.
He was also an avid kite surfer,
wind surfer, sailor, skier,
snowboarder, hockey player, golfer
and hunter among many other sports
and activities. Windsurfing, in
particular, was a favorite as he
owned Wicked Winds surf shop in
Sylvan Beach, NY, where he taught
many people across the community
to enjoy the sport. Another
favorite time in his life was the
10+ years he was involved in the
Niddle sailboat race on the St.
Lawrence River.
Art loved to chase the winter snow
across the Rockies for winter
sports as well as the surf on the
East coast of the Outer Banks for
water sports. In fact, he loved
the mountains so much he became
the ultimate ski bum in
Breckenridge, CO before graduate
school. A longtime motorcyclist,
Art enjoyed riding the backroads
of Upstate New York.
Leroy had a passion for hiking and
always enjoyed a day spent alone
in the woods. He summited an
impressive 42 of 46 of the high
peaks in the Adirondacks as well
as many local hikes with Crissy
and their three dogs, Sassy,
Madison, and Lucy.
Ever the music enthusiast, Leroy
spent his life learning and
playing instruments. He loved to
jam out, whether it was at home
playing for Crissy and the dogs or
at the beach with his friends in
the impromptu pick-up band, GGB.
He was known for his vast vinyl
album collection and deep music
knowledge, often passing his
passion on to those around him.
Leroy had an insatiable thirst for
learning and could hold
conversations across an impressive
array of topics, with an uncanny
knack for recalling the smallest
details from memory. You would
always learn something from a
conversation with him.
Art attended Rome Free Academy
before studying psychology at
Plattsburg University and then
getting his dual Master's degree
in school psychology and
statistics at Albany State
University. He worked as a school
psychologist for over 35 years,
many of which were at Hamilton
Central School. He was a favorite
among the students there, serving
as an assistant hockey coach and
even as a regular lunchtime chess
opponent for them.
Bly's lust for life, generous
spirit and memorable sense of
humor endeared him to countless
friends and colleagues. In fact,
he was known for his many lifelong
friendships. He will be dearly
missed, but his memory will surely
be kept alive by all those who
shared an adventure, a deep
conversation, a ski trip, a
musical passion, or a laugh with
him.
A celebration of his life will be
held at a later date.
In lieu of flowers, Leroy would
love for you to enjoy a walk in
the woods.
Funeral arrangements are entrusted
to the Barry Funeral Home, 807 W.
Chestnut Street.
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Art
and I weren't that close. He was more
Mark Fausner's friend, and I hung out
with Mark and Dave Castor a bit. I
also saw Art at a reunion or two, I
believe.
Art was part of our LSD gang back in
high school. We'd often gather at
Kuzma's house on Linden and Black
River Blvd and trip all night long. I
once freaked Art out badly by doing a
Groucho Marx cigar routine in his face
while tripping. For many years
thereafter, each time I saw him, he
would remind me of that episode, eyes
wide open, imaginary cigar in face,
laughing hysterically. Lots of crazy
memories from back then.
Art was also a card-carrying member of
the Bombastic Beeping Brothers, our
talent show gig in 12th grade. Nine of
us seniors ran up to the stage in
hippie costumes, tripping our brains
out, making all sorts of random,
cacophonous beeping noises, which
finally morphed to Donovan's Atlantis.
Unfortunately, they dropped the
curtain on us prematurely. We hippies
could rub folks the wrong way. Art
added tremendously to the mind-bending
noises by hooking us up to a
reverberator. It was our first
encounter with such a contraption. Art
was ahead of his time.
May he rest in peace. - Philip
Domenico |
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We were sitting next to each
other the first day back, senior year,
in Economics class, and we started
talking about what we did over the
summer. Then he said, " I went to
this great concert..... in this place
called.... Woodstock - Terry McMaster
I always enjoyed being around Art;
always greeted you with a smile .
It’s very sad he has passed. - Julian
LoRusso |
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Memory eternal, Art. He was
kind to this poor, lost, naive immigrant
boy. We shared a German class with
Frau Hefty. Swapped a couple of emails a
few years ago. - Steve Miroy
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I really
enjoyed reading the updated obituary for
Art (Leroy) Blymiller. I never
knew Art was called Leroy, he never told
us that, or maybe embraced that name
after our time at RFA. All the
details of his interests in the outdoors
and with music certainly resonate with
how I remember Art in our frequent
encounters at our RFA outings. It
was such a blessing to have known Art,
and sad after graduation, and starting
our lives with our families we lost
track of each other. Hope his
family is doing OK; they lost a great
family man who loved life, grand kids,
the outdoors, vinyl albums, music, wind
surfing, and his friends.
Take care everyone, God bless, and I
cannot wait until our next encounter to
give you all a hug. As Art
wished, I’m also going to take a nice
walk in the woods. - Julian LoRusso
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I enjoyed reading the obituary
as well and hope everyone does and sees
the life Art lead. Such a rich, full
life in upstate New York, enjoying all
the seasons and all the senses.
Part Renaissance man and part Thoreau,
enjoying nature and giving back to the
next generation in the school.
Hamilton is a real cross section of
students from the Colgate college
professors' kids to the farm
families kids there. You have to
catch the wind on Oneida Lake , no
sailing on Lake Delta. What a life, what
a person, an example how to live. - Joan
Serino
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