Frank P. Della Posta

Frank was a lawyer in private practice since 1958 in Gowanda, N.Y., working until just a few days before he passed away.

Born March 15, 1931 in Amsterdam, N.Y., Frank was one of five children of Stella (Spine) and Frank Della Posta, who both emigrated from Italy. He attended Syracuse University and was the first person ever to be elected class president there for three consecutive years.

Following graduation in 1953, he continued on to Syracuse University Law School, graduating with a law degree in 1955. While matriculating at Syracuse, he spent one summer shoveling coal on barges that traveled throughout the great lakes and another working as a busboy at the Saranac Inn. It was during the latter that Kathleen Blakeslee, a Michigan native who was also working a summer job at the resort, caught his eye. The couple married on Jan. 25, 1958 in Amsterdam and they spent their honeymoon night at the Palm Gardens Motel in Gowanda, where Frank had accepted an offer of a law partnership with Charles Kysor. The pair worked together at the Kysor & Della Posta Law Offices from 1958 to 2001, when Charles passed away.

His legal work over the years involved a wide range of cases, from criminal and civil litigation to family law, focusing more on real estate and probate law during the latter part of his career. He was a member of both the Cattaraugus and Erie County Bar Associations and was heavily involved in the Law Day programming for the Cattaraugus County Bar Association.

In 1973, with four children, the family moved from Perrysburg to Center Street in Gowanda, where he lived for the remainder of his life. All children survive Mark (Annette), Lisa (Betsy Armes), Joseph (Melissa) and Sara (Michael Kuennen); and eight grandchildren: Greg, Kristen (Chimera), Natalie, Daniel, Ethan, Tyler, Maxim and Cole Kuennen; and two great-grandchildren: Tyler Della Posta Jr. and Layla Kathleen Chimera.

He was predeceased by his wife, Kathy in 2017; his parents; sisters: Rose and Christina; and brother, Joseph. Another brother, Thomas survives.

Family and friends can call on Friday, Nov. 11 from 3 to 7 p.m. at the Schindler Funeral Home, 44 Center St., in Gowanda. A funeral Mass will be held at 10 a.m. on Saturday, Nov. 12, as St. Joseph’s Catholic Church in Gowanda.

In lieu of flowers, donations can be made to the Cattaraugus County Department of the Aging at https://cattfoundation. fcsuite.com/erp/donate/create/fund?funit_id=1128 or mailed to the Department of the Aging, 1 Leo Moss Drive, Olean, NY 14760.