Obituary of Sylvia V. Olive

Sylvia V. Olive, 87, of Delhi, passed away Wednesday, July 17, 2019 at O’Connor Hospital following a short illness.

Born on January 22, 1932 in Syracuse, Sylvia was the daughter of the late Leonard and Clara (Kerr) VanBramer.

Sylvia attending school in Syracuse until 6^th grade, moving to Norwich thru 9^th grade and graduated from Oneonta High School, class of 1949 where she was on the cheerleading squad.

She worked for the telephone company and in 1953 attended SUNY Oneonta, until she married John F. Olive in December 1954.  The couple then raised 3 children, Jeffrey, Scot and Stacy. She continued her education in 1973 and received a BS Degree in Elementary Education and followed with 2 years of grad work in counseling.  She then went on to work as Health Social Services Director for Delaware County Head Start.  Sylvia worked as a substitute teacher at Delaware Academy, Downsville and South Kortright Schools and coached cheerleading at DA for two years.  She worked in the pro-shop at Delhi College Golf Course for 10 years and also worked as a test scorer at SUNY Delhi for 10 years.

Sylvia was a devoted member of St. John’s Episcopal Church, serving on the Vestry and also spent 49 years on the Alter Guild. She was also a member of the Eastern Star and a Lifetime member of the Delhi College Golf Course.

Over the years she enjoyed camping, reading, crossword puzzels, bridge and playing golf.  One of her greatest joys was holiday and summer vacations with her children.  Later on she also enjoyed traveling with John.

Besides her husband John, Sylvia is survived by her children:  Jeffrey (Ann) Olive of Virginia Beach, VA, Stacy (John) Paffenroth of Redlands, CA and Scot (Sheila) Olive of Brooklyn; grandchildren: Josh (Pamela), Samantha (Bijan), Matthew (Heidi), Dylan, Chelsea (Cameron), Eamon and Desmond; great-grandchildren: Jackson, Ryan, Cohen, Oliver, River and Leland.

Sylvia felt fortunate to have had “so much” in life—family, friends, church - nothing she longed for or needed- Ever!

The Holy Eucharist of the Faithful Departed will be celebrated at 3PM on Sunday, July 21, 2019 at  St. John's Episcopal Church, 134 1/2 Main Street, Delhi.

In lieu of flowers contributions may be made to St. John’s Episcopal Church or to foodforthepoor.org      

Please visit www.macarthurfh.com to share a condolence with the Olive family.