Gansevoort, NY – William Jacob Gifford, Sr. age 76 of 1 Gifford Lane, Gansevoort, died peacefully in his sleep Tuesday morning, April 19, 2016 at his family farmhouse on Gifford Lane. His wife, Linda, and son, William Jr., were with him at the time.
William was born on October 7, 1939, in Schuylerville. He was the only child of Raymond F. Gifford and Anna C. (Losaw) Gifford of Gansevoort.
William married Nancy C. Deyette of Hudson Falls on June 6, 1959. They met at a square dance hosted by a local Grange Hall. Together they had five children: William, Nancy, Penny, Chan, and Raymond.
William married his second wife, Linda L. Valyer of Gansevoort, on January 19, 1976. Together they had three children: Mae, Tessie, and Wendy.
William was born and raised on the family dairy farm of Raymond and Anna and worked it full time. Farming was in his blood. As a boy, Bill was active in 4-H winning awards in produce, poultry, and woodshop year after year. He attended Gansevoort Elementary School and graduated from South Glens Falls High in 1957 at age 17. After graduation, he worked full time on the family farm.
While his parents ran the dairy business, Bill developed a small poultry and produce farm on some family property on Jewel Road. He worked many late nights building hen houses, planting vegetables, pulling weeds (while one of his kids held a lead-light or kerosene lantern) even after putting in a full day of work at his parent’s farm. During the 1960’s he developed a home delivery egg route selling eggs and produce door-to-door to customers throughout South Glens Falls, parts of Ft Edward, Hudson Falls, and Glens Falls. People used to refer to Bill as “The Eggman” during that period.
After his father, Raymond, died unexpectedly in September 1969, Bill was thrust into running the dairy farm full time. Bill was like a new-born calf having little experience running a large operation on his own. This put great stress on his family but Bill’s grit, perseverance, and a few key people including George Pfeifer of Agway, and fellow farmers Dick Coffinger, Bud Vance, and Harry Thomas, appearing at various times helped him hold everything together and the farm expanded over the following decades under his management.
Bill diversified the farm’s income among dairy, cattle dealing, produce, baled hay, custom baling, and building wood hay wagons and feedbunks. During the spring of 1976, William and a few other farmers got together and formed a farmer’s market in Glens Falls. The first Glen’s Falls Farmer’s Market opened July 21, 1976 with William and Linda Gifford as a charter producer. The farm under Linda Gifford now participates or helps run seven local Farmer’s Markets, including the one in the Village of Gansevoort.
One of Bill’s loves was the calling of an auctioneer. During August 1970, he went to Miller’s Livestock Market in Argyle to sell a calf. Late that night he came home to tell his family he got a job sorting calves every Wednesday at Miller’s. This became a job he loved because of the excitement of cattle, auctioneering, wheeling-dealing, and trading. Mentors he met while working at Miller’s such as Rob Lee Miller, Gerald Connor, Joe Killian, Dr. John Meek, and Jimmy Sloan, helped him gain experience and how to read people. He worked every auction that Miller’s conducted from August, 1970 until it closed around 2008. He missed only 1 day over that 38 year period and that was to attend the birth of his last child, Wendy, during June, 1983.
Bill’s hobbies were county fairs, cattle and machinery auctions, Independence Day, and Christmas. Most non-essential work stopped so the family could attend local county fairs. Bill was known as having an ample gift of gab and would talk for hours if the topics were lively. He didn’t drink, smoke, or imbibe in dirty jokes. Cursed a little. He didn’t like putting on airs – what you saw is what you got. He was a straight talker and could say a lot in a few words. Keeping things simple made him content.
He also loved carpentry and building things from wood. All the buildings on the farm are built from lumber cut from the farm wood lot. His casket is made by his sons and grandsons cut from two Cherry trees felled from the family woodlot on the day he died.
While he never took a vacation or traveled (he went to Vermont a few times for a fair or machinery auction) he could hold his own in debates on lots of national and world topics. His house was always open to friends, neighbors, and strangers. He had a dim view of politicians and felt that the people were best served if government power was held at local levels. About 16 years ago, a news reporter asked him if he ever considered running for political office. He deadpanned to the cameraman and said, “May God strike me down if I do.”
William was an American in the true sense of America’s founding values. During Independence Day of 1975 his son, Bill, Jr., had some fireworks to light. Bill Sr. invited a few close neighbors and friends, started a fire, cooked a few hot dogs and waited for twilight. Less than a dozen people watched a small firework show that night. Over the decades, William and his son, Bill, sponsored and organized the show with all labor and expense provided by the family. Now the show is viewed by thousands of people lining the country roads for miles around to view the fireworks among the lazy rolling green hills of Northumberland.
During 1982 as Independence Day was nearing, Bill had an idea to build a few patriotic floats on hay wagons. He called a few neighbors and convinced them to do the same. Around noon on July 4th, the handmade, thrown-together floats assembled along Gifford Lane. At 1:00 in the afternoon Bill touched off a homemade cannon and the first Gansevoort Parade was underway to the sudden surprise of the town as it meandered up and down the main streets of the village. It became a popular town function. The only rules were no commercial or political floats - only floats made by families, or town and village groups. He believed that parades should be led not by politicians, but by Americans who had to pay the taxes. William believed this type of Independence Day celebration was better for all communities because of the absence of commercialization. It was a celebration planned by families, run by families, and for the benefit of all.
William had a large open heart for all young people. Many teen-agers worked for William on the farm over the years. The ones who lasted more than a month went on to become responsible, hard-working, no excuse type of workers and are doing well. He expected best efforts with no excuses from his children. Hard work was a virtue. He believed it was child abuse to not make your child work. He lived it and he expected people around him to live it too… or be left behind. All of his children were raised in this manner and they are better for it.
As hard as that may sound, he was also a true Santa Clause with the kids. Christmas was his favorite holiday. He believed in the miracles and goodwill that abound at Christmas. Again, he opened his house to friends and neighbors by sponsoring a visit from Santa every year. Santa would come during mid-December at the Gifford house and delight the village’s kids of all ages. All were welcome. He also opened his home to traveling pastors who were doing local tent revivals. Reverend Hardy was a regular in the 1980’s. So was Leroy Harwood in the 1970’s
He truly was an enigma in the sense that he was very humble and shied away from the spotlight disliking any attention and yet, he grew to be a larger-than-life character wherever he spent time and became known, but he especially touched many souls within the Village of Gansevoort and the Town of Northumberland. The soil and people of this area was his life. He raised his children and grandchildren to be the same.
On February 11, 2016 the Town of Northumberland Board of Directors proclaimed July 4th to be William Gifford Day for the Town of Northumberland. William was grateful but didn’t think he deserved it. From the way he looked at it, he was just doing his civic duty as a humble resident of a small town.

William was predeceased by his father, Raymond F. Gifford, his mother, Anna C (Losaw) Gifford, first wife, Nancy C (Deyette) Gifford, and a son, Chan Sherman Gifford.
Survivors include his wife, Linda (Valyer) Gifford of Gansevoort, two sons: William J. Gifford, Jr. with his wife Joan Gifford of Palm Harbor, FL and Raymond F. Gifford with his partner Mark Ouellet of Manchester, NH, five daughters: Nancy L. Douglas, Penny A. Hargett and her husband Eric Sr., Mae S. Gifford, Tessie I. Winslow and her husband William, and Wendy L. Gifford all of Gansevoort, daughter-in-law Amy L. Bingham of Greenfield, and foster daughter Lori Locke of Wilton, 18 grandchildren: Jennifer Enchasi of Gansevoort, Ryland Gifford and Luke Gifford of Palm Harbor, FL, Matthew Douglas, Eric Hargett Jr., Nicole Cook, Bryan S. Gifford Bingham, Monica Bingham, Jeff Bingham, Noah Provost, Lilly Prouty, Aaron Prouty, Angelina Haese, William Winslow III, Jacob Winslow, Isabell Winslow, and Andrew Gifford all of Gansevoort, and 6 great-grandchildren: Wyatt Douglas, Mia Douglas, Adalia Hargett, Autumn Hargett, Eric Hargett III, and Catherine Bingham all of Gansevoort.
Bill will also be missed by his closest surviving friends Dick Coffinger, John Vance, Gary Lanphear, and Gwen Eastman all of Gansevoort.
A graveside service will be held Saturday, April 23 at 1:00 PM at the Gansevoort Cemetary on Route 50 in Gansevoort.
A reception to celebrate William’s full life will follow at the Gansevoort Volunteer Fire Dept. at 1870 RT 32N in Gansevoort immediately following the services.

The family suggests holding your donations and spend them on a non-related needy child at Christmas time in remembrance of William’s spirit or you may give to your local Hospice organization (Angels – every one of them). Also, take your family to see an Independence Day Parade this year and remember William Gifford’s example. He would like that.

Arrangements are in the care of M.B. Kilmer Funeral Home 82 Broadway Fort Edward, NY 12828. To view Bill’s Book of memories and post online condolences, please visit www.kilmerfuneralhome.com.

To send flowers to the family or plant a tree in memory of William Jacob Gifford, please visit our Heartfelt Sympathies Store.