COOPERSTOWN - Mrs. Wilma J. Dyer, 63, of Toddsville, died early Wednesday morning, Sept. 22, 2004, at the State University of New York Upstate Medical University Hospital in Syracuse.

She was born on May 21, 1941, at the Mary Imogene Bassett Hospital in Cooperstown, a daughter of Orlando and Nellie Mary (Page) Bridger.

She married William F. Higgins on July 12, 1958, in Cooperstown. He died on Sept. 12, 1974. She then married Roland G. Dyer on April 9, 1977, in Roseboom.

A lifelong resident, Wilma was raised in Cooperstown and attended Cooperstown Central School. Throughout the years she was employed as a waitress and a cook by several restaurants in Cooperstown, including The Short Stop Restaurant and The Cooperstown Diner, which she at one time owned and operated. She was also employed as a sales clerk and cashier by numerous other Cooperstown businesses, including McEwan Hardware, Smalley's Theater, Farm and Home and, for the past six years, the Cooperstown General Store. She also served at one time as a matron at the Otsego County Jail, and was an assistant teacher for the Head Start program.
A member of the Community Bible Chapel in Toddsville, Wilma enjoyed singing and collecting angel figurines. She was also fond of painting and other craft work.
Wilma is survived by her husband of 27 years, Roland G. Dyer, of Toddsville; two sons, Randy W. Higgins of Roseboom, and Scott A. Higgins and his wife, Mary, of Bristow, Va.; one daughter, Mrs. Laura R. Grup, and her husband, Bill, of Richfield Springs; seven grandchildren, April and Eliza Higgins, Kristen and Kyle Grup, and Nicole, Scott Jr., and Jacob Higgins; two great-grandsons, Adrian and Nicolas Higgins; eight sisters, Mrs. Hilda Pomeroy of Fulton, Mrs. Elizabeth O'Brien and Mrs. Mildred Jennings and her husband, Gerald, all of Cooperstown, Mrs. Cora Petrucco of Cortland, Mrs. Wanda Laymon and Mrs. Lois Smith and her husband, Eugene, all of Toddsville, Mrs. Evelyn Gray and her husband, Gordon, of Pierstown, and Joan Weiner of Cherry Valley ((this is sister Gladys' daughter)); two brothers, Herman Bridger and his wife, Ida Mae, of Cooperstown, and David Bridger and his wife, Marietta, of Roseboom; two sisters-in-law, Mrs. Rosalina Bridger of Cooperstown, and Mrs. Blanche (Teny) Bridger of Virginia; many nieces, nephews, aunts, uncles and cousins; and many good friends.
In addition to her first husband; she was predeceased by her sister, Mrs. Gladys Welch; and two brothers, Frederick Bridger and Chester O. ("Chet") Bridger.
A funeral service will be held at 2 p.m. Sunday afternoon, Sept. 26, 2004, at the Community Bible Chapel, 577 Greenough Road, Toddsville, with the Rev. James W. Pollock, associate pastor, officiating. The Service of Committal and Burial will follow in Hartwick Seminary Cemetery.
Friends may call at the Connell, Dow & Deysenroth Funeral Home in Cooperstown from 7 to 9 p.m. Saturday evening, Sept. 25, 2004, when Wilma's family will be in attendance.
In lieu of flowers, expressions of sympathy in the form of memorial gifts may be made to the Louis Busch Hager Cancer Center, Bassett Healthcare, 1 Atwell Road, Cooperstown, NY 13326.
Funeral arrangements are under the direction of the Connell, Dow & Deysenroth Funeral Home in Cooperstown.