Isaac Hathaway Jr.

Isaac Hathaway Jr., 96, of Kendal at Ithaca, died Friday, January 28,2022. Ike was born in Plymouth, Massachusetts and lived most of his childhood in Kingston, Massachusetts. He graduated from the Kingston High School and at 17 volunteered for the Army Specialized Training Program at Harvard.  After completing a semester, he was assigned to active duty at Fort Devens in Ayer, Massachusetts.  After completing basic and advanced training, he joined the 106th Infantry Division and was preparing to ship overseas as a rifle replacement.  His barracks bag was already bound for the ship when a notice arrived stating that Congress had passed a law that no soldier could be shipped overseas unless he was at least 18 years old or had completed at least a year of training stateside.   This change in plans probably prevented him from participating in the Battle of the Bulge.  Instead, he joined the U.S 3rd Army in the 89th Infantry Division and the 89th Signal Company.  He was shipped overseas, landing in Le Havre, France, and acted as a signal corpsman in the Radio Operations Section across the European theater.

He met his wife Eleanor Pratt and enjoyed time with her in their early years at her family’s beach cottage at Rocky Nook. They have been married for 74 years.

Ike was a Renaissance man who could fix anything.  He was an avid ham radio operator-W2IH- and built his own Heathkit ham radios.  He was an avid outdoorsman--hiking, biking, ice skating, and snow shoeing as well as enjoying deep sea fishing. In his later years when Ike moved to Kendal at Ithaca he set up and ran the resident’s TV station using his strong technical computer abilities.  Always ready to chat, he was well known by residents and staff alike for his dry New England sense of humor and his love of ice cream.

Surviving besides his wife Eleanor Pratt Hathaway, Ike is also survived by daughters, Beth Glassford (Scott) and Janet Tusing (Allen). He was preceded in death by his sister, Mary Hathaway and his parents. He is also survived by his grandchildren Eric Tusing, Cari Tusing, Jennifer Parlette, and Jessie Hathaway. He additionally Is survived by multiple great grandchildren and a cousin by marriage, Leslie Roberts.

Interment will be at the Syracuse Veterans Cemetery, Syracuse, New York, at a later date. Donations may be made to the Kendal at Ithaca Employee Futures Fund.  The fund rewards promising staff with multi-year scholarship grants in pursuit of further education in nursing, culinary arts, business and other fields.  Donations may be made in his memory to Kendal at Ithaca, 2230 N. Triphammer Road, Ithaca, NY 14850.  Note on the memo that the donation is for Employee Futures Fund.  Arrangements have been entrusted to Bangs Funeral Home, online condolences can be left at www.bangsfuneralhome.com