Captain Ralph E. Chamberlain.

Ralph E. Chamberlain, 72, died Wednesday afternoon, June 2, 1999, at his home in Fly Creek. He was born on June 15, 1926, in the Bronx, the son of William E. and Mary Alice (Craswell) Chamberlain.

He married Ellen Harrington Smith on Oct. 5, 1996, at their home in Fly Creek.

Mr. Chamberlain spent his early years in the metropolitan New York area before moving to Cincinnati, Ohio, and later to Syracuse, where he graduated from Valley High School in 1942. That same year he enlisted in the United States Navy and was assigned to submarine service in the Pacific until 1946.

He then attended Hobart College in Geneva, Syracuse University and the Salvation Army School for Officer Training in Suffern. Attaining the rank of Captain in the Salvation Army, he served for many years as the Director of Development and Director of the National Information Service.

Mr. Chamberlain was the founder and Chairman of the Board of Precise Kit Promotions, Inc., with offices in Ramsey, N.J. and Utica.

This corporation is a manufacturer of disaster aid kits for private and government agencies. He also founded and operated several other businesses including Holland Estill Co., Inc. of Ho-Ho-Kus, N.J.; consultants in public relations and fund-raising for not-for-profit institutions; BBH Stables in Fly Creek; Sportsman's Limo Ltd. in Fly Creek; and Sportsman's Tavern, a popular Fly Creek restaurant now known as the Chamberlain Center, home of the New York Center for Agricultural Medicine and Health of Bassett Healthcare.

He was a charter member and past national president of the National Society of Fund-Raising Executives, board member of the New York Chapter and treasurer of its National Foundation.

This organization annually holds a New York luncheon named in his honor, and in April of this year named him as Honorary Chair of the 36th International Conference on Fund-Raising.

Deeply committed to the needs and interests of his community, Mr. Chamberlain dedicated much of his life to education, health and arts programs.

At Hartwick College in Oneonta, he served as a member of the college's Board of Trustees. As such, he chaired both the trustees and honorary degrees and the institution advancement committees, served on the Campaign XXI Planning Committee and the Bicentennial Campaign for Leadership Committee.

He was also the sponsor of Hartwick Night at Glimmerglass Opera. In recognition of his years of dedicated service, Hartwick College awarded him the honorary degree of Doctor of Humane Letters on Sept. 4, 1998.

Mr. Chamberlain had a long affiliation with Bassett Healthcare of Cooperstown and served as President of the Friends of Bassett Board of Directors and as a member of the Board of Trustees.

He chaired Bassett Healthcare's campaign to build a new primary-care clinic and was instrumental in raising $8 million for that purpose. Recently he participated in the campaign to establish a new critical-care unit at Bassett Hospital.

Strongly devoted to Glimmerglass Opera in Cooperstown, he joined the Board of Trustees in 1988 and served on the Executive, Finance and Nominating Committees. In 1994, he was elected President of the Board of Trustees and continued to serve as Chairman until the time of his death.

Mr. Chamberlain has also served as a member of the Board of Directors of the Farmers' Museum in Cooperstown; the Bergen County (N.J.) 200 Club; and the Do-er's Club of Bloomingdale, N.J.

A lifelong Republican, he was a member of the Presidential Roundtable as well as a supporter of the Otesgo County Republican Committee.

A collector of classic automobiles, he was often seen on the streets of Cooperstown in his vintage Rolls Royce.

Music was always an important part of Mr. Chamberlain's life. He enjoyed singing and also played the trombone for a time with a professional orchestra in Syracuse.

He was a supporter of the New York Staff Band of the Salvation Army and was a Patron of the Metropolitan Opera.

Mr. Chamberlain is survived by his wife, Ellen; his three daughters, Sharon Wagner of Pompton Lakes, N.J., Elizabeth Richards of Seabrook Island, S.C. and Samantha Chamberlain of Fly Creek; his two sons, Ralph E. Chamberlain Jr. of Westwood, N.J., and Richard Chamberlain of Fly Creek; his stepdaughter, Elisabeth Smith of Northhampton, Mass.; his stepson, Peter Smith of Burlington Flats; his mother-in-law, Agnes (Peg) Harrington of Cooperstown; 11 grandchildren; his two brothers, Robert Chamberlain of Depew and the Rev. Charles Chamberlain of Thomasville, N.C. and Castleton, Vt.; and several nieces and nephews.

He was predeceased by one son, William E. Chamberlain III, and two brothers, William E. and Harold C. Chamberlain.

A funeral service was held at 2 p.m. on Sunday afternoon, June 6, 1999, at Christ Church, Fair and River Streets in Cooperstown, with the Rev. Douglas C. Smith, rector, officiating. Burial followed in Lakewood Cemetery, East Lake Road, Cooperstown.

Friends may call at the Connell, Dow & Deysenroth Funeral Home, 82 Chestnut St., Cooperstown, Saturday evening, June 5, 1999, from 7 to 9 p.m. when Mr. Chamberlain's family will be in attendance.

In lieu of flowers, expressions of sympathy in the form of memorial donations may be made to the Ralph E. Chamberlain Memorial Fund for the benefit of Bassett Healthcare, Glimmerglass Opea and Hartwick College, P.O. Box 414, Cooperstown, N.Y. 13326-0414 or Catskill Area Hospice and Pallative Care In., 542 Main St., Oneonta, N.Y. 13820 or the Salvation Army, National Headquarters, 615 Slaters Lane, P.O. Box 269, Alexandria, Va. 22313.

Funeral arrangements are under the direction of the Connell, Dow & Deysenroth Funeral Home in Cooperstown.

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