SARANAC LAKE - A moment of silence was held at the start of Monday night's village board meeting for a former village trustee and town of Harrietstown councilman who passed away Sunday.
Wendell Dean Naegele II died at Fletcher Allen Health Care in Burlington. He was 50 years old.
Naegele, a Democrat, served roughly four years on the Harrietstown board, most recently from January 2008 to August 2009, when he resigned because he had moved to the Tupper Lake area to become a caretaker.
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Naegele
Naegele also served on the town board from 2001 to 2003, and he was a village of Saranac Lake trustee from 1996 to 1998.
Current Trustee and former Mayor Tom Catillaz said after Monday's meeting that he and Naegele ran together for village office in 1996.
"He was very good on the board," Catillaz said. "He was an all-around stand up guy. He would go out of his way to do anything for anyone. It's a very sad day."
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Those who knew Naegele said he had been dealing with some medical issues over the past two years, but his death was unexpected.
"I just saw him here, he was up at my place of work maybe a month ago," said Harrietstown Deputy Supervisor Barry DeFuria. "He looked great. We talked hunting and fishing and stuff. Then I heard he had died and it was like 'Wow,' I don't know what happened.
"I really enjoyed being on the board with him," Defuria added. "He was a hell of a nice guy."
Naegele had worked for the telephone company for 23 years until his retirement, according to his obituary, which appears in today's Enterprise. Following his retirement, he owned and operated Dean's Tree Service and later became a caretaker and guide at Litchfield Park in Tupper Lake.
He is survived by his wife, a daughter and several other family members.
Calling hours and funeral services for Dean Naegele are scheduled for Wednesday at the Stuart-Fortune-Keough Funeral Home in Tupper Lake.