Obituary of Benedict A. Karutis

Benedict A. Karutis, 91, of Pompano Beach, FL, died August 24 at home after a short illness. He was born in Amsterdam, NY, on November 19, 1914, a son of Zygmund and Salomeja Saldis Karutis, and attended Amsterdam schools. He lived in Amsterdam, and later in Glenville. He joined the Fitzgerald Bottling Works in Amsterdam, in 1937; the company expanded, and upon his retirement, he was president of the Pepsi Cola-Schenectady Bottling Corporation. He had been president of the New York State Pepsi Cola Bottlers? Association, and was a founder of the Clinton?s Ditch Cooperative, a regional canning and bottling cooperative. He was a director of Mohawk National Bank, and served on the advisory board of Security Trust until its merger with Norstar Bank. He was at one time a member of the Mohawk Golf Club, the Mohawk Club, and the Tower Club in Fort Lauderdale. He married Frances Luzen in 1941 at St. Casimir?s Church in Amsterdam. They had one daughter. On their retirement, Ben and Frances moved to Fort Lauderdale, later to John Knox Village, a retirement community in Pompano Beach. Survivors include his wife, Frances Luzen Karutis, his daughter and son-in-law, Susan and Dick Gaffney of Keene Valley, NY; two grandchildren, Nicholas Gaffney of Brooklyn, NY, and Maria Gaffney of Craftsbury Common, VT, two sisters, Sadie Piliponis of Philadelphia, and Irene Grzyb of Rensselaer; a sister-in-law and brother-in-law, Jane and Tony Karbocus, and a sister-in-law, Ruth Karutis, all of Amsterdam; and nieces, nephews and cousins. There will be a funeral mass at St. Casimir?s Church in Amsterdam at 9:30 A.M., Friday, September 8. Visitation will be from 8:30 to 9:30 A.M. at the church. Interment will follow at St. Casimir?s Cemetery. Arrangements are through Betz-Rossi-Bellinger Funeral Home, Amsterdam. Memorial contributions can be made to the JKV Benevolent Endowment Fund, c/o John Knox Village, 651 SW Sixth St., Pompano Beach, FL, 33060, or to St. Casimir's Cemetery Fund, 260 East Main St., Amsterdam, NY, 12010.