Obituary of James O. Aston

ASTON - James O. Of Orchard Park, NY, December 3, 2021. Beloved husband of 60 years to the late Elise S. Aston. Born January 16, 1936, in Prospect, NY to Beryl Jones Aston and Jane Myfanwy Jones, he graduated from Northville Central School in 1953. Jim received a B.A. in economics from Colgate University in 1957, where he also enrolled in the Air Force ROTC program. Jim ultimately achieved the rank of Captain. In 1958, he married Elise Snow from Winchendon, MA (Skidmore '57). They lived in Valdosta, GA while he served in the Air Force. They then moved to the NY metropolitan area in 1960, where he was employed by the Federal Reserve Bank of NY. The Aston's settled in Chatham, NJ in 1963, where they would live for 27 years. Jim was an active member of the Chatham United Methodist Church. In his spare time, he was also a longtime baseball umpire and football official, having worked his way up from the Pop Warner level in football to the Division 1 (FCS) level. In 1990, Jim was named Branch Manager of the Buffalo Branch of the Federal Reserve and he relocated with his family to Orchard Park, NY. Jim (and Elise) loved to golf and were active members of East Aurora Country Club. Jim was a regular volunteer at the International Junior Masters, as well as served as recording secretary and historian for the club's Friday "Mulligans" golf group. For the winter months, Jim and Elise would travel to Sarasota, FL. He also liked genealogy, traveling, and playing bridge. Jim was an avid supporter of all things Colgate University. He received a Maroon Citation for his record of service, was a member of the University's Alumni Council and was a tireless fundraiser for his class. He was also the proud parent and grandparent (David '89 and Madison '19) of Colgate graduates. He is survived by his daughter Jane Taylor of Cheektowaga, NY; her children Ainslie Taylor, Orange City, FL and Private Eric Taylor, Fort Sill, Oklahoma; a son David Aston and his wife Kimberly of Snyder, NY; their children Madison Aston, Washington, D.C., and Sawyer Aston, Snyder, NY; also surviving is a brother-in-law John F. Brennan of West Dennis, MA; his children Kevin Brennan, West Dennis, MA; Tracy Brennan, Boulder, CO; Kerry Wall, Hesperia, CA; Sean Brennan, Scituate, MA and Shannon Olrich, Miami, FL.