IN MEMORIAM: Bruce A. Shipman II, 55;
Ancestor Model For Cooper's Bumppo
ILION – Bruce Andrew Shipman II, 55, of Ilion, passed away Saturday, Dec. 5, 2015, after a brief illness.
He was born Aug. 23, 1960, in Ilion, the son of Bruce Shipman and the former Carole Watson, and was a graduate of Mohawk High School. On Oct. 1, 1988, he was united in marriage with Dawn Allen in Conklinville.
His family is descended from David Shipman (1729-1813), the woodsman in the Otsego Lake region who was the model for James Fenimore Cooper's Natty Bumppo – also known as Hawkeye and The Leatherstocking – one of the most famous characters in American literature.
Bruce was employed as an assembler with Remington Arms and over the years on the Mowers Farm, and at Hanson Aggregates, Harbor Point Fuel and Brown's Feed.