HERKIMER - Dr. Joseph Blydenburgh, M.D., psychiatrist and former clinical director of the Marcy Psychiatric Center and a descendant of early Dutch settlers of New York, died Thursday, October 10, 2002. He was 72. Dr. Blydenburgh, who also practiced at Central Islip State Hospital on Long Island for many years, had numerous hobbies and loves. He spoke Dutch fluently, having attended the University of Amsterdam from 1950 to 1958 where he earned his medical degree. He enjoyed music and played the saxophone and clarinet. Other loves included genealogy, boating, fishing, public speaking, singing, handiwork and collectibles, and the Adirondacks, where he owned land in the town of Ohio and Saratoga County. Dr. Blydenburgh, born January 9, 1930, in Bay Shore, Long Island, was the sixth of ten children of John and Eleanor (Weickart) Blydenburgh. After graduating from Islip High School, he attended Hofstra University for pre-med, then went to the University of Amsterdam. He married Claire Reij in 1957 and came back to Long Island. Dr. Blydenburgh did a rotating internship at Polytechnic Hospital in New York and then joined Central Islip State Hospital under Director Dr. Francis J. O'Neill, whom he much respected. He transferred to Marcy State Hospital in 1972, retiring from there in 1984. He entered the U.S. Air Force in 1985, became lieutenant colonel and was honorably discharged. He returned to Long Island and moved last year to Folts Homes. Survivors include son, Tim and wife, Jodi, their children, Colin, Kathe and Jeremy, of Ilion; daughter, Celeste Billings and husband, Michael, their children, Cory, Nicholas, Michael and Maya, of New Hartford; son, Joseph M. Blydenburgh and wife, Dora, their children, Amelia and Laura, of San Antonio, TX; daughter, Astrid Cook and husband, Jim, their children, Courtney and Taylor, of Ballston Spa; and daughter, Michelle Schrader and husband, Michael, their children, Hannah and Morgan, of Burnt Hills. Also surviving are brother, James Blydenburgh, of Oneonta; sisters, Winifred Bubla, of Florida, and Marie Tracy, of East Islip; and several in-laws, nieces and nephews. He was predeceased by brothers, Emmanuel, John, Barney, Gene and Edwin, and a sister, Alyce. He was predeceased by Claire, who died in 2001, and a special friend, Evelyn O'Connell, of Deer Park, who died in March 2002. His friendships included many people who worked for the Marcy and Utica Psychiatric Center. Thank you to Dr. Dale Adamson, the staff of Little Falls Hospital, Bassett Healthcare and Folts Homes. Funeral from Fenner Funeral Home, Inc., 115 Court St., Herkimer, on Saturday at 8:30 a.m. A Mass of Christian Burial will be celebrated at 9:00 a.m. in St. Francis de Sales Church, Herkimer. The Rev. Mark Cunningham, Pastor, will officiate. Dr. Blydenburgh will then be laid to rest in Armory Hill Cemetery, Ilion. The family will be present in the funeral home to receive relatives and friends on Friday evening from 6:00 to 8:00 p.m. Memorial donations may be made to Montfort Spiritual Center, 26 South Saxon Ave., Bayshore, NY 11706-8893. We will all miss you, your sense of humor, guidance, generosity and love! On an old fashioned handsaw that hung for many years at the family house in the town of Ohio you wrote the words "Vrij en Blij", the Dutch words for "free and happy". You were that and truly are now.