MOHAWK - Vera I. DeKanek, 84, of State Route 5S, entered into eternal rest Monday evening, June 30, 2003, in Little Falls Hospital. She was born Feb. 11, 1919, in Cameron, daughter of the late Willis and Frances Stuart Ferguson. With her family she came to live in Mohawk in 1925 and graduated from Mohawk High School with the "class of 1937." Vera had worked as a clerk for the W.T. Grant Store in Herkimer from 1935 to 1940. On Aug. 24, 1940, she married Paul G. DeKanek in Ilion. Theirs was a loving and devoted union of 53 years until his passing April 18, 1994. In 1940, she, along with her husband, formed a partnership owning and operating the DeKanek Dairy Farm in Mohawk. Raising a family and dairy farming were most important in her life. She was a member of Farm Bureau as well as a Grange member. Vera had a strong belief in God and led a devoted Christian life in both word and deed. All who knew her will always remember her warm smile and friendly manner. She will be greatly missed by many, especially her family. Surviving are one son, Paul W. DeKanek; a daughter, Nancy and her husband Robert Bishal, all of Mohawk; a brother-in-law, Richard Kiddney of Herkimer; a daughter-in-law, Claire DeKanek of Wantagh, L.I.; four grandchildren, Glenn and his wife Donna DeKanek of Mohawk; Brad and his wife Kerry Bishal of Chittenango, Jace Bishal of Mohawk and Christopher DeKanek of Savanna, Ga.; six great-grandchildren, Alexis, Caitlin, Rachel, Kali, Brad and Jason; special family friends, Charles J. Smith, Bonnie, Ronnie, Samantha and Tyler Rice, Kathy and Ed Ward; and several nieces, nephews and cousins. Besides her parents and husband, Paul, a sister, Ila Barnes, predeceased her in February of 1999. Funeral service will be on Thursday at 11 a.m. in Trinity Evangelical Lutheran Church, Herkimer. The Rev. Carl Evans will officiate. Mrs. DeKanek will be laid to rest next to her husband in Oak Hill Cemetery, Herkimer. The family will be present in Fenner Funeral Home Inc., 115 Court St., Herkimer, to receive relatives and friends on Wednesday (today) from 5-8 p.m. Expressions of sympathy may be made to the Alzheimer's Association. Envelopes will be available at the funeral home.