Walter G. Laba, 73, passed away March 27, 2011 at Spring Lake Rehabilitation Center, Winter Haven, FL. Funeral Mass was held in FL. On March 31, at St. Leo the Great Mission, Nalcrest Fl. Calling hours will be held on May 5, 2011 from 4-8 p.m. at the Phillips Memorial Home in Massena.

A Funeral Mass will be held on May 6, 2011 at 12:00 noon at Church of the Sacred Heart, Massena. Interment will be in Louisville Community Cemetery, in Louisville.

Memorial contributions may be made to Trinity Catholic School Endowment Fund, 188 Main St. Massena, Meals on Wheels, 70 E. Hatfield St., Massena or Hospice & Palliative Care of St. Lawrence Valley, 6805 US Highway 11, Potsdam, NY 13676.

He is survived by his wife Jane; two sisters, Kathy and Andrew Hart of Massena and Ann and Paul Charko of Galway; three brothers, twin brothers, Robert and Joyce Laba, Richard and Sandra Laba, and Fred and Sue Laba all of Massena; brother in-law MacKenzie and Rosemary Shoen of Massena; and several nieces, nephews, great nieces and nephews, and cousins.

Walter was born on January 17, 1938 in Massena the son of the Walter and Sophie (Bogdovitz) Laba .Walter was a graduate of the 1956 Class of Massena Central. Walter married Jane Shoen on September 28, 1963. He was employed by the US Post Office as a Letter Carrier from September 1959 to December 1997 and was a 50 year member of the National Association of Letter Carriers.

He was a member of the Massena Elks Club, Knights of Columbus, a Member of the Italian -American B Club and a member of the Massena Country Club for many years. Walter was a communicant of Sacred Heart Parish. His passion was golf, cooking and the love of cats, especially Tinkerbelle who was a member of the family for 20 years. Walter and Jane have spent winters in Nalcrest FL since 2004, a community of retired Letter Carriers.

Online condolences may be made towww.phillipsmemorial.com