GENOA - Joseph S. Bickel, 88, formerly of Creek Road, Genoa, died Saturday, Nov. 20 at the Mercy Health and Rehabilitation Center, Auburn, following a long illness.

Joseph was born July 5, 1916 in Bison, South Dakota to the late George and Nellie (Rogers) Bickel. His family moved to Genoa when he was five years old, and he spent most of his life there as a self-employed dairy and crop farmer. He had a great appreciation for the land and his animals. Joe also enjoyed sports, including Yankee baseball, bowling, and fishing with the neighbors. He took up gardening after retiring from farming, sharing the fruits of his harvest with the neighborhood.

Surviving are his wife of 61 years, Dorothy (Curtis) Bickel, daughters Sandra (T. Edward) Driscoll of Genoa and Joan (William) Moore of Moravia; three grandchildren, Timothy (Jennifer) Driscoll, Kathleen (Robert) Thompson and Patrick (Jennifer Hares) Ryan; three great-grandchildren, Madison Hares-Ryan, Bryan and Kaley Driscoll; and many nieces and nephews.

In addition to his parents, he was predeceased by his brothers Glenn (Denny) and Roger (Bud) Bickel. A Mass of Christian Burial will be celebrated at 10:30 a.m., Wednesday, Nov. 24, in Our Lady of the Lake Church, King Ferry, with the Rev. Donald Curtiss as celebrant. Interment will be in St. Bernard's Cemetery, Scipio Center.

Friends may call at the Shurtleff Funeral Home, 10117 Route 90, Genoa, Tuesday, Nov. 23 from 7 to 9 p.m. Contributions, in lieu of flowers, may be made to Southern Cayuga Ambulance, PO Box 7, Poplar Ridge, NY 13139.