Cedarville Milford (Mel) Duane Rood, age 74, of Cedarville, entered into the outstretched arms of his Lord and Savior on Easter Sunday, April 20, 2014, with his loving wife by his side. Born in Ilion on September 10, 1939, to the late Clarence and Viola (Bailey) Rood, Mel happily remained in the Mohawk Valley throughout his life. He was educated in Mohawk and worked in agriculture. On July 25, 1961, Mel was joined in marriage to Jane Ann Doremus. Together, they have raised 5 children and enjoyed nearly 53 years of love, friendship, and the deepest of bonds. Mel enjoyed days spent with his family in any setting or activity. He loved hunting with his sons and especially enjoyed the fact that he always beat them at golf, sometimes using creative scorekeeping to do so. Known for his storytelling, Mel was always making people laugh. He was an amazing gardener, a gift he passed on to his son, Willie. In recent years, Mel had taken up bee keeping and derived a great deal of pleasure watching and caring for his little bees. Mel was always an animal lover, especially dogs, but he had a special bond with his little terrier, Buddy Lee, who he recently lost. Besides his wife, Jane, Mel is survived by his children and their spouses; Pauline and Paul Dellechaie, of Mohawk; Patricia and Billy Landry, of Mulberry, Florida; Milford (Willie) Jr. and Patricia, of Springfield Center; Roger and Earlena, of Ilion; and Martin, also of Ilion. He also leaves his brother Leon Dygert, his brothers and sisters-in-law; Gordon and Carol Dygert, Kenneth and Esther Rood, Eugene and Linda Rood; and his sister and brother-in-law Bettie and Leonard Fredericks; and many nieces and nephews. Besides his parents, he was predeceased by his brothers Edward Dygert, married to Edna, and Robert Dygert, married to Diane. Known as Pops to his 11 grandchildren, he shared a special bond with each one of them. Seen as their 'hero', many of them have fond memories of fishing with Pops. Listed in order of birth, they are; Joshua Rood, William Rood, Deanna (Landry) Vickers, Dennis Landry, Kasey Rood, Whitney (Landry) Theard, Justin Rood, Natasha Rowe, Adam Rood, Seth Rood, and Chloie Rood. Pops was proud of his grandchildren and his great-grandchildren, of which he also had eleven; Kadence Theard, Jaylen Theard, Maddison Rood, Jazmyn Rood, Logan Rood, Kaylie Rood, Alanna Theard , Roman Theard, Bryn Le Fever, Peyton Landry, and Ellie Rood. Mel had a great love for his family and especially his wife. Moreover, he had a deep and abiding faith and worshiped at Christian Bible Church, Ward Road, Mohawk. His heartfelt burden, expressed especially in his final months, was that each one of his grandchildren joins him in heaven one day. Mel's funeral will be 1:00 PM Wednesday, April 23,2014 from the Whiter-Hendrix Funeral Home Inc., 100 Otsego St. (St. Route 51) Ilion with Pastor H. Ed Reed officiating, interment will follow in the Cedarville Cemetery. Friends may call Wednesday from 11:00 AM until the time of the service. In lieu of flowers, contributions may be made to the Christian Bible Church Building Fund, P.O . Box 273, Mohawk, New York 13407. Envelopes will be available at the funeral home. On line condolences may be left at www.whiter-hendrix.com.