Daniel Staughton Dickinson Jr.

Daniel S. Dickinson, Jr.


The Honorable Daniel Stoughton Dickinson, Jr., 94, of 4 Oak Street, Binghamton, N.Y. died Friday, September 2, 2011.
Born in Binghamton on July 25, 1917, the son of Daniel Stoughton Dickinson, Sr. and Margaret Egbert Dickinson, he graduated from Binghamton Central High School in 1935.   After attending Hamilton College he transferred to Hartwick College, receiving a B.S. in 1939 with majors in English and Biology.
His first job was as a newspaper reporter and photographer for the Binghamton Press.   Joining the Army Air Corps on January 3, 1942, Dan earned his pilot’s wings on September 6, 1942.  During World War II, he served in the China-Burma-India Theater as a Hump pilot flying supplies and soldiers over the Himalayan Mountains into China.
On October 2, 1945, he married Melba Louise Dunn in Georgiana, Alabama.  Captain Dickinson was honorably discharged from the Army Air Corps on January 12, 1947,  after which he attended Albany Law School graduating with an LLB in 1949.
He began the practice of law at the Whitney Point law firm of Jenks and Gleason where he became a partner in 1953.
Elected to the New York State Assembly in 1954, Dan was re-elected to successive terms serving from 1955 to 1965 when Governor Rockefeller appointed him a New York State Family Court Judge in June of that year.  He was subsequently elected to a ten-year term in November of 1965 and re-elected to a second ten-year term in November of 1975.  Judge Dickinson retired from the bench on December 31, 1985.
Dan is survived by his wife of 65 years, Melba; four children (and their spouses), Daniel S. Dickinson, III (Patricia) of Watertown, New York, Thomas E. Dickinson  (Cindy) of Springfield, Virginia, John F. Dickinson  (Janie), of Aldie, Virginia, and Joan E. Dickinson Taliaferro (T. Cass) of Arlington, Texas; twelve grandchildren and six great-grandchildren.
He was a member of Ogden-Hillcrest United Methodist Church, a Rotarian, a Mason, and a 50-year member of the Binghamton Club.
Dan loved golf (accumulating four holes in one), fishing, playing cards, bowling, gardening, the New York Yankees, and most of all, spending time with his family.
Calling hours will be from 5:00 PM to 7:00 PM on Friday, September 9, 2011 at Ernest H. Parsons Funeral Home, 71 Main Street, Binghamton, and on September 10, 2011 from 11:00 AM to 12:00 PM at Ogden-Hillcrest United Methodist Church, 1061 Chenango Street, Binghamton, where a memorial service will be held at noon.  Interment will be at the convenience of the family.
Those wishing may direct memorial donations to the Salvation Army, Phelps Mansion Museum, or the Ogden-Hillcrest United Methodist Church Endowment Fund.

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