Arthur W. Gotts

Dr. Arthur Wilford Gotts was born on July 4th, 1937, in Gloversville, N.Y. He was the only child of the second marriage for both his mother, Florence Lamphere Gotts and his father Wilford Gotts. He grew up living in the nursing home that his mother owned and managed and at the tender age of 15 took care of his dying father in the nursing home. He had two older half-sisters, Eva and Betty that were teenagers when he was born and a half-brother, Evvet that was also much older, and he loved them all very much. Being the baby of the family, he was doted on and was quite mischievous as a child. He was once spanked by the fire chief because he set the family’s garage on fire.

Education was extremely important to Art, and he became the first to graduate high school and attend college in his family. His elementary school was a one room schoolhouse, and he was the youngest and often overlooked, so he didn’t learn how to read until he entered a new school in 5th grade. Most kids are afraid of the dentist, but when Art visited his dentist, he saw someone that he respected and wanted to model his life after. He then was determined to be a success in life and had an excellent work ethic and taught that to his children.

He met his wife, Jean, while playing the drums in the middle school band. Jean thought he was the cat’s meow and wanted to date him, so she signed up to play the cymbals so she could stand next to him…. They dated all through their years at Johnstown High School and even danced to the great Duke Ellington Band in Art’s Junior year at the University of Buffalo. He was an outstanding pitcher on his high school baseball team and had a tryout with the N.Y. Yankees but chose to pursue a dental degree instead.

While Art studied dentistry at the University of Detroit, Jean worked nights as a nurse and by the time he graduated, somehow they had three children, Teri Barenborg (Ed), Shellie Banfield (Gary) and Arthur Jr. “Brud” Gotts. Doug Gotts (Marianna), the youngest, came along a few years later. He was an avid golfer when he could play as a member of the Edison Club in Rexford, N.Y. and after he passed, his daughter Shellie stated that he was probably now playing a round with his good friends, Nathan and Chris and may have a hole-in-one today…. Jean said, “Well, I think you’re getting carried away now.” He did have two holes-in-one earlier in his life.

He valued family above all else and regularly helped coach the many sports all four kids participated in. When he wasn’t coaching, he was eagerly cheering the kids on. He also participated in Indian guides with his sons, and his guide’s name was Running Bear, which of course led to a little bit of teasing. His granddaughter Jackie is a professional golfer, and he was her biggest fan. He loved competing in many different sports and was an avid fan of his beloved Tigers, Lions, Red Wings and of course the Florida Gators…Go Gators!

He opened his first dental office in the basement of the family’s first home on Four Locust Lane in Clifton Park, NY. He then built a professional building down the road from Shenendehowa Central H.S. and wanted something to help people find the building, so he packed the family up in the station wagon and went to Sears and bought a huge Snoopy Dog and his brother in law, Bill, put it together and placed it in the big picture window. The building then lovingly became known in town as the Snoopy Building.

Family memories include so many wonderful trips with other family friends; the Schmids, McKanes and Reeds and summers at the Sacandaga Lake camp on Vandenburgh’s Point that included many family members and friends. There were several card games had, clam bakes and competitive wiffle ball games. A few years after selling the camp, he purchased a rundown marina on Lake George, N.Y. and developed it into a beautiful facility and named it the Yardarm Marina. His first venture in developing land, however, was creating Funtown, a small amusement area in Clifton Park, N.Y. that had baseball pitching machines, bumper boats and go karts, but he had to close it down because too many kids wouldn’t follow the safety rules.

When he retired from dentistry, he and Jean moved to Florida and thought they were fully retired, but he became restless and moved back to Lake George, NY to develop Top of the World with his good friend, Congressman Jerry Solomon. The next move was to Vero Beach, Florida where he opened another dental practice and after several years there, he was ready to retire again from dentistry and they moved to Tennessee and developed Mockingbird Hill in Sevierville. Later, he got the dentistry bug yet again and moved to Gainesville, Florida opening a practice there and he was an adjunct professor with the UF Dental School. He then finally retired from dentistry, and they moved yet again to Clayton, Georgia where he developed several neighborhoods there. He and Jean bought and added onto a beautiful mountain home where they enjoyed watching bears come into their backyard with their beloved dog, Tootles.

After a few years there, they were then moved to live in a home they had built that was attached to their daughter Shellie’s house in Newberry, Florida until they needed more assistance and he lived out his final days in Vero Beach, Florida where he took his last breath on November 23, 2024, with his family being able to say goodbye and surrounded him with love.

Art enjoyed talking to people. While on a baseball trip with his son-in-law Ed and grandsons, he talked the ear off of a taxi driver that didn’t speak English. His favorite opening question to ask someone was, “What’s your five year plan?”.

He was a wonderful husband, father, uncle, grandfather, great-grandfather and friend. He loved his wife Jean tremendously, and they celebrated their 65th wedding anniversary last July. His children will miss him terribly, and he leaves behind his grandchildren, Jackie Stoelting (Travis), Andrew Barenborg, Blaire Banfield (Greg), Brett Banfield (Jenn), Justin Barenborg (Fiancé Michele), Courtney Priest (Dean), Greyson Gotts and Piper Gotts. He also loved and will miss his great grandchildren Baren and Baylor Stoelting. His family promises to root for all his teams as a reminder of his love for us. Art will be celebrated by his family at a later date.

Arrangements are by Thomas S. Lowther Funeral Home & Crematory, Vero Beach.