On Tuesday night the Confer Plastics family lost one of its longest-tenured and unique employees. CPI retiree Douglas Kittinger passed away at the age of 70. Doug died at home while under the care of Hospice.Doug was diagnosed with lung cancer only a few weeks ago, something he attributed to 57 years of smoking. That's the kind of guy Doug was. He told it like it was. You could always count on him to say something curmudgeonly or hilarious. Despite his tough guy exterior he was really a softie inside.
Doug was a jack of all trades in his 20 years at Confer Plastics (which ended in 2006). He was a machine operator, material handler, quality assurance inspector and shipping & receiving assistant.
Doug was a longtime North Tonawanda resident who was a wonderful cook, specializing in seafood. That was a trick he picked up while living in Bar Harbor, Maine. Speaking of Bar Harbor, one of Doug's favorite stories was the time he was working as a painter in that town. He was painting a house when someone on the second floor invited him in for an afternoon of beer. His newfound drinking buddy was none other than Bob Denver, Gilligan from Gilligan's Island.
Kittinger will be missed. He was one-of-a-kind.
