Amherst – Barbara P. Feldman, 73, following a long battle with COPD, passed away peacefully after a day surrounded by her loved ones on Friday, September 28, 2018 at her home in Amherst.

She was born January 11, 1945 in Rome, New York to the late Amos and Marion (Miner) Pritchard. An accomplished student and athlete at Rome Free Academy, she briefly attended Elmira College before meeting the love of her life, Walter Feldman. They married in Sunapee, New Hampshire in 1964 and, following his graduation from Cornell University in 1965, would go on to spend the next 47 years together, until his passing in 2011.

She was very much representative of her generation, a generous donor, and an outspoken advocate for political and social change. After many years spent juggling work and raising her children, she moved to Amherst where she and Walter took over ownership of the Mail Boxes, Etc. center, which later became The UPS Store. After selling the business in 2002, she focused her attention on her primary passion, which was helping to raise her locally residing grandchildren.

She is survived by her sister Elizabeth Hinson, of Texas, son, Daniel and Rochelle Feldman of Amherst, her daughter Naomi and Shane Cota, of Georgia, her partner, Warren LaRoche, her grandchildren, Drew and Tyler Cota, Breanna Naugle, Brandon, Julia, Rob, and Joshua Feldman. She is also survived by her great-grandchildren, Landon, Grayson, and Harper Cota. Special thanks to Tamaia Bartmon for the loving care she provided.

A graveside service was held Wednesday October 3 at Wildwood Cemetery. Should friends desire, memorial contributions may be sent to the Amherst Hockey Association, 6 University Drive, Suite 206 #101, Amherst, MA 01002. She was a fan.

As a loving wife, mother, partner, mother-in-law, and friend she will be sorely missed.

Memorial register at www.douglassfuneral.com

Pelham, Jeffrey Yu, 54, passed away in Pelham, Massachusetts, on September 10, 2018, after several years of illness. He is survived by his father, Hyuk, of Blue Mounds, Wisconsin, and a son, Alexander, of Amherst, Massachusetts. He was pre-deceased by his mother Gail Emmens.

He is also survived by two brothers, Steven Yu and his wife, Laurie, and their three children, in Yosemite, California, and Douglas Yu and his wife, Amy, in Deerfield, Wisconsin.

Jeff was born in Silver Spring, Maryland, and raised in Madison, Wisconsin He graduated from the University of Wisconsin in 1986 with a BA in English Literature, and the University of Massachusetts-Amherst in 1995 with a Ph.D., with a specialty in Elizabethan literature. After several years of teaching at various venues near Amherst, he began a tenure track position in the English department of Western New England University in Springfield, MA. His last course at the university, taught in the days before the death, was on Shakespeare’s comedies and histories. He will be buried privately at a future date, next to his mother in Talcottville, Connecticut.

As an undergraduate at UW, Jeff had a special interest in Ultimate Frisbee, serving as a player-coach for four years when Ultimate was first being recognized as a club sport. That same interest drove him to the University of Massachusetts, where he met his future wife, Molly Falsetti, on the university Ultimate fields. After 10 years of marriage, Molly and Jeffrey parted ways. His passion for Ultimate Frisbee extended to becoming a member of the Boston team, Death or Glory, with whom he won several national championships.

In lieu of flowers, donations can be made in Jeffrey’s memory to Western New England University – Advancement Division, 1215 Wilbraham Road, Springfield, MA 01119.

Amherst Vincent J. Cleary, family man, classics professor and freelance-writer,
died Monday, September 24, 2018 at the Hospice of the Fisher Home, surrounded by his loving family. He was 86.

Born and educated in Philadelphia, the son of John and Dorothy Cleary, he graduated from St. Joseph’s University, 1954; Villanova University, 1959; and the University of Pennsylvania, 1967.

Following his college graduation he spent a year at the Josephite Minor Seminary, Epiphany Apostolic College, Newburgh, New York. There he studied the Latin language, the genre-Latin poetry and particularly Virgil’s Aeneid – that became the focus of his many years in the classroom.

Vincent taught high school in the Greater Philadelphia area for five years—North Catholic H.S., Phila., PA; North Penn H. S., Lansdale, PA.; and Archmere Academy, Claymont, DE—before joining the Villanova faculty in 1960. In 1968 the family moved to Columbus, Ohio. There he taught classics at Ohio State University before settling in Amherst in 1971 and teaching at the University of Massachusetts. He retired in 1997 after 26-plus years there and 43 years of teaching overall.

He loved Amherst and teaching UMass students.

In 1955 he married Frances Maher and together they had five children. He took pride in the fact that all were UMass grads and often remarked on the fine education they received there. Two of his sons, Sean and Stephen, married classmates, Joanne Murray from Long Island and Roseann Brien, Lawrence, Massachusetts.

One of his early dates with Frances, or Franny as he fondly called her, was to an Irish Ball in Philadelphia where her dad, Joseph Maher, led the Four Province Irish Ramblers Orchestra. That evening of reels and line-dancing eventually led him, in 1993, to become an Irish citizen. He traveled several times to Ireland, most recently in 2015, visiting newly discovered cousins, the Connells of Portarlington, on his father’s side. He credited those Irish roots for his love of rhythm, in dancing, and on the written page.

On his first trip to Ireland in 1996 he came to understand more completely who his father was, and to love him more fully for that reason. His Dad, John, died in January, 1954, his son’s last year in college.

After Frances’s death from cancer in 1973, he married Marie Sally Frisardi, the first woman to teach Latin in the Department of Ancient Languages at Boston Latin High School and the mother of two sons, Thomas and Andrew. He and Marie moved to Sunderland in 1985 and in 2007, returned to Amherst; there Marie died in 2012.

In retirement he turned to freelance writing and radio commentary. The Daily Hampshire Gazette published a number of these, mostly human interest stories, some of a whimsical nature. Vincent also wrote theater and book reviews for the Gazette. WFCR carried several of his minor-league baseball pieces, and a series of art museum reviews. Later he was a regular contributor to UMass Magazine. Versification, a life-long avocation, he was able to take up more seriously in retirement.

In 2003 his book Amherst, Massachusetts 01002, One of the Best Small Towns in America, was published by Collective Copies, now called Levellers Press. This was one of many books publisher Steve Strimer lovingly saw into print.

A strong advocate of reading aloud, an undervalued skill he believed, he incorporated it into his teaching whenever he could. He also read aloud on a bi-weekly basis during his retirement years in daughter Rose’s elementary classes, initially in the Greenfield Public Schools, and then at the Bement School in Deerfield.

He loved good stories and a well-told joke, was an avid birder, part-time gardener, crossword puzzler, amateur cook, walker, swimmer, and bicyclist. He was active in various Catholic parishes, first at Amherst’s St. Brigid’s, a member of the choir there, and then at both of his South Deerfield churches, St. James and St. Stanislaus, now Holy family, where he also sang in the choir. He joined the Newman Center community in 2007. He became a Eucharistic Minister there in 1996. Most Holy Redeemer in Hadley welcomed Vincent in 2017.

A member of the Cursillo movement in the Springfield diocese, he met monthly for many years with his men’s group. Originally seven in number, three remained at his death.

On his return to Amherst in 2007 he became a trustee of the Amherst Historical Society, beginning in 2008, and its treasurer, 2010-2012. Like his Amherst book, it was his way, he said, of giving back, his love-letter to Amherst, “why the town has meant, and continues to mean, so much to me.”

One of his greatest teaching pleasures was watching students grow and mature, and this was particularly true, he thought, when it came to grandchildren and step-grandchildren. “Something new and exciting takes place in their lives every day,” he often commented.

He is survived by three sons and two daughters: Thomas (Julie) of Manchester, NH; Sean (Joanne) of Belchertown, MA; Frances Cleary (Mark Borwick) of Bronxville, NY; Rosemarie Gage (Brad) of Belchertown, MA; and Stephen (Roseann) of Severna Park, Maryland; two stepsons, Thomas Frisardi of Longbeach, CA and Andrew Frisardi (Daphne) of Castiglione, Italy; eleven grandchildren—Megan and Andrew Cleary; Liam, Erin and Tara Cleary; Spencer and Jacqueline Borwick; Mackenzie Gage; Peyton, Sydney and Carter Cleary ~ and three step-grandchildren—Raquel, Dario and Cecilia Frisardi; a brother, John Cleary of Bala Cynwyd, PA, and brother-in-law, Tom Maher (Janet) of Langhorne, PA, as well as numerous nephews and nieces. Five siblings—David, Jean, Robert, Barbara and Gerald—predeceased him.

Calling hours will be Friday, September 28 from 5 – 8 p.m at The Douglass Funeral Service, Amherst, MA. A Mass of Christian Burial will be celebrated at the Most Holy Redeemer at 10 A.M. on Saturday, September 29, 2018. Interment will follow at St. Brigid’s Cemetery, Hadley, MA.

Memorial donations in his name may be made to the Most Holy Redeemer Church, the Amherst Survival Center, where he enjoyed many hours as a volunteer, or the Amherst Historical Society.

Millers Falls, Philip J. Cavanaugh, Jr. “Chef,” mentor, “Big Fig”, Bass Player, Bagpiper, Phil was born in Northampton Aug. 11, 1957 and graduated ARHS class of 1975. An avid U M Minuteman and all-Boston sports fan, he served in and was honorably discharged from the US Navy in 1980. With several college courses in HRTA, Phil was the last professional chef in-residence on campus at U Mass (Butterfield) prior to his early retirement to Maine where he served as chef to summer campers and Gould Academy students. He was a member of the Amherst VFW post and a former member of the Springfield Kiltie Band. He and his wife returned to the area in 2012 to Franklin County.

Phil was a lifelong musician playing in many area bands through the years and co-hosting the “Sounds of Amherst” reunions in So. Amherst. He was also a fisherman, boater, genealogist, historian, bird and insect lover, and a great friend to dogs and chipmunks, bunnies and other critters.

He leaves his devoted soul mate of 35 years, Charlotte Cavanaugh; his darling sweetie daughter, Charity Anne Robinson of Wellfleet, MA, his mom Nancy and brothers Dave, Glenn and Brian of the Amherst/Hadley area and many, many friends and relatives throughout New England and beyond. An outstanding human being, he will be well and truly missed.

Calling hours will be Thursday September 27, at the Douglass Funeral Service, Amherst from 4:00 – 6:30 pm; with a prayer service beginning at 6:30 pm. Burial will be private.

In lieu of flowers memorial donations may be made to a charity of one’s choice.

Amherst, Colonel Lorraine DuBois Goodrich, USMC (Ret.) of Woodbridge, VA passed away on May 16, 2018.

Born in Northampton MA, she was raised in nearby Amherst, the youngest of four daughters. She sang a lead in her high school Sound of Music production. She was a pianist and self-taught organist, playing for several years at a local church. She was chosen to reign as Miss Amherst in 1965. After graduating from Amherst Regional High School in 1965, she went on to earn a Bachelor’s Degree in German Language and Literature from UMass-Amherst in 1969. Lorraine joined the Navy in 1970, transferring to the U.S. Marine Corps a year later. After retiring from active duty as a Colonel, she joined the reserves until her final retirement.

Lorraine possessed a deep awareness of the great plusses in her life – her family, life long friends, new friends, professional successes, her home and adored VW Beetle convertible (!), the appreciation and recognition from others, and animals that responded to her gentle touch.

Lorraine shared her life with a number of quirky kitties – with an array of personalities. When they weren’t drinking from a dripping faucet or sleeping in a wash basin or salad bowl, they were piled not just on her bed, but on her! All her many cats had been strays, abandoned in all kinds of weather and states of health. She accepted their gratitude and affection — and gave freely of hers.

Lorraine will be remembered as smart and witty, sassy and playful, truly patriotic, unfailingly supportive, and possessing a heart of gold. She gave so generously of her time, resources, attention, and love to all who needed her: family, friends, favorite charities, and her many cherished adopted cats – indeed, all creatures in peril.

She was preceded in death by her parents, Profs. Charles Nelson DuBois and Marron Shaw DuBois, both of Amherst MA, and sisters, Charlotte (Anne Lattimore) DuBois Elfe of Columbia SC, and Jacqueline (Marron) DuBois Gentl of Salem MA. She is survived by her sister Valerie (Norcross) DuBois Jhaveri and her husband Arun of Seattle WA, and many adoring cousins, nieces, nephews, and grandnieces and grandnephews around the world.

Lorraine, you have touched so many hearts that grieve at your passing. You are and will be sorely missed, you most – caring, most – lovable of people. Rest easy, dear one. 

Burial with full military honors will be October 2, 2018, 9:00am in Arlington National Cemetery.

Pelham, Paul Berube of Pelham, Massachusetts, passed away peacefully at home on September 5^th surrounded by family. Born to Alice and Ernest Berube in New Bedford, Massachusetts, Paul was a proud graduate of Bowdoin College, the Rhode Island School of Design, and the University of Southern California. Originally trained as a potter, Paul was a professor of art at the University of Massachusetts for over 40 years. Although he called Pelham home, taking active roles at the town library and in local politics, as well as being a devotee of the Amherst Take-It-Or-Leave-It, Paul and his late wife, Gail, were world travelers. Their adventures included numerous study trips around Europe and the Yucatán, an accidental encounter with Northern Irish border guards, and their final trip together, to Egypt. Paul leaves behind two children, Jon Berube of Pelham, and Karen DiPersia of Princeton, New Jersey, as well as five grandchildren, Jon C. and Hannah Berube, and Sofia, Vanessa, and Gaetano DiPersia. The Berube family hopes that Paul’s generous spirit and boundless enthusiasm for life’s simplest pleasures continue to inspire his friends and community members as they have our family. We would like to thank Cooley Dickinson Hospice and VNA for their care and guidance, and request that in lieu of flowers, donations be made to their organization. A memorial service will be held at a later date. 

Stephen D. Jean-Babets, age 30, of Amherst, formerly of Shutesbury, Greenfield, and Carver, Ma. unexpectedly passed away September 11, 2018. A graduate of Amherst Regional High School (2006), Stephen attended Fitchburg State College and was an aspiring lyricist. Beloved son of David H. Jean and Don Babets. Loving brother of Kenneth S. Jean-Babets of Greenfield;  Patrick G. Jean-Babets of Hadley and George N. Jean-Babets of Newton. Much loved grandson of Henri and Doris Jean of Chicopee, Ma. and the late Donald J. and Betty L. Babets of Ohio. Adored godparent of Ylisia-Madison Caroline Stewart of Amherst. Nephew and cousin of family members in Maine, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Massachusetts, Georgia, Michigan, Tennessee, and Arizona.  An ecumenical service in celebration of Steve’s life will be held Sunday, September 23rd at 2:00 P.M. at the First Congregational Church in Amherst (165 Main St. Amherst, Ma).  In lieu of flowers, donations in Steve’s memory can be made to help reduce funeral expenses at www.gofundme.com/steve-jeanbabets039-funeral-expenses

Sybilla Sonoda, 73, of Amherst, Massachusetts passed away suddenly on Friday night, September 7, 2018.

She was married to Howard Sonoda for 46 years and is survived by her husband, her son, Alexander Predel, and her daughter, Soleil Sonoda, as well as a grandson, Maxim Predel-DeBuhr.

Sybilla was born on October 29, 1944 in Steinhude-am-Meer, Germany. Her father, Werner Olboeter, was a major in the German Air Force and her mother, Margaret Thiele, was the daughter of a furniture factory owner. Her father was a prisoner-of-war in Russia for seven years, which caused her to develop an intense interest in the history of post-war West Germany. She obtained a job as an administrator and translator for the U.S. Air Force and was assigned to a U.S. Air Force unit on a German Air Force air transport base.

In 1968, she met her future husband, who was a U.S. Air Force captain on that German Air Force base. After getting married in November, 1972, she spent the next twenty years living in Louisiana, New Jersey, Massachusetts, Alabama, and Texas. She taught German at a college in Alabama, worked as an administrative assistant to the South Korean military in Bonn, Germany, and was also fortunate to live and work in the American sector of Berlin, East Germany.

In 1992, her husband retired from the U.S. Air Force and she made the decision to live in Amherst, Massachusetts. She often declared that a day in western Massachusetts was like a day of vacation. Sybilla loved reading, especially books on the post war experiences of refugees. She took great pleasure in feeding all animals, both domestic and wild. She passed away as she wanted, in her home, with her dogs and chickens, her husband and her daughter, quickly, without pain and without fuss.

AMHERST, MA – Joanne Dunn Parker, 91, of Easthampton, died in her sleep on Sunday, September 2 following a long illness. She was born Joanne Elizabeth Dunn on June 21, 1927 in Seattle, WA, the daughter of John Joseph Dunn and Wilhelmina Hinckel Dunn. Wife of the late Robert George Parker of Rocky Hill, CT, she was formerly the wife of the late Frank Middleton Woolner of Shrewsbury.

Joanne is survived by her daughter, Leslie Woolner Bardsley, and granddaughter, Alexandra Middleton Woolner, both of Easthampton; several nieces and nephews; her husband’s children, Robert G. Parker, Jr., of Northport, NY, Virginia D. Parker, of Winder, GA, Steven J. Parker, of Venice, FL, and Wells C. Parker, of North Port, FL; and from a prior marriage, Beth and Michael Underwood of Marion and Mattapoisett, MA; and a lifelong friend, Sally Satterberg Cahill Brookbank, of  Friday Harbor, WA.

Joanne was predeceased by her brothers, John P. Dunn of Chatham and West Boylston, MA, and Jay W. Dunn of Meredith, NH.

In Seattle, Joanne attended Broadway High School and St. Nicholas School for Girls, and graduated from Shrewsbury [MA] High School in 1944. She attended Worcester Art Museum School.

Joanne was a licensed real estate broker in Connecticut. As she moved with her family, she became a personnel placement counselor in Hartford, a fashion model in the New York area, and in Boston an electronics firm expediter, a commercial painting estimator, and a general construction estimator.

During her marriage to Bob Parker, Joanne was an architectural construction estimator for the Public Works Department, State of Connecticut, notably one of only three female estimators in the state at the time of her hire in the 1970s. After her retirement, her interest in design led her to Blacklion, an interior design center, as its greeter and concierge. Joanne loved the arts as a spectator and a participant, particularly in dance, theatre, and applied art. She has written a memoir; she was a member of American Mensa, a volunteer at the Westborough Senior Center, a member/volunteer of Worcester Art Museum, and an election officer for the Town of Westborough.

While living in Seattle in the early 1990s, Joanne was a reservist with FEMA Region 10 and, following earthquakes in California and typhoon Omar in Guam, served on teams in those locations securing accommodations for the homeless.  

Joanne has offered her remains to assist in extending lives of those afflicted with reparable health problems, or for educational purposes. In lieu of flowers, please make donations in her memory to support Alzheimer’s disease clinical trials research at the Boston University Alzheimer’s Disease Center. Checks should be made out to “Trustees of Boston University,” with “Clinical Research in Neurodegenerative Disease Fund” in the memo line. Checks should be mailed to Nicole Gullotti, BU ADC, BU School of Medicine, 72 East Concord Street, B7800, Boston, MA 02118.

A memorial in celebration of her life is being planned by her family.

Helga Z. (Zinsmeister) Ragle, 76, passed away peacefully on August 27, 2018 in Hadley, surrounded by her family and friends following an extended illness.  Born in September, 1942 in Lorrach, Germany.  Helga emigrated to the US in 1969 and became a US citizen in 1975.   After a brief stay in Albany, New York to be with her family she spent a year in Vancouver, British Columbia, and in 1972 moved to Amherst, MA.  She then moved to Belchertown where she has lived since 2003. She starting working at the University of Massachusetts Department of Mechanical Engineering as Head Clerk. In 1975 worked as a shorthand reporter in Western Massachusetts until she retired in 2013.  After a breast cancer diagnosis in 1999 and a year spent in radiation and chemo Helga was told she had a one-year life expectancy.  Helga resolved to fulfill her dream of traveling to distant locations across the globe to pursue her passion of hiking and discovery of new cultures.  Helga and her son Jeffrey began to explore the United States by backpacking and hiking the many iconic and hidden wonders of the west including the Grand Tetons, Sierra Nevadas, Northern Cascades, Canadian and Colorado Rockies, and numerous National Parks in the Southwest US.  She also hiked many of the world’s treasures including trekking in Patagonia, Peru, Nepal, India, Chile, Bulgaria, Morocco and the European Alps. Her passion for hiking remained high even at home where she hiked every day with her dogs, Tigger, Granite, and Toby in the Holyoke Range, The White Mountains of New Hampshire, and many other New England peaks.  Helga has completed hiking all 4000-foot mountains in the White Mountains – twice.  Helga was an Appalachian Mountain Club Trip Leader and lead many hiking and cross-country skiing trips for friends, neighbors, and AMC members to New England natural areas including Mount Lincoln, Mount Monadnock, and Mount Greylock.  While at home and between trips she was often seen with her dogs in the Amethyst Brook Natural Area.  Helga was also an active tennis player and played with many teams in the local United States Tennis League Chapter and Hampshire Women’s Tennis League.  A member of the South Amherst Congregational Church, Helga sang in its choir and greatly enjoyed the fellowship that provided.  Helga was a member of the Belchertown Land Trust and was passionate about conserving the quality of life that the Town of Belchertown is well known for.  Helga also volunteered her services to the Holyoke Soldiers Home Hospice and Northampton Soup Kitchen.  She was a great friend to her neighbors in Amherst and Belchertown and will be sorely missed by them.  Helga lived for 19 years after her first (and subsequent recurring metastatic breast cancer diagnosis in 1999).  She has been a model for many on how to deal with life’s challenges.  Helga leaves behind her son Jeffrey who now lives with his wife Mirjam in Steinen, Germany where Helga grew up. A Memorial Service will be held Saturday September 15^th, 2018; 10:00am at the South Congregational Church, South Amherst MA.