Leverett, Doris H. (Black) Roberts, 92, of North Leverett, died Tuesday, October 21, 2014, at Baystate Greenfield, surrounded by her children.  She was born on September 12, 1922, in North Leverett, MA, to the late Nathaniel and Margaret (Madge) Leckey Black.  She attended North Leverett Grammar School and Amherst Regional High School.  On May 17, 1941, she married Richard (Dick) H. Roberts (originally from Plainfield), who predeceased her in October of 2000.  They enjoyed 59 years of marriage.  They met while both working for The Watson Family in Moores Corner.  They settled in North Leverett; she worked at the Florence Brush Shop during World War II, while Dick was away at war.  In 1950, they built their home, in which they raised their family and where Doris resided for the remainder of her life.   Her lifetime passions were taking care of her family and home, watching her children and grandchildren play ball, and “fan”atically watching (and “critiquing”) the Red Sox play. 

She is survived by her four children:  Cheryl Elligett and her husband, Tom, of Tampa, FL.; Richard and his wife, Ellen, of North Leverett; Randall and his wife, Terrilyn, of North Leverett; Candace Jernigan and her husband, John, of North Leverett; 12 grandchildren and 11 great grandchildren.  Doris was predeceased by brothers, James and Harold Black and sister, Eileen Wetherby, all formerly of North Leverett.

Her family is appreciative and would like to thank her caregivers for their loving dedication in assisting her during the past year.

A memorial service will be held at The North Leverett Baptist Church, at 10:30 a.m. on Saturday, October 25, 2014, with Pastor Verne Williams officiating. Burial will follow in Plainview Cemetery, with a reception to follow at The North Leverett Baptist Church.  There will be no calling hours. 

Donations in Doris’ memory may be made to The North Leverett Baptist Church, 70 North Leverett Road, North Leverett, MA  01054.

Arrangements are under the direction of Douglass Funeral Service, 87 N. Pleasant Street, Amherst, MA.; web www.douglassfuneral.com.

Service details, Social networking, Memorial Guestbook and Slideshow are available here.

Adele Marie Prinzivalli

1929 – 2014

Amherst, Adele Prinzivalli passed away on Tuesday, October21, 2014 with family by her side at the Hospice of the Fisher Home, Amherst.

Born in Queens, New York, on April 15, 1929, Adele Marie Prinzivalli was the daughter of Lawrence Daddio and Adele (Cleary) Daddio. She was the beloved wife of the late John E. Prinzivalli who passed away on September 19, 2001. Adele and John lived and raised their family in Uniondale, New York. After John’s passing, Adele moved to Hadley to be closer to family.

After being a stay at home Mom, raising their two sons, Adele returned to the work force and completed her High School diploma as an adult, in order to support her family. She worked at Nassau County Assessor’s Office where she retired in the late 1990’s. After moving to Hadley she again returned to work as a receptionist at the Hair Shop in Hadley, where she made many close friends.

Adele loved being with people. She was warm and loving and had a great sense of humor. Family was the most central part of her life. She instilled in her family the values of fairness, hard work and education.

She leaves her son John and his wife Elaine, of Hadley and her son Lawrence and his wife Patti, of Austin, Texas. She has four grandsons who she loved and adored, John and his wife Merritt of Chicago, Anthony of New York, New York, and Mathew and Brian, both of Texas. She is the loving sister of Lawrence and Rose Daddio and is predeceased by her brother Louis Daddio, and her sisters Catherine Ceprini, Roseanne Burke-Auer, and Barbara Conroy.

The family like to deeply thank Claire Constable, Mom’s loving caregiver and friend during her last years. The family would like to express their gratitude to the compassionate and skilled nurses at the Baystate Cardiac Unit and the nurses and staff of the Hospice of the Fisher Home and to our family Doctor, Dr.  Henry Simpkin for his devotion and endless caring.

Calling hours will be held Thursday October 23, from 5:00 – 7:00 PM at The Douglass Funeral Service, Amherst.

In lieu of flowers donations in Adele’s memory may be made to the Hospice of the Fisher Home, 1165 N. Pleasant St. Amherst, MA 01002 or the Cooley Dickinson VNA and Hospice, 168 Industrial Dr., Northampton, MA 01060

Obituary and memorial register at www.douglassfuneral.com

Service details, Social networking, Memorial Guestbook and Slideshow are available here.

Born May 12, 1920, in Springfield, Massachusetts, Helen Antoinette Moog was the daughter of Wilson T. Moog and Helen C. (Moodey) Moog. She was an older sister to Barbara and enjoyed a large extended family of aunts and uncles. The family resided in Northampton, Massachusetts, where Mimi attended Burnham School and graduated with a bachelor’s degree in art history from Smith College in 1941.Mimi’s childhood was filled with travels and adventures to the family cottage in North Perry, Maine, the White Mountains of New Hampshire and summer camp on Cape Cod. As a two year old, Mimi traveled with her parents and lived in Europe while her father was on sabbatical. At age 12, she again traveled to live in Europe with her family. She was one of the first students to be taught finger painting at the Shaw School of Finger Painting in Rome, Italy.

On Valentine’s Day, Feb. 14, 1942, Mimi married John S. Cary and the couple resided in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Shortly after arriving in Cambridge, John was drafted into the Army Air Corps and deployed in North Africa and Italy for the war’s duration. During this trying time Mimi contributed to the war effort working on a New Hampshire farm and then at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology Radiation Laboratory that was involved with the development of vastly superior radar and jamming devices. Upon John’s return they resided in Cambridge until 1950 when the young couple and their first born son, Peter moved to Pelham, Massachusetts, where they created their lifetime homestead and welcomed two more children, Anne and Stephen.

Mimi was a true renaissance woman. Fluent in French, she was a lover of literature, poetry, classical music and the natural world, a collector of antiques and stamps and the keeper of family history. She was a formidable tennis player, avid swimmer and downhill skier and a perennial world traveler. Her volunteer work was legendary and included a service of 20,000 hours at Cooley Dickinson Hospital.

A believer in lifelong learning, Mimi sought additional degrees, knowledge and accreditation’s including a Massachusetts Teaching Certificate at the University of Massachusetts and studies at Harvard and Holyoke Community College. Her employment focused on the fields of teaching and social services. She held teaching positions with private and public kindergartens and the Amherst Regional School District as a special educator and high school substitute. She also assumed the responsibilities of recreational director at the Lathrop Home and social worker at both the Hampshire County Nursing Home and Amherst Nursing Home.

Mimi was passionate about her beloved Pelham home and family. Continuing the family legacy are her children, Peter and his wife Sally of Millers Falls, Massachusetts, Anne and her husband Paul of Huntington, Vermont, and Stephen and his wife Sandie of White River Junction; sister and brother-in-law Barbara and Jack Finlay of Sudbury, Massachusetts; five grandchildren; one great-grandchild; and nieces and nephews.

Mimi’s family would like to extend their heartfelt gratitude to her care givers from Home Staff, Springfield, Massachusetts, and Valley Terrace, White River Junction, her co-workers, her friends and Pelham neighbors – all of whom contributed to a long life, richly lived. In lieu of flowers, donations in Mimi’s memory can be made to the Cooley Dickinson Auxiliary, the Pelham Library or the Dakin Animal Shelter. The burial will be held privately and a celebration of Mimi’s life will be held on December 7, 2014 at 1:30 pm at Hills Chapel, Smith College. 

Service details, Social networking, Memorial Guestbook and Slideshow are available here.

Pam was born in Egham, England, the daughter of Frank H. White and Mabel Bosher.  She attended boarding schools until age 18, when she went to work as a clerk for the Bank of England. During the Second World War, she worked as an x-ray technician in London. 

She married Clark Beckett, a physicist, in 1948 and they immigrated to Rochester, New York in 1950. They divorced in 1967. She then married Everett Hafner, (also) a physicist, and moved to Amherst, Massachusetts in 1968. 

She worked for Danco, a Scandanavian Furniture store, in Northampton, and then for Scandanavian Design in Cambridge. She lived for 15 years in Belchertown. Most recently she was a resident of Loomis Village, a retirement community, in South Hadley. 

Pam loved to travel and to garden. She also enjoyed art, opera, the theater, and swimming, an activity she continued well into her 80’s. She was devoted to her companion animals, who gave her great joy in the final years of her life. 

She is survived by her children Julie Crutcher (Dan) of Louisville, KY, Jason Beckett (Paula) of Plano, TX and Christopher Beckett of Granby, CT, as well as her step-daughters, R. Clare Layton (Steve) of San Antonio, TX and Katie Hafner (Bob Wachter) of San Francisco, Ca. She has 5 grandchildren and 4 stepgrandchildren. 

The family would like to thank the staff at the Center for Extended Care in Amherst, Loomis Village and her companion and caretaker Deborah Beckett. 

Following a private ceremony, her remains will be interred at Wildwood Cemetery in Amherst. 

In lieu of flowers, donations in her name can be made to Dakin Pioneer Valley Humane Society, PO Box 6307, Springfield, MA 01101-6307. Obituary and memorial register at www.douglassfuneral.com

Service details, Social networking, Memorial Guestbook and Slideshow are available here.

Amherst, Isla B. Cembalisty, age 99, of Amherst, passed away on October 3, 2014, surrounded by beloved family and friends after a period of declining health. She had been residing at the New England Health Center, Sunderland, for several weeks.

Isla Geraldine Barker was born in Bisbee, Arizona on July 12, 1915, the daughter of the late John Wesley Barker and Nellie Eileen (Downing) Barker. Her brothers John Wesley “Jack” and Martin predeceased her. After the untimely passing of her mother, Isla’s father remarried. Isla, still a young child, shared a warm loving relationship with her stepmother, Juana Torres (Barker). The family moved to El Rosario in the Mexican state of Sinaloa where the extended Torres family resided. The Barkers divided their time between family in Sinaloa and the copper mining camps in Mexico and Pinar del Río, Cuba where her father worked as a mining engineer. She grew up loving golf, horseback riding and hunting with her father in Mexico and Cuba.

Following her 1930 graduation from the Matahambre American Grammar School in Pinar del Río, Isla traveled to Massachusetts where she attended Northfield Seminary. Upon her completion of high school, she attended Bay Path Institute and studied at San Joaquin General Hospital School of Nursing in Stockton, California, graduating in 1939.  

Isla and her late husband, Joseph Frank Cembalisty, shared fifty-four years of marriage before his death in 1994, having married in Northfield on October 14, 1940 at the Northfield Seminary Sage Chapel. They lived briefly in Brattleboro VT, then Orange MA, and in 1953, built their home in Amherst where they raised their two children.

Isla worked as a pediatric nurse at Cooley Dickinson Hospital, assisting Dr. Selkirk of Northampton and also Drs. Gage and Weeks of Amherst. Isla was well known and much admired in the Amherst/Cushman area. She had a love for animals, was an avid reader, seamstress and cook. Isla’s name became “Mum” to family and friends after her first grandchild was born. Friends knew they were always welcome at her table where there was delicious food and memorable merriment. Particularly missed will be Mum’s lemon meringue pies, brownies, golumkies, canned jelly and tomatoes, but the all time BEST would be her homemade bread and rolls.

Isla leaves behind her son, Wesley John and his wife Jo (Fishel), of Evergreen, CO and daughter, Eileen (Cembalisty) Legg and her husband Robert, of Pittsfield, NH as well as six grandchildren and nine great-grandchildren.

A celebration of Isla’s life will take place April 25, 2015 at the Pentecost Cemetery, Pentecost Road in Northfield, Massachusetts at 11:00 AM. A luncheon will follow at the Ginger Garden Restaurant, Amherst (corner of Northampton Rd. & University Dr.) at 1:00 PM. In lieu of flowers, those who wish to honor Isla’s memory may send a memorial to a charity of the donor’s choice. Obituary and memorial register at www.douglassfuneral.com

Service details, Social networking, Memorial Guestbook and Slideshow are available here.

           Buckland,  Mr. Edmund F. Smith, a life-long resident of Buckland died Friday morning, Oct. 3, in the same ancestral home where he was born April 2, 1930. He was 84.

            Smith was a farmer well-known for his decades of involvement in local affairs and for his willingness to take action for causes dear to him, be they fighting Washington for a fairer deal for farmers, getting out his own sledge hammer to repair the iron bridge in Shelburne Falls, or asking the school committee to remove reading material that offended his devout faith.

            Starting in 1967, Smith won elected office several times, serving on regional school committees for six years, Buckland’s board of health for three years, and 12 consecutive years on Buckland’s board of selectmen, finally retiring from elected office in 1990. In 1976 he lost a campaign for county commissioner, and in 1994 he lost a campaign for state representative.

            Before entering public office, Smith gained notoriety in 1966 as president of the North Central Mass. Dairymen’s Association and led a campaign opposing federal regulations that would hurt milk prices for local farmers. In the 1970s, Smith lobbied Washington because of unfair freight regulations that made feed costs too expensive for New England farmers. Smith got the help of U.S. Rep. Silvio Conte who invited Smith and other Massachusetts farmers to travel to Washington in 1973 to meet with Earl Butz, the U.S. Secretary of Agriculture.

            In 1976, the Greenfield Recorder reported the result of the meeting.

            “A month ago, Congress passed the Railroad Revitalization and Regulatory Reform Act, which includes a measure for regulating freight grain rates,” reporter Michael Gery wrote. “Since then, Conte has attributed that measure to an enlightening meeting he had with Ed Smith.”

            In 1981, Smith could not persuade the local school committee to remove books from required reading that contained vulgar language, but compromised with the committee to allow his own children to read other books instead.

            In a report at the time by the Associated Press in the Boston Herald American, Smith was described as “a devout Baptist, he doesn’t drink, smoke or swear and he takes the Bible as his ultimate authority.”

            The report summarized Smith’s argument this way: “If it is unconstitutional for students to be required to pray in the public schools, he argues, it should also be unconstitutional for a student to be required to read a book that a parent finds morally objectionable.”

            Throughout most of his public career, Smith worked simultaneously on the family dairy farm in Buckland Center with his father George E. Smith, who died in 1986, and his brother Homer E. Smith, who died in 2003. In 1988, Smith retired from dairy farming, and from the feed business that was run from the farm, selling his dairy cows and equipment, but kept the ancestral farm, which his great-grandfather Edmund Mills Smith had purchased in 1851.

            Deeply touched by the death of his own father, he studied to gain a certificate in funeral directing in order to help others go through the grieving process that he had experienced. He did this part-time for several years in his retirement.

            Passionate about male quartet music, Smith was a lifetime member of the Buckland Male Chorus, which he often directed, as were his father and brother.

            Smith’s is one of the oldest families in Massachusetts and was one of the pioneers in western New England. His direct ancestor Samuel Smith of Hadley, England, arrived in Massachusetts Bay Colony in 1634, and was one of the founders first of Wethersfield, Conn., and subsequently Hadley, Mass.

            Two generations later, part of the family settled Sunderland, and then Smith’s great-grandfather eventually purchased the Smith farm and moved from Sunderland to the farm on Upper Street. Smith died in the same room in which his grandfather and namesake, Edmund Francis Smith, was born and died; and in which his own father lived until his death.

            He is survived by his wife of 52 years, Theresa Jo Morris Smith, 76, his six children: Carl G. Smith, 51, of Lansdale, Penna.; Melanie M. Atkinson, 50, of Hampton, N.B., Canada; Stephen E. Smith, 48, of Buckland, Mass.; James M. Smith, 44, of Denton, Neb.; Charlene L. Bernier, 43, of Buckland, Mass., and Douglas G. Smith, 41, of Dubai, United Arab Emirates. Smith leaves seven grandchildren and one great-grandchild.

            Smith is also survived by two older sisters, Reola F. Smith, 87, of Buckland, and Sarah E. Looman, 86, of Shelburne. His oldest sister Katherine M. Parry died in 1974, and his mother Violet Reola Page Smith died in 1950.

            He will be buried in the family burial place at the First Congregational Church (Mary Lyon Church) in Buckland Center with his parents and sister. His grandparents and great-grandparents are also buried there.

            The family will hold visiting hours at the First Baptist Church of Colrain, of which Smith was a member for most of his life, on Wednesday, Oct. 8, from 4 p.m. to 7 p.m.; and the funeral will also be held there on Thursday, Oct. 9, at 10 a.m. The burial in Buckland will directly follow the funeral. Obituary and memorial register at www.douglassfuneral.com

Service details, Social networking, Memorial Guestbook and Slideshow are available here.

Inger Brown

1918 – 2014

Amherst, Inger Brown, 96, of Amherst, MA, passed away on September 28, 2014.  She was one of five children of Hans Christian and Ellen Nielsen Hansen, born on May 19, 1918, in Hobro, Denmark.  The family’s restaurant business took them from rural Hobro to Copenhagen in the 1930s.  After WWII, Inger worked for the US Army in Frankfurt, Germany.  Her love of travel and adventure led her throughout Europe and eventually to the United States.  She immigrated to Seattle, WA, in 1950 where she lived with her sister and husband, Edith and Henry Dorge.   Inger married George F. Brown, an officer in the US Air Force, in Seattle on March 31, 1951.  They lived in many locations during George’s career including Hadley, MA, South Carolina, Turkey, finally settling in Burlington, MA, where they raised their family.  In 1978, George and Inger retired to Chatham, MA, on Cape Cod.  Inger moved to Amherst in 2000 to be closer to her children and grandchildren.  She enjoyed playing bridge, needlecraft, and working crosswords. 

Inger was predeceased by her husband, parents, siblings, and one child, George Jr., who died in infancy.  She is survived by two children, Inger Brown Cell (and husband Charles) of Brewster, MA, and Christian Brown, of Belchertown, MA.  She is also survived by six grandchildren. 

Inger will be remembered for her love of family and her indomitable spirit. 

Calling hours will be at Douglass Funeral Home, in Amherst, MA, on Friday, October 3^rd, 3-6 pm.  In lieu of flowers, contributions may be made to the Perkins School for the Blind in Inger’s memory.  Inger lived many years with macular degeneration and was a strong supporter of the organization.  Their address is Perkins Trust, Perkins School for the Blind, 175 North Beacon St, Watertown, MA, 02472. Obituary and memorial register at www.douglassfuneral.com

Service details, Social networking, Memorial Guestbook and Slideshow are available here.

Elizabeth Hunt Davis Mazzocco

1958 – 2014

Amherst, Elizabeth Hunt Davis Mazzocco died Wednesday afternoon, Sept 24, 2014, at Bay State Medical Center in Springfield, MA. She was born February 11, 1958, in Chapel Hill, NC to Betty Hunt Seeger Davis and Bertran E Davis. Following several moves during her childhood, the family settled in Commerce, TX where she graduated from high school and earned the recognition of Valedictorian for the class of 1976. She received her B.A. in English and History from East Texas State University in 1980. In 1983 she received her M.A. in Medieval Studies, and in 1988 her Ph.D. in Italian Studies, both from Bryn Mawr College. She married Angelo Mazzocco on October 7, 1990.

After receiving her PhD she taught Italian at the University of Pennsylvania (1988-89), and at Mt. Holyoke College (1989-90); in 1990 she was appointed Five College Visiting Assistant Professor of Italian and Director of the Five College Foreign Language Resource Center. She was tenured and promoted to the rank of Five College Associate Prof. of Italian in 2000 , and to full Professor in 2004 while continuing in her role of the now called Five College Center for the Study of World Language. Under her directorship the Center gained worldwide recognition for research on the advancement of language pedagogy.

She has published extensively and given numerous lectures on foreign language acquisition and on Italian Renaissance. She was currently developing a platform for blended learning for languages eventually intended for public use.

Elizabeth was a unique blend of generosity, determination, strength and tenacity, always guided by the most genuine selflessness.

She is proceeded in death by her parents and survived by her husband, Angelo, Amherst, MA, step-son Marco Mazzocco, New York City, sister Sally Hunt Faires and husband Jim, Dallas, TX, niece Annabella Boatwright,  Northampton MA,  nephew Ben Boatwright, Cambridge, MA and numerous relatives, friends, and colleagues. Visitation will be at Douglass Funeral Home, Amherst, MA, Monday afternoon Sept. 29 from 2-4:30 followed by a memorial service at 5:30 at Johnson Chapel on the Amherst College campus. Interment will be at Wildwood Cemetery, Amherst, MA, Tuesday at 11:00 am.  Donations may be made to the Elizabeth HD Mazzocco memorial fund to be established to honor her legacy in teaching and scholarship. Inquiries should be addressed to Lucia Miller, Dean’s Office, College of Humanities and Fine Arts (luciam@admin.umass.edu). Obituary and memorial register at www.douglassfuneral.com

Service details, Social networking, Memorial Guestbook and Slideshow are available here.

KENNETH R. ALDRICH

1932 – 2014

Pelham, Kenneth R. Aldrich, 82, passed away on Sept. 22, 2014 at the Elaine Center at Hadley with his family by his side. Born on August 1, 1932 Ken was the son of the late Bernard and Clara (Greanier) Aldrich, Sr. He was a 1950 graduate of Amherst Regional High School and served in the Marine Corps from May 1951 – May 1954, serving in the Korean War. Ken retired from the Town of Pelham DPW in Aug. of 1993 after 21 years. Prior to that; he worked for the Town of Amherst DPW,

Amherst College, and Elder Lumber. During his life in Pelham he built his house in 1957. He also served as a part time Police Officer, was a member of the Pelham Vol. Fire Dept. and was active in the Boy Scouts. Ken rarely missed a Town Meeting and was an expert on Pelham history. He was an avid deer hunter and greatly enjoyed working outdoors especially cutting and splitting wood. He assisted his wife Doris greatly with breeding and showing of Pugs, and volunteered at many of

her club’s shows and functions. Until his illness made it difficult he could be found at Kelly’s in Amherst for morning coffee; usually as their first customer.  Ken is survived by his wife of 57 years Doris (Lamontagne) Aldrich of Pelham, son Rick and daughter-in-law Brenda of Belchertown, granddaughter Andrea Randall of So. Hadley; grandson Brian and his wife Lisa of Newfields, NH; and, 3 great grandchildren; Quinlan, Aiden, and Paige Randall of So. Hadley, all of who brought him great joy. Ken also leaves his brothers Bernard and his wife Harriett of Hadley, Richard of Ware; and, sisters Marguerite McCaffie of

Northfield, and Linda Motterella and her husband Peter of Lee, as well as many nieces and nephews. Calling hours at The Douglass Funeral Service, Amherst will be Friday, Sept. 26th, from 5:00-7:00 PM, with a brief Memorial Service beginning at 7:00 PM. A private family burial will be at the convenience of the family. In lieu of flowers donations may be made to the Pelham Vol. Fire Dept. or the U.S. Marine Corps Toys, for Tots Program, C/O WWLP 1 Broadcast Ctr. Chicopee, MA 01013.

Obituary and Memorial Register at www.douglassfuneral.com

Service details, Social networking, Memorial Guestbook and Slideshow are available here.

Stephanie {Overstreet} Perok

1959 – 2014

Thornike, Stephanie Perok, 51, was taken into the arms of the Lord on September 20, 2014 at 6:15 pm in Springfield, MA.  Stephanie was born in Gulfport, Ms. on May 2, 1959.  She is survived by her husband, David Perok, Sr.; her two daughters, Monica Meade and Krysten Perok; her son, David Perok, Jr.; her three brothers, Jonathan, Martin, and Patrick Overstreet; her sister, Rosemary Clifford; and 3 grandchildren.  Stephanie was predeceased by her mother, Monica Brown; her father, Henry Overstreet, Jr.; her sister, Monica Overstreet, and her brother David Overstreet.

Calling Hours are from 5pm – 8pm Thursday, September 25, 2014 at the Douglass Funeral Services, 87 No. Pleasant St., Amherst, Ma.  A  Liturgy of Christian Burial will be held at St. Brigid’s Roman Catholic Church, 122 No. Pleasant St., Amherst, Ma.  Friday, September 26, 2014 at 10:00 am, with burial following in St. Brigid’s Cemetery, Hadley. Obituary and memorial register at www.douglassfuneral.com

Service details, Social networking, Memorial Guestbook and Slideshow are available here.