Hilda Otaño-Benítez, 91, formerly of Amherst, passed away peacefully at her home in Agawam on May 25, 2020.
She was born Hilda Otaño Lugo on April 19, 1929, in Ciego de Avila, Havana, Cuba to Crescencio and Estefania Otaño Lugo.
She graduated from the University of Havana in Cuba and worked as an attorney there. She was especially proud of her work on behalf of workers’ rights.
She attended Boston University, where she graduated with a Masters of Arts degree in Romance Languages.
She was employed by Amherst College as a senior lecturer and language program director in the Spanish department. She retired from Amherst College in 2008.
Hilda was married to Antonio Benitez-Rojo, a world-renowned novelist, essayist, and short-story writer. He is widely regarded as the most significant Cuban author of his generation.
Antonio was denied permission by the Cuban government to travel with Hilda to the United States with their two children to obtain treatment for their daughter’s illness in 1967.
Hilda traveled alone with the children and stayed in the United States with them while Antonio remained in Cuba. She did not see him again until 1980, when he joined her in the United States from Paris, where he had traveled with a delegation from Cuba.
Hilda was predeceased by her husband, her son, Jorge Benitez-Rojo, and her daughter, Maria Benitez-Rojo. She was also predeceased by her parents, her sister, Elsa Maria Otaño Lugo, and brother, Rigoberto Otaño Lugo.
Hilda leaves nephews and nieces who, despite the distance between them, loved her and remained concerned for her welfare throughout her life. She leaves her niece, Gladys Otano, of Florida, Elsa Perez Otano, of Cuba, and Rigoberto, Roberto, Reinaldo, and Raul Otana Laffitte, of Cuba.
Her nieces and nephews composed this tribute to their aunt:
Para nuestra Tía
con todo el amor de sus sobrinos.
Mujer en traje de Batallas!
Luchadora como pocas. Mujer llena de valentía, de extrema inteligencia natural y gran tenacidad, que pudiste sortear con resignación y paciencia las duras circunstancias que te deparó la vida y aún así siempre tuviste amor para repartir y espacio para brindarnos una hermosa sonrisa.
Descansa en Paz guerrera, junto a tus hijos y esposo. Al fin juntos otra vez!
Funeral arrangements are with Douglas Funeral Home. The burial service will be private with a memorial Mass and service to be scheduled at St. Brigid’s Church in Hadley at a later date.

Hilda Otaño-Benítez, 91, formerly of Amherst, passed away peacefully at her home in Agawam on May 25, 2020.
She was born Hilda Otaño Lugo on April 19, 1929, in Ciego de Avila, Havana, Cuba to Crescencio and Estefania Otaño Lugo.
She graduated from the University of Havana in Cuba and worked as an attorney there. She was especially proud of her work on behalf of workers’ rights.
She attended Boston University, where she graduated with a Masters of Arts degree in Romance Languages.
She was employed by Amherst College as a senior lecturer and language program director in the Spanish department. She retired from Amherst College in 2008.
Hilda was married to Antonio Benitez-Rojo, a world-renowned novelist, essayist, and short-story writer. He is widely regarded as the most significant Cuban author of his generation.
Antonio was denied permission by the Cuban government to travel with Hilda to the United States with their two children to obtain treatment for their daughter’s illness in 1967.
Hilda traveled alone with the children and stayed in the United States with them while Antonio remained in Cuba. She did not see him again until 1980, when he joined her in the United States from Paris, where he had traveled with a delegation from Cuba.
Hilda was predeceased by her husband, her son, Jorge Benitez-Rojo, and her daughter, Maria Benitez-Rojo. She was also predeceased by her parents, her sister, Elsa Maria Otaño Lugo, and brother, Rigoberto Otaño Lugo.
Hilda leaves nephews and nieces who, despite the distance between them, loved her and remained concerned for her welfare throughout her life. She leaves her niece, Gladys Otano, of Florida, Elsa Perez Otano, of Cuba, and Rigoberto, Roberto, Reinaldo, and Raul Otana Laffitte, of Cuba.
Her nieces and nephews composed this tribute to their aunt:
Para nuestra Tía
con todo el amor de sus sobrinos.
Mujer en traje de Batallas!
Luchadora como pocas. Mujer llena de valentía, de extrema inteligencia natural y gran tenacidad, que pudiste sortear con resignación y paciencia las duras circunstancias que te deparó la vida y aún así siempre tuviste amor para repartir y espacio para brindarnos una hermosa sonrisa.
Descansa en Paz guerrera, junto a tus hijos y esposo. Al fin juntos otra vez!
Funeral arrangements are with Douglas Funeral Home. The burial service will be private with a memorial Mass and service to be scheduled at St. Brigid’s Church in Hadley at a later date.

Eillen M. Doubleday, passed away Monday, May 25th at the age of 88. She was a lifelong resident of Pelham. Along with her ex-husband Robert, they raised four children, Robert, of Shutesbury, Jo-Ann, of Cumberland, R.I., and Thomas and Scott of Pelham. She also leaves behind nine grandchildren and eleven great-grandchildren. She will be missed. Donations in her name can be made to the American Cancer Society.

On Thursday May 14 th, Juan Ramon Lizardi, loving husband, father, father-in-law, grandpa, stepfather, uncle, and great grandpa, passed away peacefully after a long battle with many medical issues.
Juan was born on Valentine’s Day, 1942 in Caguas, Puerto Rico. A military veteran, he spent most of his adult life working at Hamilton Standard. He retired in 2004 to spend time with his beloved wife Judy, enjoying their home and garden in Pelham, riding their motorcycles and being with their families.
Cancer and family tragedy derailed those plans, but Juan never showed his pain. To his family he was a pillar of strength and comfort. He meant the world to those he left behind. We will miss his stories, his deep voice, his home-made hot sauce, his warm smile, and his hugs.
Juan was preceded in death by his two oldest sons, Luis and Dario. He is survived by his wife Judy, sons John and Jason, daughter Anita, stepdaughters Jennifer and Betsy, and a large extended family who loved him dearly.
Funeral services will be announced to friends and family soon. Messages for the memorial to be held later in the year should be sent to jrl214memorial@gmail.com. In lieu of flowers or cards, we ask that you make a donation in Juan’s name to Hospice Care & Palliative Care of Massachusetts https://www.hospicefed.org/donations/?DONATIONS=2024017

Stephen “Skippy” Janse, 73, a long time Amherst resident, died May 5, 2020 at home with his family by at side. He was a proud veteran of the United States Navy. Skippy was known best in Amherst for his long career as a postal carrier. He is survived by his beloved wife Nancy, sons Douglas and John and his beloved dogs. His family would like to thank the hospice nurses from Cooley Dickinson VNA and Hospice for their compassionate care.
Memorial register book at www.douglassfuneral.com

Mary F. Fitzpatrick, a legendary public high school teacher who introduced thousands of Massachusetts students to the fundamentals of mathematics, died on May 23, 2020 at her home in Amherst. She was 98 years old.
“Mrs. Fitzpatrick,” as she was always known to her students, traveled an unlikely road to her career as a mathematics educator. She was born on February 12, 1922, in New Bedford, to Martin Callahan, an Irish immigrant who came to the United States as a boy of 10, and Mary (Bowen) Callahan. Although her parents had very limited educations, her father, who worked in the textile mills of Fall River, displayed a remarkable aptitude for numbers. As their only child, Mary demonstrated similar talent, and her parents encouraged her to pursue higher education. She was one of only four female Mathematics majors in Massachusetts State College’s (now the University of Massachusetts) Class of 1943. She always remembered where she came from and would wear a pale green carnation pinned to her lapel on St. Patrick’s Day, in tribute to her Irish origins, and the close-knit, working-class immigrant community in which she was raised.
She met her future husband, Robert Alan Fitzpatrick, in college. Although they hoped to marry upon graduation, World War II intervened. Fitzpatrick was deployed to Europe in 1944 shortly before D-Day. Mary returned to New Bedford and taught Mathematics at Fairhaven High School. She had grown up next to the ocean, and ever after loved being near the sea. On Friday October 13, 1944, she married then Lieutenant JG Fitzpatrick in a small ceremony at St. Patrick’s Cathedral in New York City, when Fitzpatrick was briefly home on liberty. Because her father had died that fall, custom dictated, as she would later explain to her children, that she wear a black dress to her wedding. They raised six children in a marriage that lasted over thirty years, ending only with her husband’s sudden death in 1975.
The Fitzpatricks settled in Amherst in 1949 after Robert accepted an appointment as professor at the University of Massachusetts. Mary returned to work shortly after the birth of their third child in 1952, as research assistant to a chemistry professor at Amherst College. In 1958, she began teaching Mathematics at Hopkins Academy in Hadley. Every spring she often brought home freshly cut asparagus from her students who worked their parents’ farms. She loved teaching in Hadley, where she earned a reputation as a rigorous but fair-minded instructor, who was remembered, and stopped in the grocery store decades later, by her former students in whom she took a great interest. Her Hopkins’ colleagues, drawn to her dry sense of humor, became lasting friends. She joined the faculty at Amherst Regional High School in 1970, teaching Algebra, Geometry and Calculus. She had her youngest daughter as a student, and tutored her children and their friends at her dining room table. In an academic town, full of professorial parents wanting the best instruction for their children, she was a sought-after teacher, and honored with the Robert Frost Chair for her outstanding teaching skills. Known for her impeccable taste, one former student, now a science writer for the New York Times, recently described her “enduring memory” of Mrs. Fitzpatrick, who always looked “as if she just stepped out of the beauty salon.” But, most of all, it was her clarity and forthrightness that impressed this Geometry student. “She made us love math. It’s not that she made it fun. But she made math interesting, even eye opening.” By the time Mary retired in 1987, she had taught math to the children of some of her first students.
Unlike many married women of her generation in Amherst, Mary Fitzpatrick was ahead of her time in combining work and family. Despite her many teaching responsibilities, she was a devoted mother, who understood and appreciated the differences among her six children, meeting them where they were throughout their lives. She adored, and is adored by, her three grandchildren and four great-grandchildren, as she never lost her delight in young people or her instinctive, yet kind desire to help them improve themselves. Mary’s razor-sharp intellect endured to the end of her life. She tutored her grandchildren in Calculus when she was in her late 80s and completed the New York Times crossword puzzle, daily, in ballpoint pen, until the last weeks of her life. Her longevity inspired not only her children but also their many friends, comforting them as the years went on with her vivid, warm, enduring presence, and reminding them of their own parents already gone. Her continuously growing family meant the world to her, and she not just welcomed but expected them to migrate to the family home to spend the holidays together in Amherst. Attendance was usually perfect as all were drawn by their wish to spend time, share apple pie with coffee ice cream, and play a fiercely competitive round of dominoes with “Mom,” “Nana,” or “Big Nana.”
She leaves five children, Maureen of Amherst, Robert of Holyoke and his wife Evie, Ellen of Newtonville, Mary of South Boston, Frances of Amherst, three grandchildren, Ryan Taft of Billerica, Brigid and Robert Wright, both of Boston, and four great-grandchildren, John, Gianna, Giselle, and Casey, as well her son in law, Jeffrey J. Wright of Needham. Her youngest daughter, Jean, predeceased her in 2018.
Mary’s family wishes to express their deep gratitude to Kathy Wiater, Regina Rumplik and Karen Hill of the Cooley Dickinson Hospital VNA and to Drs. Marianna Marguglio and Victoria Noble.
A service will be scheduled in the late summer, with the date to be announced. In lieu of flowers, her family suggests donations to the Lown Cardiovascular Group, where Mary long received exemplary care from Dr. Shmuel Ravid, Helene Glaser, R.N. and their colleagues, at 830 Boylston Street, Suite 205, Chestnut Hill, MA. 02467 (www.lowngroup.org)
Obituary and memorial register at www.douglassfuneral.com

Stephanie Renee Wentworth passed away unexpectedly on May 14, 2020. Stephanie was born on June 6, 1971 on her parent’s third wedding anniversary. Stephanie grew up in Belchertown and graduated from Belchertown High School in 1989. She went on to college and graduated from North Adams State College in 1993. Stephanie worked for several medical practices including Kaiser Permanente, Wing Memorial and the time of her death, Hampden County Pediatrics.
Stephanie loved vacationing in Florida with her sons and sharing the Disney experience with them.
Stephanie will be missed by all who knew her including Patrick Moynihan and their two sons Jacob and Tyler Moynihan, her parents Arthur and Linda Wentworth, her favorite brother Jeffrey and sister-in-law Mimi Wentworth, and her Jacque, Jenks, O’Brien and Wentworth aunts, uncles and cousins.
Stephanie’s family and friends will celebrate her life at a later date.
Douglas Funeral Service, Amherst, MA is in charge of Stephanie’s final arrangements.

Barbara A. Tuthill passed away May 15, 2020 from complications of Covid-19. She was born in Plains, Pennsylvania on July 23, 1930 to Elizabeth (Wall) Tuthill and Robert Eldridge Tuthill. In 1941 her family moved to Newton, Massachusetts. After high school she attended Boston University earning a BA in English Literature. Furthering her education at Simmons College she received a Master’s in Library Science, specializing in children’s literature. Her career began with two years at the Boston Public Library followed by a year as school librarian in Brookline, Massachusetts.
Barbara then moved to San Diego, California, where her career spanned thirty-one years in the San Diego Public library system. Her first assignment there was as children’s librarian in the La Jolla branch library. She advanced up through the ranks, ultimately becoming a supervisory librarian in the Central Library. At time of her retirement in 1991, she was supervisor of the branch libraries in Northern San Diego and was responsible for a large book purchasing budget.
Barbara loved art and music attending many symphony and chamber concerts with her friends in California. She was a docent at the San Diego Museum of Art as well as at the Mingei Art Museum in Balboa park where she helped catalogue the collection. Her Intellectual curiosity led her to travel widely.
To be near her family she moved to Amherst, Massachusetts in 2008, and resided at her Applewood apartment where she gained many new friends. With increasing health issues she moved to the Center for Extended Care in Amherst in September 2019.
She will be missed by her family, brother Robert and wife Jacqueline, sister Nancy Rott and husband Don plus her two nieces, two nephews, four great nieces, four great nephews and friends.
A memorial service may be held in the future. Memorial gifts can be made on-line to the Covid-19 Relief Fund of United Way or to the Cooley-Dickinson hospital.

Our beloved mother, Martha Waldron, died peacefully at home on April 23, 2020.
Martha was born in Michigan but grew up in New Jersey. She enjoyed talking about the year her family spent in Oxford, where her father was pursuing a degree. She led her British schoolmates into (very mild) disobedience until the family was evacuated (by boat, from Ireland) when Britain became involved in World War II. She finished high school in New Jersey, where she was a long-distance swimmer and a state all-star in field hockey. She came to Massachusetts to earn bachelor’s and master’s degrees in Zoology at Mount Holyoke College. She was introduced to a classmate’s cousin, Paul Waldron, and they married and settled in Amherst, where they raised five children. In the 1950s she participated in the Amherst Fair Housing movement, and in the 1960s was a regular participant in vigils on the Amherst Common advocating peace in Vietnam. She enjoyed gardening (except for her foe, the groundhog), enjoyed watching the birds (but regretting the squirrels), and enjoyed spending time in Colrain. She loved to sing, and sang solos at Mount Holyoke and at other concerts. She was an avid reader of literature, philosophy, and theology, but also mysteries. She especially enjoyed Reinhold Neibuhr, Carl Jung, Charles Williams, C. S. Lewis, Ellis Peters, and Dorothy L. Sayers. Later in life she became the manager of the LAOS bookstore in Amherst, a position she held into her 80s. A definite highlight of her later years was meeting with South African cleric and human rights activist Desmond Tutu when he visited Amherst. She loved to root for the Red Sox and against the Yankees, and was happy to hear from Jon that so far this season the Sox were undefeated and the Yankees hadn’t won a game.
Martha was predeceased by her husband, Paul, her parents, The Reverend Ralph and Ruth Johnson, her great-aunt, Anna Busso, and her brother, the Reverend Ralph Johnson, Jr. She is survived by her children, Jeff and wife Cherry Lemon, Jon and wife Ann Dorfman, Tim and wife Kiki, Karen and husband Rich Hilliard, and Robin; grandchildren Katy Waldron and husband Jim Elliot with their children Seamus and Fiona, Anna Waldron and husband Stephen Libby with their children Rose and Robin, Jessica and husband Antonio Waldron, Rich Hilliard, and Naniel Hilliard, Loren with his daughter Lyla, Joni and husband Dennis Chali with their children Noah and Abby; sister-in-law Anita Johnson and nephews Rob, William, Steven, Dan, and Ted Johnson; sister-in-law Arly Waldron; the Waldron cousins; Paul’s cousin Betty Mitman; friends too numerous to mention but especially the Reverend Chisato and Mary Kitagawa; Dick and Diana Brown, and the cardinal that came to the feeder faithfully at dusk.
Martha was a woman of faith, and we send special remembrances and thanks to the Reverend Tanya Wallace, rector, and to the community of All Saints Church in South Hadley where she sang for many years in the choir, and attended services until they were recently moved online.
We are grateful for Jenna and the other caregivers of the CHC, the staff at BayState Medical Center, who cared for her and then enabled us to bring her home, the hospice nurses, and her primary care doctor, Dr. Furcolo.
We celebrate Martha for a life well-lived; she was a woman of grace, intelligence, empathy, and charm, enormously proud of her children, grandchildren, and great-grandchildren, and always looking forward to Christmas. We will remember and miss you always.
A memorial service will be held at a later date when public health concerns have eased and family and friends can safely gather to celebrate a remarkable life and hug each other.
Contributions in her name may be made to All Saints Church in South Hadley, Massachusetts, Mount Holyoke College, the Society of the Companions of the Holy Cross, or the World Wildlife Fund.

Boss, Hillard (Hill, Hilly) P. died peacefully while listening to classical music at Cooley Dickinson Hospital, on May 12, 2020. He was laid to rest beside his beloved wife, Ronya (Ronnie) Berlinger Boss on his 91st birthday, May 15, 2020 at the Jewish Community of Amherst Cemetery in Shutesbury, MA.
Hill was predeceased by Ronya and his sister, Ruth Handelman Boss, and is survived by his son, Michael Boss, daughter, Julie Boss and her partner Seven Klein, and grandchildren Cooper Klein, J. Aviv Boss and Isaac Boss, as well as many nieces and nephews.
Born on May 15, 1929 in Danbury, Connecticut, Hill was the son of Mendell and Bertha (Kurtz) Boss. He graduated from Poughkeepsie High School in 1947 and went on to earn a bachelor’s degree at New York University and a master’s degree in education from Syracuse University. He married Ronya in 1953 and they spent 51 wonderful years together until her death in 2004.
Hill taught high school social studies in New York State for 32 years, with most of those years on Long Island, until his retirement in 1984. He is fondly remembered by many of his students, including several with whom he remained in touch throughout his life. Hill and Ronnie moved to Amherst, MA in 1984, where they operated the Grist Mill Antiques from 1984-2002. While in Amherst, Hill was active in the community, was a participating member of the Jewish Community of Amherst, and made many dear friends.
Hill was a proud, lifelong Democrat. He ran two promising but unsuccessful campaigns for the New York State Senate in 1974 and 1976, and remained active with the Suffolk County Democratic Committee throughout his years in New York. While living in Amherst, Hill was elected to the Amherst Select Board in 1994 and 1997.
In 2007, Hill moved to Northampton, where he remained until 2019. While there, he returned to his love of teaching and taught at Smith Vocational High School. He also led classes in popular culture.
Hill will be remembered by friends and family for his generosity, volunteer activities, unconventional humor, and passion for life. He had a deep love of music, particularly classical music. He was an avid reader, keeping up with news, politics, and sports, and was a dedicated student of history, with a particular interest in the Civil War and Reconstruction periods. He was also a loyal, lifelong fan of the St. Louis Cardinals, the Syracuse Orange men’s basketball team, and the New York Giants.
In lieu of flowers, contributions in Hill’s memory can be made to The Cooley Dickinson Fund, Cooley Dickinson Hospital Development Office, P.O. Box 329 Northampton, MA 01061-0329