Shirley Lauder Mosakeiwicz née Thayer passed away peacefully at home on Wednesday, August 7 after a brief illness. For all her 91 years she was beloved by family and friends. She had a giving heart, loved her family above all and was devoted to those she loved.

Born in Amherst in 1928 when there was still a “lying in” hospital, Shirley was the only daughter of Grace and Herman Thayer of Amherst and only sister of Don Thayer of Amherst and Howard Thayer (who passed away in 2017). A graduate of Amherst High School, Shirley also attended a business program in Northampton. Shirley lived her whole life in Amherst and was very involved both publicly and privately in making Amherst a great place to live. She worked for the town of Amherst as Treasurer/Tax collector until she retired in February, 1989. She was well respected during her 38 years of service the last 12 years as Treasurer/Tax Collector. She had the ability to keep cool under pressure. Part of her charm was to meet with people personally and be sensitive to their feelings. She said, “When you’re in somebody’s pocketbook, it’s not always pleasant. You have to have the ability to make them try and understand.”

Upon her retirement, she worked in many different roles for her church family, South Congregational of South Amherst and leaves many friends behind there. She also worked every election from open to close at the polls for the League of Women Voters and was a longtime member of South Amherst community club called The Thursday Club. Her volunteering didn’t stop there. For many years she volunteered at the Amherst police department and at the South Amherst branch of the public library.

Her five nieces and nephews and nine grandnieces and grandnephews loved her dearly. She enjoyed spending summers with her family at her camp on Lake Wyola and spent many winters with her husband Chick Mosakeiwicz, the love of her life, in Florida. She was a loving and caring aunt and great aunt to Donna Waskiewicz and husband Bob (Wendy, Monica and fiancé Tyler, Lacey), David Thayer and wife Carol (Emily and Kelly), Doug Thayer and wife Lauren (Regan, Samantha), Lori Thayer, Leann Thayer (Zachary and Jacob). She will be sorely missed.

Hours of visitation will be Sunday August 11, 1-3 PM at Douglass Funeral Service in Amherst. Funeral service will begin at 10 AM at South Congregational Church in South Amherst, on Monday August 12, with burial to follow at South Amherst Cemetery.

Donations can be made in her honor to Cooley Dickinson Hospice program or to South Congregational Church.

Shirley Lauder Mosakeiwicz née Thayer passed away peacefully at home on Wednesday, August 7 after a brief illness. For all her 91 years she was beloved by family and friends. She had a giving heart, loved her family above all and was devoted to those she loved.

Born in Amherst in 1928 when there was still a “lying in” hospital, Shirley was the only daughter of Grace and Herman Thayer of Amherst and only sister of Don Thayer of Amherst and Howard Thayer (who passed away in 2017). A graduate of Amherst High School, Shirley also attended a business program in Northampton. Shirley lived her whole life in Amherst and was very involved both publicly and privately in making Amherst a great place to live. She worked for the town of Amherst as Treasurer/Tax collector until she retired in February, 1989. She was well respected during her 38 years of service the last 12 years as Treasurer/Tax Collector. She had the ability to keep cool under pressure. Part of her charm was to meet with people personally and be sensitive to their feelings. She said, “When you’re in somebody’s pocketbook, it’s not always pleasant. You have to have the ability to make them try and understand.”

Upon her retirement, she worked in many different roles for her church family, South Congregational of South Amherst and leaves many friends behind there. She also worked every election from open to close at the polls for the League of Women Voters and was a longtime member of South Amherst community club called The Thursday Club. Her volunteering didn’t stop there. For many years she volunteered at the Amherst police department and at the South Amherst branch of the public library.

Her five nieces and nephews and nine grandnieces and grandnephews loved her dearly. She enjoyed spending summers with her family at her camp on Lake Wyola and spent many winters with her husband Chick Mosakeiwicz, the love of her life, in Florida. She was a loving and caring aunt and great aunt to Donna Waskiewicz and husband Bob (Wendy, Monica and fiancé Tyler, Lacey), David Thayer and wife Carol (Emily and Kelly), Doug Thayer and wife Lauren (Regan, Samantha), Lori Thayer, Leann Thayer (Zachary and Jacob). She will be sorely missed.

Hours of visitation will be Sunday August 11, 1-3 PM at Douglass Funeral Service in Amherst. Funeral service will begin at 10 AM at South Congregational Church in South Amherst, on Monday August 12, with burial to follow at South Amherst Cemetery.

Donations can be made in her honor to Cooley Dickinson Hospice program or to South Congregational Church.

Shirley Lauder Mosakeiwicz née Thayer passed away peacefully at home on Wednesday, August 7 after a brief illness. For all her 91 years she was beloved by family and friends. She had a giving heart, loved her family above all and was devoted to those she loved.

Born in Amherst in 1928 when there was still a “lying in” hospital, Shirley was the only daughter of Grace and Herman Thayer of Amherst and only sister of Don Thayer of Amherst and Howard Thayer (who passed away in 2017). A graduate of Amherst High School, Shirley also attended a business program in Northampton. Shirley lived her whole life in Amherst and was very involved both publicly and privately in making Amherst a great place to live. She worked for the town of Amherst as Treasurer/Tax collector until she retired in February, 1989. She was well respected during her 38 years of service the last 12 years as Treasurer/Tax Collector. She had the ability to keep cool under pressure. Part of her charm was to meet with people personally and be sensitive to their feelings. She said, “When you’re in somebody’s pocketbook, it’s not always pleasant. You have to have the ability to make them try and understand.”

Upon her retirement, she worked in many different roles for her church family, South Congregational of South Amherst and leaves many friends behind there. She also worked every election from open to close at the polls for the League of Women Voters and was a longtime member of South Amherst community club called The Thursday Club. Her volunteering didn’t stop there. For many years she volunteered at the Amherst police department and at the South Amherst branch of the public library.

Her five nieces and nephews and nine grandnieces and grandnephews loved her dearly. She enjoyed spending summers with her family at her camp on Lake Wyola and spent many winters with her husband Chick Mosakeiwicz, the love of her life, in Florida. She was a loving and caring aunt and great aunt to Donna Waskiewicz and husband Bob (Wendy, Monica and fiancé Tyler, Lacey), David Thayer and wife Carol (Emily and Kelly), Doug Thayer and wife Lauren (Regan, Samantha), Lori Thayer, Leann Thayer (Zachary and Jacob). She will be sorely missed.

Hours of visitation will be Sunday August 11, 1-3 PM at Douglass Funeral Service in Amherst. Funeral service will begin at 10 AM at South Congregational Church in South Amherst, on Monday August 12, with burial to follow at South Amherst Cemetery.

Donations can be made in her honor to Cooley Dickinson Hospice program or to South Congregational Church.

Arthur A. Munisteri, distinguished lawyer and enthusiastic country dancer, died August 4th, 2019 in Northampton MA after a lengthy illness. He was 80. His death was announced by his wife, Nancy P. Boyd.

Born in Brooklyn NY on April 27, 1939, to Peter and Ines (Ziniti) Munisteri, Arthur graduated from Poly Prep Country Day School (1956), Yale University (1960) and Yale Law School (1963). He went on to clerk for Judge Thomas Swan, US Court of Appeals for the 2nd Circuit, in New Haven CT. Later he was tapped for the position of Assistant US Attorney for the Southern District of New York, working under Robert Morgenthau and then Whitney Seymour. He continued his public service as Regional Chief in the Office of Special Prosecutor for Medicaid Fraud during Governor Mario Cuomo’s administration in New York.

Arthur was a long-time member of the Country Dance and Song Society, Inc., and served on the boards of related organizations in New York and Massachusetts. He was an avid English, contra and Morris dancer, a sought-after waltz partner, and a proud member of the Greenwich Morris Men and the Pinewoods Folk Music Club in New York City. He sang for many years in the New York Christmas Revels, and later in the Cambridge MA Christmas Revels. Arthur was well-known for his vast repertoire of literary references, funny stories, and recall of the details of everything he had ever read.

In addition to his wife, Nancy, Arthur leaves behind his brother, Joseph Munisteri (Barbra), sons Matthew (Carmela Marner) and Ben, daughter Adele (Andres Gleich), step-daughter Caroline Litwinski, two grandchildren, Arlo and Calla Gleich, step-grandson Felix Bridel, a special cousin, Diane Grimes, and many nieces and nephews. He was pre-deceased by his sister, Lauradele Smith. A celebration of life is being planned for the fall. Arrangements are being handled by Douglass Funeral Service in Amherst, MA. Memorial donations can be made to the Country Dance and Song Society, Inc., 116 Pleasant Street, Suite 345 • Easthampton, MA 01027-2759 • 413-203-5467, or the Columbia University’s Alzheimer’s Disease Research Center, http://www.cumc.columbia.edu/adrc/

James V. “Frenchie” Pizzotti passed away peacefully at his home in Amherst on July 20, 2019. He was born in Webster, MA on December 8, 1940 to James V. Sr. and Josephine Kukla. James retired from Riverside Industries in 2016. He was a member of St. Mary’s Church in Ware. He enjoyed singing and was very patriotic. He will be missed by his housemates and all who knew him. A graveside service was held July 25th at South Amherst Cemetery.

Janet Merriam Cornell, 85, died peacefully Monday June 17, 2019 in Amherst, at her home with which she shared with her sister, Joyce Merriam. She was born in Worcester, MA., on May 15, 1934 to the late Kenneth and Alice {Blandin} Merriam.

Janet graduated from Classical High School in Worcester and attended UMass where she pursued a career as a dietician, including work at Cooley Dickenson. She moved up and down the east coast with her husband Frank; she was a pro at turning a house into a cozy home. Janet was an avid bird watcher with her sister Joyce and they often traveled on Audubon trips across the US.

Janet’s husband Frank, husband, died Florida in 1996 at 81, Janet is survived by her sister Joyce, a step-daughter Jean Cornell Lutz of Eliot, ME and her family.

A Memorial Service will be held at Douglass Funeral Home, 87 N. Pleasant St. Amherst, on Saturday, August 10, 2019 at 10am.

Patricia A. Ocicki (Walas), 66 of Hadley, Mass. Passed away suddenly on Sunday July 28, 2019 with her loving children at her side at Mass General Hospital in Boston.

Patricia or “Pat” as most knew her was born the oldest of three children to the late Stanley and Genevieve Walas. As a child Pat moved all over the country due to her father’s job as a naval officer before finally settling in Massachusetts. She was a graduate of Granby High School and soon after graduating was a certified hair dresser, which she loved doing. She also became a mother to two sons.

Later on in life Pat got a job at the Amherst School department as a school bus driver and also became a mother again, this time to a girl. Pat loved driving her bus and cared deeply for the students she transported. Sadly however, Pat did have some bad times in her life, like her multiple bouts with cancer. But that never hindered her from her passions. She was stubborn and a fighter with a heart of gold, especially when it came to her family.

Pat leaves behind her loving daughter Mandy Lynn Ocicki, her son Stephen Walas, and her granddaughters Lidia Healy and Emma Walas. Pat was predeceased by her son, Robert Healy.

Pat was loved by all who she met. She would always be the one to help someone in need and would always be there as a mother, a friend, or just someone to talk to. She will be sorely missed by all.

A Mass of Christian Burial will be Thursday, August 8, 2019 at 10am at the Most Holy Redeemer Church in Hadley with burial to follow at the Holy Rosary Cemetery in Hadley.

Kristin Elizabeth Sackett of Chicopee, Massachusetts died peacefully in her sleep on Wednesday, July 24, 2019. Kristin was a mother, daughter, sister, and friend to many. She found profound joy her daughter Yainelyz and in helping others.

Kristin was born on October 31, 1969 in Northampton, Massachusetts to David and Christina Sackett. She spent her early childhood in Hadley, Massachusetts and graduated from Amherst Pelham Regional High School in 1987. She attended the University of Massachusetts Amherst where she was a dedicated and enthusiastic piccolo player in the UMass marching band. After obtaining a degree in psychology, she moved to Honolulu and attended the University Of Hawaii School Of Social Work where she obtained a MSW. Kristin returned to the mainland in 1996 and began a life dedicated to helping others. She provided services in early intervention, at the Crisis Hotline, at the Providence Hospital in Holyoke, and by individual psychotherapy. Kristin was drawn to helping the individuals who needed the most help.

Kristin was an intelligent, compassionate, and funny individual. She enjoyed bird-watching and family vacations. She spent time on the coast of Maine, on the beaches of Rhode Island, and throughout Western Massachusetts. She is intensely loved and greatly missed by friends, family, and those she left behind.

Kristin’s calm, sensitive, and stoic nature got her through a long illness. Her consistent desire to help others allowed her to connect with friends and family. She found joy with her family, most especially her daughter Yainelyz.

Kristin is survived by her daughter Yainelyz; her parents David and Christina Sackett; her sister Jane Sackett; her niece Charlotte Sackett; and several generations of cousins.

A memorial service will be held on Thursday, August 15 at 11 AM at the South Congregational Church in Amherst, Massachusetts. All are welcome. To honor Kristin’s memory, in lieu of flowers, the family suggests donations to a College Scholarship Fund for Yainelyz. Donations can be sent to Peoples Bank 56 Amity Street Amherst, MA 01002 Attn: Jason Tobiasz.

AMHERST, MA – Steve Karpovich passed away on July 22nd from injuries related to a car crash in Leverett on July 2nd. Steve was the son of two loving parents, Walter and Josephine Karpovich. He was born on January 11th, 1949 and grew up in Pawtucket, RI.

He graduated from New York University in 1969. As he wrote in his journal, “At that time and in that place, there were few acceptable options for whom a boy would be or how he could be [emotionally]. It was a time in history when the greater wide world was starting to open up…” The world did open up for Steve through his travels in Central America, backpacking throughout the country, and his political activism, including involvement with the Clamshell Alliance protesting the Seabrook Nuclear Power Plant.

Steve spent much of his time hiking in the woods and climbing mountains, including all the mountains above 4000 ft in New England. He held a deep respect and appreciation for the wilderness, and his spirituality was deeply rooted in the earth. Every weekend he would leave in the early morning to search for rattlesnakes, copperheads, bears, and moose in the forests of Western Mass, just to watch them in their natural habitats. He loved looking for the first ephemeral flowers of early spring. When he wasn’t in the woods, he could be found gardening, reading at a local cafe, or dancing to live music, especially Afro-Cuban rhythms.

For much of his life Steve was a helper and student of several Native American Elders and communities in the US and Canada. He also worked at Akwesasne Notes of the Mohawk Nation in New York in the 1970’s. These teachings were the foundation of how he lived his life.

His work life spanned from being a firefighter in Arizona to a Headstart teacher in Roxbury and ended as the Director of the ServiceNet Wells Street Shelter, Franklin County’s only homeless shelter for individuals. He brought integrity, respect, and compassion to the many people he worked with throughout his life. Attached is a link to a remembrance honoring his work, published in the Greenfield Recorder. https://www.recorder.com/a1-Longtime-homeless-shelter-director-dies-27454617

Steve is survived by his wife Kris Larson and his daughter Maya Karpovich, as well as his sister Chris Thompson and her husband Phil, his brother Walter Karpovich, his niece Amanda Thompson, and his nephew Zach Thompson and his wife Michelle, along with countless other family and friends who loved him. He was deeply devoted to his family. He lived a life of kindness, respect, and courage and will be deeply missed by all of us.

Donations in Steve’s memory may be made to Kestrel Land Trust of the Pioneer Valley through www.kestreltrust.org or to the Wells Street Shelter through www.servicenet.org.

Eli Kwartler, 89, died Saturday, August 3 at his home in Pelham after several months of declining health. He had been discharged from the hospital two days earlier into hospice care by his own choice and continued to participate in decision making once he was at home. Over those two days, he had the opportunity to talk with most of his immediate family members and several close friends, along with some of the valued caregivers who had been assisting him over the past months.

Born December 15, 1929 to Sol and Clara (Ostrager) Kwartler in Brooklyn, New York, Eli remained there through high school, college, and young adulthood. He experienced a traumatic and disruptive childhood. His father left when he was two, and his mother could not care for him due to her ill health. Eli began a journey through a number of relatives’ households. Along the way, he learned that reading opened doors to seeing other ways of living, and he spent much time in the public library, a practice he maintained until the end of his life. After a number of years and court battles, he returned to live with his father in a series of furnished rooms, earning his own income through busing dishes in Catskills hotels, guessing weights on Coney Island and hustling pool. Eli’s father did not approve of Eli’s aspiring to a college education, so, after graduating from high school in 1947, Eli joined the army to take advantage of the G.I. Bill.

The next few years were eventful. Eli entered and graduated from Pace College, where he majored in business; as a reservist, he was called up in 1950 during the Korean War to become a paratrooper in the 11th Airborne Division, but a medical condition kept him stateside right before deployment and led to his discharge.

He married Adele Behrman in 1950, and his daughter Karen was born in 1952, followed by his son Jonathan in 1953. Daughter Dianne was born in 1957. Work was hard to come by with the country in recession, and he worked many entry-level jobs until he was given an opportunity as a sales trainee at Eastern Corrugated Industries in Clifton, NJ, an hour and a half commute from his family in Brooklyn. Between 1955 and 1962, Eli moved upwards in the company, gaining financial independence from his in-laws, and moving the company first to Albany, NY, where it became Tri-City Container, and later to Northampton, MA, although the family resided in Longmeadow. Eli worked hard, often making grueling commutes, or driving great distances for sales and deliveries. He put in long hours to provide for his family, but he later acknowledged that his frequent absences did not allow him to be a good father and husband, and the result was a divorce from Adele in 1967.

Around this time, he began his first volunteer efforts, doing drug counseling with teenagers as well as working on a crisis hot line. He also took a trip to England and Scotland in 1969, his first trip abroad, traveling by himself just to see if he could do it. This trip and his adventurous spirit would eventually lead to exploring all 50 states, all seven continents and countries as diverse as North Korea, Iran, Papua New Guinea and Kazakhstan.

He began another journey when he was accepted in 1971 to the University of Massachusetts program in counseling, receiving an M.Ed. in 1973. He became chairman of the Hampshire United Way Board, and in 1975 moved into a house he had built in Pelham. That same year he met Barbara Jenkins, and the following year she and her four-year-old daughter Eve moved into the Pelham house with him. Tri-City Container had been bought out by a major conglomerate, Packaging Corporation of America (Tenneco), and Eli, feeling dissatisfied, left PCA to join Rand Whitney in 1980 as vice president and general manager.

After an abrupt departure from that company four years later, Eli could not find a position at his level locally, so he launched a consulting business, which he always described as frightening, but which led to success and enjoyment as he worked with companies across the United States and internationally throughout the ‘90s. He created and organized the Packaging Alliance Network, an alliance of independent container companies formed in order to compete successfully with giant national companies. He was always proud that he could gain the trust of competing companies throughout his consulting career, so that they did not fear his betraying their confidences.

In the ‘70s and into the ‘80s and ‘90s, he watched his children marry and gradually have their own children. In 1995, he and Barbara married. In 2000, he almost lost his life due to an allergic reaction to a blood plasma transfusion after hip surgery. He recovered enough so that one year later on 9/11, he heard news of the attacks while traveling in Tibet and then Vietnam. He continued to travel and he continued to have life-threatening accidents, illnesses and recoveries, so that all agreed he had lived his nine lives and more.

As his professional career wound down, he looked for continued meaningful opportunities to volunteer. He spent a month in Thailand working with a container company through a government agency that placed specialists internationally. He became involved in the town of Pelham first on the finance committee and then as a selectman, he became active in the Jewish Community of Amherst, eventually becoming co-president, he served on the boards of the Amherst Survival Center and the Literacy Project, and he was a counselor with SCORE advising start-up entrepreneurs. He was pleased to be able to help organizations, such as The Care Center in Holyoke, with financial gifts and took strong interest in fundraising for them and following their progress. During the last years of his life, he trained and worked weekly as a volunteer for SHINE, a program that provides free, one-on-one health insurance counseling to Medicare beneficiaries.

Eli is survived by his wife, Barbara Benda Jenkins, his son Jonathan Kwartler (Rochelle) of Cherry Hill, NJ; his daughter Dianne Jensen of Old Saybrook, CT; his stepdaughter Eve Jenkins (John Monch) of Takoma Park, MD; his grandchildren George Mock of Southwick, Kevin Mock (Cara) of Indian Orchard, David and Joshua Kwartler of Philadelphia PA, Megan Sher (Adam) of Falls Village, CT, Wesley Jensen of Groton, CT, and stepgrandchild Elliot Davey of Takoma Park; his great grandsons Eli and Noah Sher and Kevin Mock, Jr; his brother-in-law James Benda of Des Moines, Iowa and a number of other family members and dear friends. He was predeceased by his daughter Karen Harper in 2017.

Making it possible for Eli to stay in his own home as his health declined were members of the Cooley Dickinson VNA and Hospice teams along with caregivers from Homewatch Caregivers and Debcor Home Care.

Memorial gifts may be made in Eli’s name to SHINE Program, LifePath, Inc., 01 Munson Street, Suite 201, Greenfield, MA 01301, or to The Jewish Community of Amherst, 742 Main Street, Amherst, MA 01002.