Amherst, Eleanor A. {Kuzmeski} Soja, 91, died peacefully Sunday March 26, 2017. Eleanor was born in Amherst November 29, 1925 to the late Michael and Frances Kuzmeski. She was a graduate of Amherst High School and lifelong parishioner of St. Brigid’s Church in Amherst. As a young girl, Eleanor worked at the Hat Shop in Holyoke and Factory Sickles in Chicopee, she retired after 25 years of employment at UMASS. Eleanor loved time spent with her family during the holidays, gardening, playing board games and especially cribbage. Eleanor always thought very fondly of her two cats.

She is survived by her niece Joan Knightly, nephew Patrick and his wife Paulina and their daughter Jasmine Lottie Knightly. She is also survived by many nieces and nephews. She was predeceased by her husband Thaddeus Soja, her brothers Charles and Alfred Kuzmeski and her sister Mary Knightly.

Private funeral services were held at St. Brigid’s Church, Amherst with private burial in St. Brigid’s Cemetery, Hadley. Memorial donations in her name may be made to St. Brigid’s Church P.O. Box 424 Amherst, MA 01004.

Hadley, Marjorie E. Weisberg, 99, formerly of Detroit, Michigan and Brookline, MA died in Hadley at the Elaine Center on March 15. Family scribe, photographer and genealogist, she was predeceased by her beloved husband Joseph Weisberg, editor and publisher of the Jewish Advocate. She was also predeceased by her son Larry Weisberg and daughter-in-law Nancy Weisberg. She leaves behind her daughter Lanie Delphin and her husband Bud of Sunderland, granddaughter Danielle Weisberg and her husband Daniel Splitgerber and precious great -granddaughter Anya Splitgerber, grandson Joshua Pryor, as well as family friend Caleb Stewart. The family is ever grateful to the Elaine Center of Hadley for their loving care, where she was made to feel truly at home and where she thrived.  It was certainly one of the best decisions the family made on her behalf. A family Graveside service was held in Wakefield.  Arrangements were lovingly made by the Douglass Funeral Home in Amherst and Temple Israel in Boston. Remembrances may be made to The House of Peace, 1 High Street, Ipswich MA 01938 or WIHD (Westchester Institute for Human Development) Cedarwood Hall, Room A126, Valhalla NY 10595

Amherst, Leela Sankaran, 75, passed away peacefully in her sleep at home at 45 Kingman Road in Amherst, MA. She fought a brave battle with a rare form of an autoimmune disease over the past two years.

Leela was born on April 28, 1942 in India and moved to live with her younger son’s family in Amherst in 2008.

After her early education and matriculation in the coastal state of Kerala in India, she moved to Tamil Nadu and married her late husband Shanmugam Sankaran.  She was fluent in Tamil and Malayalam, in addition to her abilities in English.  She was a homemaker in India and she brought up two children – Shanmuga Sundaram of Bangalore, India and S. “Thai” Thayumanavan of Amherst, MA.  Leela was also survived by her daughter-in-laws, Gomathi (Bangalore) and Sharmila (Amherst) and had four grandchildren – Thai Shankar and Santhiya Sundaram of Bangalore and Ethan and Seth Thayumanavan of Amherst. She leaves the family as a very loving mother, mother-in-law, and grandmother.

According to the Hindu tradition that she was brought up in, cremation ceremony will be performed in the Springfield Crematory. 

There will be no funeral service or calling hours. There will be a celebration of life, at the convenience of the family, which will be announced at a later date.
In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to the Amherst Survival Center.

Pelham, Maurice F. Hatt, 95, a lifelong Pelham resident, died Saturday March 18, 2017 at the Elaine Center of Hadley. Maurice worked for many years as a machinist at the former Savage Arms of Chicopee, he the retired from the maintenance department of the Pelham School.

Maurice is survived by his sons Lorne and Arthur Hatt, his daughters Gloria Cross and Joan Hatt, he was predeceased by their mother, his first wife, Helen Jardine. Maurice is also survived by his daughter Grace Doucette and step children David, Maurice and Santania Champagne, he was predeceased by their mother, his second wife, Christine Labato Champagne. He is also survived by many grandchildren, great grandchildren and nieces and nephews.

Funeral services will be Saturday March 25, at 11:00 AM at the Douglass Funeral Service, Amherst, burial will follow in Pelham Valley Cemetery, Pelham. Calling hours will precede the service from 9:30 – 11:00.

Memorial register at www.douglassfuneral.com

Pelham, Maurice F. Hatt, 96, a lifelong Pelham resident, died Saturday March 18, 2017 at the Elaine Center of Hadley. Maurice worked for many years as a machinist at the former Savage Arms of Chicopee, he the retired from the maintenance department of the Pelham School.

Maurice is survived by his sons Lorne and Arthur Hatt, his daughters Gloria Cross and Joan Hatt, he was predeceased by their mother, his first wife, Helen Jardine. Maurice is also survived by his daughter Grace Doucette and step children David, Maurice and Santania Champagne, he was predeceased by their mother, his second wife, Christine Labato Champagne. He is also survived by many grandchildren, great grandchildren and nieces and nephews.

Funeral services will be Saturday March 25, at 11:00 AM at the Douglass Funeral Service, Amherst, burial will follow in Pelham Valley Cemetery, Pelham. Calling hours will precede the service from 9:30 – 11:00.

Memorial register at www.douglassfuneral.com

Constance Ann (Buck) Hall died in her sleep on March 6, 2017 in Amherst, MA. She was born in Fitchburg, MA, December 22, 1923 to Walter E. Buck and Olive (Wright) Buck.  She attended Edgerly Grammar School then graduated from Fitchburg High School in 1941. She met and fell in love with her future husband, Jefferson Hall skating at Coggshall Park in 1936.   She attended Katherine Gibbs Secretarial School in Boston while Jeff attended Wentworth Institute of Technology. 

By 1944, the war had consumed the country, but not Connie and Jeff’s love. She and lifelong friend Marion (Ware) Jolliffe travelled by train to Santa Anna, CA. Connie and Jeff were married with three different branches of military standing up for them. She had many interesting jobs in California, Nevada and Texas as she followed Jeff’s Air Force squadron around the country. After the war, the couple settled in Fitchburg, where they lived, loved, and raised a family for 60 years.           

Connie was always involved in her community.  She worked tirelessly for the girl scouts and the PTA when her children were young. In later years, she became a Trustee and enthusiastic patron of the Fitchburg Public Library.  She was a docent at the Fitchburg Art Museum for 14 years where she relished working with school children studying Egypt or the Native Americans of the Southwest.  She loved travelling, especially to National Parks and to the art museums of Europe.

All her life, she loved gardening and grew beautiful flowers and delicious vegetables. Her steamed Kentucky Wonder Beans were an admired staple at her table. Connie used her prodigious artistic talents to draw, paint, sew and make concrete sculptures. She became expert in tissue paper collage and enjoyed showing her grandchildren and friends how to do it. She exhibited her work over many years and was thrilled to have a one-woman show at the Henion Bakery in Amherst in 2012.

She was preceded in death by her parents, her oldest brother Walter E. Buck Jr., her son Jay Allan Hall, her husband Jeff Hall, and her son-in-law David A. Dillon.  She leaves her daughter Sally (Hall) Dillon, sister Judith (Buck) Cochrane and Judith’s husband Dr. Paul Cochrane of Fitchburg; her brother Allan C. Buck of North Port, FL; her youngest brother Bruce Buck and his wife Joanne Buck of Jaffery, NH; and numerous beloved nieces and nephews.  She will also be deeply missed by her grandchildren, Christopher Hall Dillon, Catherine Lauretta Hall Dillon Moss and Catherine’s husband Robert Moss, all of Amherst, MA.

In lieu of flowers, please consider a gift to the Fitchburg Art Museum or the Friends of the Fitchburg Public Library.

Burial will be private. A celebration of Connie’s life will be held at the Fitchburg Art Museum, 185 Elm Street, Fitchburg, MA April 8, 2017 at 11:00 AM. 

Amherst, Conrad (Connie) Wogrin, 92, died peacefully on March 8, 2017 surrounded by his family.

Born in Denver CO in 1924, son of Conrad and Rozina Wogrin, he graduated from Manual High School. He attended Yale University where he received his bachelors, masters and doctoral degrees in Electrical Engineering.

During World War II, he served in the army in Europe as the non-commissioned officer in charge of communication systems at Supreme Headquarters.  He was awarded the Bronze Star Medal for Meritorious Service for supervision of signal installations improvised from captured enemy equipment.

He was a professor of Electrical Engineering at Yale University and in 1967 moved to University of Massachusetts where he played a seminal role in the development of the computer science program and the University Computing Center. He was a pioneer in advocating that computers should impact every area of research in the university and that computing facilities should be available free to every member of the university community.  Throughout his 30-year career at UMass, Connie worked to keep computer resources funded, served twice as the Chair of the department of Computer Science, helped build computer science into a world-class research department, participated in the administration at the university, and kept the central research computers running.

Connie was dedicated to serving the communities in which he lived.  For 12 years he was a member and chairman of the School Committee and a member of the vestry of Saint Peters Church in Cheshire CT.  In Amherst, he was a member of Rotary Club of Amherst, on the Town Planning Board and was Treasurer of Friends of the Jones Library.  Until his final days, he was active at Applewood, his retirement community, by serving on the Staff Appreciation Committee and Speakers Committee.

Connie was an avid reader and enjoyed model ship building, skiing, golf, music and bridge.  He and his wife traveled extensively. His greatest joy, however, came from time spent with his family.

He is survived by Barbara his beloved wife of 65 years; his three daughters Sandy Warren and husband Bob of Delray Beach, FL, Carol Wogrin of Harare Zimbabwe, Nancy Confrey and husband Tony of Concord, MA; seven grandchildren Susan (Kevin), Sharon (Andrew), Andrew (Mark), David (Ali), Dylan, Nick, and Jack; and three great-grandchildren Henry, Claire and Joshua.  He is also survived by his sister, Frances Rochford, brother, Robert Wogrin, and brother-in-law, Carl Yohans.

A memorial service will be held Friday, March 17^th at 2 pm at Grace Church in Amherst, MA. In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions may be made to: Conrad Wogrin Undergraduate Scholarship in Computer Science (check payable to University of Massachusetts Amherst (memo line – Conrad Wogrin Scholarship) and mailed to: UMass Amherst Records & Gift Processing, 134 Hicks Way, Memorial Hall, UMass, Amherst, MA 01003 or online at cics.umass.edu/support); or to the Hospice of the Fisher Home, 1165 North Pleasant St, Amherst, MA 01002.

Northampton, David M. Wade, 74, a longtime Amherst resident died Tuesday March 7, 2017 at Cooley Dickinson Hospital. David was born in Northampton March 13, 1942 to the late George E. and Alice {Bangs} Wade.

David moved to Amherst in the 50’s in order to manage the farm of the former Amherst Police Chief, Francis Hart. David was also employed at Umass, in the food service department for over 20 years.

He was a member of the Amherst Snowmobile Club and he enjoyed his many hobbies, including stamp and coin collecting, restoring and refinishing furniture, and playing cards and darts with his many friends.

David is survived by his brother George E. Wade Sr., and wife Ruth of Chesterfield, sister in-law Betty Wade, and by his many nieces and nephews, Jennifer, Darlene, Kimberly, Rebecca, Loretta, Roger, George, Allen, Daniel and many grandnieces and grandnephews. He was predeceased by his parents, brothers Arthur and Thomas Wade, sisters Jacqueline and Donna.

A memorial service will be held Friday March 17, at 11:00 AM at the Douglass Funeral Service, Amherst. A calling hour will precede the service from 10:00-11:00 at the funeral home.

Memorial register at www.douglassfuneral.com

Amherst, Corinne Larsen, age 91, of Leverett, died on Sunday, February 19, in Amherst, Mass.

Corinne was the much-loved and only child of Conrad “Connie” and Louise Larsen. Corinne studied engineering drafting and, during World War II, became one of the first women drafting checkers. Corinne worked for a series of engineering firms, working the longest at Digital Equipment Corporation where she checked the engineering designs used to build Digital computers.  Like her dad she had a love of tools and knew how to fix just about anything.

Corinne’s much-loved and only child, Steve, was born in 1952.   Corinne was determined that Steve would have a good education but it also had to be the right education for Steve. He was first enrolled at an experimental elementary school at Lesley College and then at Roxbury Latin, one of the most highly regarded boys’ preparatory schools. Every day, every year, Corinne and Steve drove together to and from school.

Like her parents had, Corinne made sure the house had plenty of well-behaved and friendly pets. Corinne also made sure the family stayed close. When Steve moved out to Amherst, Corinne packed up and followed him west.

Corinne was thrilled to become a grandmother to Misty and Jaimie and delighted to become a great-grandmother to Alyson Garland, Alexia Hall, Connor Hall, and Logan Hall. She considered herself very lucky to always have her extended family nearby.

In lieu of flowers, please consider Corinne’s advice during her last weeks, “Take time.” Take time to be with your family, your friends, your pets, your garden or whatever it is that matters most to you.

Please join us for a Celebration of Life service, 3-4 p.m. on Sunday, March 19, 2017, at Hope Community Church, 16 Gaylord Street, Amherst MA, and please stay for refreshments and fellowship after the service.

Amherst, Jean Adams Robbins died on March 6, 2017 at home at Applewood at Amherst, Massachusetts.  She was born in Coshocton, Ohio in 1920, and married Jacob Robbins of Yonkers, New York in 1949.  They lived in New York until he joined the Public Health Service in 1954, at the National Institutes of Health in Bethesda, Maryland, where he died in 2008 at the age of 85, still working actively in his field of Endocrinology.  Jean is survived by her daughter Alice Robbins of Amherst, married to Walter Denny; her son Mark Robbins of Seattle, married to Robin Kinney Robbins; and by her grandchildren Andrew Robbins, Katie Robbins, Jenny Robbins, and Matthew Denny.  Jean’s daughter Susan, of Shelburne Falls, died in 2009.

Jean graduated from Flora Stone Mather Western Reserve College in Cleveland in 1942.  She first taught music in Ohio schools, and then pursued a professional career as a cellist with the Buffalo Philharmonic and the New Orleans Symphony Orchestras.  Her summers were spent in advanced study with the renowned cellist and teacher Diran Alexanian in New York City, where she met and then married Jack Robbins, who was then finishing his medical studies at Cornell Medical School.

Upon moving to the Washington DC area, Jean was active in local orchestras and chamber music.  She performed with the National Gallery of Art Chamber Orchestra, the orchestras of Washington National Opera and the Washington Ballet, and also taught cello lessons privately for many decades.  She was a long-time member of the Friday Morning Music Club and the Kindler Cello Society, and was active in supporting music in the public schools and locally-sponsored music competitions for young people.  Her renowned New Year’s parties in Bethesda were beloved both by the musicians who came to play chamber music in two or three different rooms, and by the attendees from the medical and scientific community.  Her gracious manner and open-hearted hospitality endeared her to many visiting scientists from abroad who came to work in research at NIH, as well as to numerous musicians both local and those who came as visitors to the Washington area.

In the Pioneer Valley of western Massachusetts, where she moved in 2009, Jean took over concert organizing at Applewood for several years, was a devoted and generous supporter of Arcadia Players, and was a frequent concert-goer who enjoyed the rich diversity of classical music in western Massachusetts.

In lieu of flowers, Jean’s family suggests donations to Hospice of the Fisher Home in Amherst Massachusetts, to Arcadia Players of Northampton, Massachusetts, to the Seattle Symphony Orchestra, or any classical music organization of your choice, as a recognition and continuation of her generous support of music over many decades.