IRENE K. KNIHNICKI

SOUTHAMPTON, Irene Katherine Knihnicki, 89, died on Sept. 25, 2013 at the Linda Manor Extended Care Facility in Leeds. Born on January 10, 1924 in Amherst, MA she was the daughter of the late Joseph and Katherine (Lecko) Knihnicki.

Irene graduated from Amherst High School and Northampton Commercial College. She learned to fly at Northampton Airport and soloed for about 10 hours on a student’s license.

Irene worked for the Department of the Army at West Point Academy in New York for 30 years as the Executive Assistant to the Principal of the Dependents School, where she earned numerous Excellence in Service awards. She traveled extensively with family and friends upon her retirement.

Through the years she took on the care giving role for her father, sister-in-law, mother and sister in Arizona. She moved back to Massachusetts six years ago to live with her sister Florence.

Besides her parents, Irene was predeceased by her sister Eleanor, age 11, in 1936 and her sister Helen Blake of Page, AZ. She is survived by her brother Edwin Knihnicki and his wife Pauline of Sunderland; her brother Richard Knihnicki and Marilyn Berube of Sutton, VT; her sister Florence Droy of Southampton; and numerous nieces and nephews.

Funeral services will be Friday, Sept. 27, at 11:00 a.m. at the Douglass Funeral Service, Amherst with burial following in South Amherst Cemetery. A calling hour will precede the service from 10-11 a.m. at the funeral home. In lieu of flowers donations may be made to the Alzheimer’s Unit at Linda Manor, 349 Haydenville Rd., Leeds, MA 01053 or VNA & Hospice of Cooley Dickinson, 168 Industrial Dr., Northampton, MA 01060.  Obituary and memorial register at www.douglassfuneral.com.

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