Obituaries

Mar 22, 2019

Ruth Marie Martin, age 92, died on March 22, 2019 at the Landings at Laurel Lake in Lee, MA but Ruth considered herself a Sheffield person.

She was born on May 16, 1926 to Manley Martin and Mary Holmes at the family home on Boardman Street in Sheffield.  The oldest of 4 children, Ruth spent her early...

Mar 15, 2019

Lucile Rea Dempsey, of Castle St. Great Barrington, MA, died peacefully at home on March 15, 2019.

Born Margaret Lucile Rea on July 4, 1921, in Matthews, NC, she was the oldest of Lottie and Louie Rea’s nine children.  She attended schools in Matthews, and after high school attended vocational school.  She was in President Roosevelt’s “Alphabet...

Mar 9, 2019

Helena A. Hall, 93, a native and lifelong of Stockbridge, MA passed away on Saturday, March 9, 2019 at Fairview Commons in Great Barrington.

Helena Annette Baker was born on May 16, 1925 in Stockbridge, MA; daughter of Chester W. Baker and Helen Markham. She was a 1943 graduate of the former Searles High School in Great...

Mar 8, 2019

James A. Golden leaves his caring friend, his children, grandchildren, great grandchild, sisters, and many dear friends.

Jim was an experienced hunter and fisherman and a member of the Sheffield Sporting Club.  He had a great respect for nature and adored his "pet" deer.  He also enjoyed golfing and archery for many years.

Per Jim's...

Mar 3, 2019

Regina “Ginna” Mellor Dudney, passed away on Sunday, March 3 rd in Great Barrington, aged 71. She was a long-time TV executive and more recently, a founder of the West Stockbridge Farmers Market, as well as chair of the West Stockbridge Parks & Recreation Department.

Ginna was born in Manhattan on December 22, 1947, daughter of Vincent...

Mar 1, 2019

Charles Paul Davis, 60, passed away Friday, March 1, 2019 at his home in Pittsfield, MA.

Born March 21, 1958, Charles was a long-time resident of Sheffield. He attended Mount Everett Regional School and was currently working at Custom Extrusion Inc. until his illness caused him to leave. Charles loved fishing, hunting, playing his guitar and singing...

Mar 1, 2019

Shirley Bittiner Olds, 94, long-time resident of Monterey, died peacefully Friday morning, March 1, 2019.

Born February 17, 1925, in Albany, NY, she graduated from Earlham College in Richmond, IN. She was married for 66 years to Storrs Fenton Olds. Her family includes her sister Beverly Ahlers, three children and their spouses: Thomas (Cheryl), Anson (Emily; Melissa),...

Mar 1, 2019

Edward O. Riiska, Jr., 75, of New Hartford Road in Sandisfield, MA passed away on Friday, March 1, 2019.

He leaves behind his loving wife of 56 years, Linda (Goodenough) Riiska, their two daughters, Eve (John) Bannish and Lisa (Ralph) Leavenworth, four granddaughters and two great granddaughters.  He is also survived by two brothers, Tom and Gene...

Feb 23, 2019

Stanley L. “Louie” Stanisz, 89, longtime owner and operator of “Louie’s Barbershop” in Housatonic passed away on February 23, 2019 at Fairview Commons Nursing Center in Great Barrington.

A native and lifelong resident of the area, Stanley was born May 8, 1929 in Stockbridge, MA, the son of the late Ludwik and Eva Smykla Stanisz.  He was...

Feb 19, 2019

Thomas John "Tom" Vigneron passed away February 19 th , 2019 in Great Barrington due to a head injury from an accidental fall.

He was a long time resident born at Fairview hospital in 1957, the son of the late E. Morgan and Joan “Betty” Vigneron. Tom attended Bryant, Searles and Monument Mountain, and Salisbury schools followed...

Feb 18, 2019

It is with sadness that the family of Raymond F. Pieczarka of Great Barrington, MA announces his passing in the early morning hours of February 18th at the Kimball Farms Nursing Facility in Lenox, MA. Raymond was born on October 23, 1934 in Chicopee, MA to Matthew and Helen (Przewoznik) Pieczarka. He was an only child born into a...

Feb 2, 2019

Stanley F. Koloski, 81, of Becket Road in Otis, MA passed away Saturday, February 2, 2019 at his home following a long illness.  Prior to moving to Otis he was a former longtime resident of Chatham, NY.

Born in Great Barrington, MA on April 3, 1937 he was the son of Stanley Joseph Koloski and Olga Gregoski...

Jan 21, 2019

William W. Hankey, 45, of Francis Avenue in Great Barrington passed away on January 21, 2019.

A native and lifelong resident, William was born June 27, 1973 in Great Barrington, MA the son of Joan Hankey.  Known by the nicknames “Billy” and “Gus” he attended local schools and could often be found in town riding his scooter....

Jan 20, 2019

Thomas F. DeVoti, 73, of Hillsdale Road in South Egremont, MA passed away unexpectedly on Sunday, January 20, 2019.

Born February 27, 1945 in Astoria, New York he was the son of the late Patrick and Agnes Wegrzyniak DeVoti.  He was a graduate of the William Cullen Bryant High School in Queens, NY.

Tom was...

Jan 20, 2019

John E. Heffernan III of Monterey, MA and formerly of Enfield, CT passed away January 20, 2019, at home, surrounded by his family, from glioblastoma. John was born on February 10, 1934 in Peabody, MA, the son of John E. Heffernan, Jr and Margaret (Mulligan) Heffernan. He graduated from Brookline High school in 1952 and from Northeastern University in...

Jan 10, 2019

James “Jim” E. Wells, 74, of Bow Wow Road, Sheffield, MA passed away on January 10, 2019 at his home surrounded by family.

Jim was born March 24, 1944 in Great Barrington, MA to the late Dana and Ruth Twing Wells.  A lifelong resident of the area, he attended school at the Sheffield Center and Mount Everett. ...

Jan 2, 2019

It is with great sadness that her family shares the news that Rena Yusin Orner died on Jan. 2, 2019, after a full life. Rena was born on Valentine’s Day, Feb. 14, 1924 to Louis Yusin and Celia (Halpern) Yusin in the Bronx, New York.

She excelled academically, and at age 20 graduated from Hunter College where...

Dec 29, 2018

Born in Carlisle, Pennsylvania on December 9, 1944, Michael graduated from Groveton High School in Alexandria, Virginia in 1963.  He graduated from the Maryland Institute of Art in 1968.  Michael was an avid painter all of his life and his preferred subjects of painting were nature and wildlife.

Michael worked until his retirement as a ground maintenance...

Dec 25, 2018

David Alan Rhind, 65, a long time resident of Stockbridge, passed away peacefully on December 25 after a long illness.

David was born in Jacksonville, Florida, on July 3, 1953. His family moved to Stockbridge when he was a boy. David loved the outdoors, he was an excellent skier and drummer, and he spent a great deal...

Dec 21, 2018

James D. McGraw (1931-2018) passed away peacefully at home on Friday, December 21, 2018 surrounded by his loving family.  Like Theodore Roosevelt’s triumphant “man in the arena,” he devoted his entire life to his family, church, business community, and country.

Born in the Dust Bowl town of Ringling, Oklahoma during the height of the Great Depression, Jim...