Drozdal Funeral Home

Richard R. Rescia, 92, died on Monday, April 11, 2022, surrounded by his children and care giver at his home. Richard was born in Springfield, MA on February 12, 1930, to Giacomo and Ida Rescia, and spent his childhood growing up in North Agawam, an enclave of Italian immigrants. His father died when Dad was 10 years old, leaving him with his mother and his older brother Reno. After high school he left for the University of Mass. where he graduated cum laude. He then did his graduate work in mathematics at the University of Conn. In 1953, Dad married Helen C. Smith and they moved to Northampton where he had a job opportunity to work at the Foster Farrar Company, a hardware store owned...

Donald Creighton, 82, long-time resident of Northampton, passed away peacefully at home in Holyoke. Born in Brooklyn, NY on February 25, 1939, to the late Frank J. and Irene (Hunt) Creighton. He was a graduate of Andrew Jackson High School in Queens and went on to pursue a career downtown Manhattan with Dow Jones Co. This opportunity led Don and his late wife Gail K. (Bridges) Creighton, to Massachusetts. He assisted in opening the Wall Street Journal Chicopee plant in 1959. Don stayed with Dow Jones Co. for 33 years and upon his retirement, he spread his appreciation and love of gardening and Iris' to his community while working in the Garden Center at Home Depot. Don also, enjoyed passing...

Virginia MacQueen Ford (Ginny), age 86, passed away peacefully surrounded by family at the home of her daughter Kathy Ford in Worthington, MA, where she had been living since April 2019. She is survived by Kathy and her son Rob (Samantha) Ford; and five grandchildren Molly, Ben, Charlie, Luke, and Hugh. Born in Watkins Glen, NY and raised in Rochester, she lived and raised her family in Brighton before moving permanently to South Bristol in 1984. Ginny received her bachelor's degree from Beaver College in 1956, where she was President of the Student Government and on the Board of Trustees. Amid master's coursework in Urban Studies at the University of Rochester in the late 1970's, she was...

Patricia A. (Magdalenski) Partyka, 85 of Chicopee passed away on Sunday, August 8, 2021 at Baystate Medical Center surrounded by her loving family. She was born in Northampton on September 26, 1935 to the late Benjamin and Elizabeth (Korpita) Magdalenski. Patsy was a graduate of St. Michaels High School in Northampton and Mercy Hospital Nursing School. She was a compassionate RN for several years at Providence Hospital before marrying Donald Partyka, starting a family, then changing careers to a dental assistant. Along with her husband, they started the American Legion Post #351 Catfish Derby, a non-profit event in which she devoted 41 years of her time to help physically and mentally...

Gail J. (Warriner) Brousseau, 82, passed away peacefully at her residence in Northampton, MA on June 14, 2021 with loving family by her side. Born on January 12, 1939 in Northampton, MA, she was the youngest of three daughters, born to the late Dorothy (Dubois) Toole and Ralph W. Warriner. Gail was raised in Northampton, MA and was a graduate of Northampton High, class of '56. Gail grew up across the street from the love of her life, Ernest Brousseau, and the two married in 1966, moving to Southwick, MA where they lovingly raised 7 children from their blended marriages. They moved to Lawrenceville, GA for 18 years before retiring to their home in Navarre, FL, where they resided for 20...

Dolores T. (Madison) Cifarelli, 91, of Northampton, formerly of Chesterfield, passed away on Wednesday April 7, 2021, at the Elaine Center in Hadley. Dolores was born on May 8, 1929, in New York City to the late Joseph and Tecla (Chmielewski) Madison. She attended schools in New York and received her bachelor's degree from Queens College, CUNY. Dolores met and fell in love with Joseph B. Cifarelli at Our Lady Queen of Peace RC Church in Flushing, New York, where they were married in October of 1950. She and Joseph enjoyed 53 years together before his passing in 2003. Dolores worked in education for 49 years. She was first employed in New York City, and later at Smith College as an...

On Monday, April 5, 2021 Jon Raymond Guy Anderson, loving father, and grandfather, passed away at the age of 75. Jon was born on March 12, 1946 in Northampton, MA to the late John and Constance (Snape) Anderson. Jon was a true Jack-Of-All-Trades and throughout his lifetime, he was a high school teacher, a pilot, a builder, a mechanic, a lay Christian preacher, and an engineer. Jon was also proud of his service in the United States Air force. He loved cars, he loved old movies, he loved fishing and Pittsburg, NH but most of all he loved his family. Jon leaves behind two biological children, Raymond Anderson of Florence and Anne Chapdelaine Buescher (Anderson) of Longmeadow, his brother,...

William L. Start, 84, of S. Deerfield passed away on Thursday, April 1, 2021 at his home surrounded by his family. Bill was born in Florence on February 20, 1937 to the late William R. and Irene (Lewis) Start. He was a graduate of Northampton High School in 1958. He served in the Air National Guard from 1956-1963 and the Air Force (called to active duty) from 1962-1963. Bill was employed at the International Silver Company in Florence from 1958-1960; Hampshire Engineering Service in Northampton from 1960-1964; Tubed Products in Easthampton from 1964-1971. His final employer was the Town of Amherst, beginning March 8, 1972, as Inspection Services, and later as Building Commissioner,...

Evan Carpenter, 31, of Westfield, passed away unexpectedly at home on March 4, 2021. He was born in Richmond, VA on July 7, 1989 to Gary Carpenter and Darlene (Magdalenski) Bernier-Thayer. He Attended schools of Maryland and was a graduate of Linganore High School. Throughout his life he has various jobs, including maintenance manager work in several places. Evan had a love for outdoors, including fishing, hunting, and marksmanship. He was a successful practicing Jiu-Jitsu Master earning many belts and awards. His passions were motorcycling and collecting and creating Samurai Swords. Evan had a great love for his dogs Coco and Wewe. He is survived by his loving mother, Darlene of...

Derek W. O'Brien, 48, of Westfield, passed away on Wednesday, March 3, 2021 at Baystate Medical Center. He was born in Northampton on April 26, 1972 to the late Danny Boyer and Joelle (O'Brien) Thibodo of Westfield. Derek attended Northampton schools and was a graduate of Northampton High School class of 1992. He had various jobs, most recently he was a retail store manager at Dollar General. When he moved to Illinois, he met and fell in love with his one true love, Mary (Smith) O'Brien. They married and together they raised her three beautiful daughters. He always treated them as his own and would always take care of them, even after Mary had passed away in 2014. Reluctantly, he...

Karl Konieczny, 93, of River Dr. North Hadley, passed away peacefully at his home on March 3, 2021 surrounded by his loving family. He was born on the family farm in N. Hadley on August 8, 1927 to the late Joseph and Mary (Rup) Konieczny. A graduate of Hopkins Academy, Karl began his career on the family farm. In the 1940's he purchased his first Tractor Mounted Hydraulic Backhoe, and with this machine he added sitework to the farm business. In the years to come, he purchased more equipment and Karl's Excavating and Site Work was established. To this day, the company he built continues to flourish, all based on Karl's hard work and ethics. Karl was a member of the Hadley Lions Club, the...

Bonnie (Bryant) Lampron, 60, of West Hatfield, passed away unexpectedly at her home on Tuesday March 2, 2021. She was born in Northampton on August 14, 1960 to Jack Bryant, and to the late Helen (Reuther) LeBlanc. She graduated from South Hadley High School and received a bachelor's degree from the University of New Hampshire. She met and fell in love with Rene Lampron and were married for 30 years before his passing in 2010. Losing him broke her heart and she missed him dearly every day. Bonnie was a communicant of St. Peter's Lutheran Church in Holyoke. She enjoyed walking in her neighborhood, watching movies, and making scrapbooks and photo collages. She is survived by her father,...

Teddy Ferri passed away peacefully on February 28, 2021 in the serene, spiritual setting that is Mary's Meadow at Providence Place in Holyoke, MA. Teddy was born on April 9, 1928 in Guaymas, Sonora, Mexico to Herbert and Robertina (Harty) Bursley. Her father and her husband, Guy Ferri, were both US Foreign Service Officers. Teddy traveled the world bringing love, light and kindness to everyone she knew. She lived overseas in Mexico, Turkey, Honduras, Argentina, Viet Nam and Paraguay. In the United States she lived in Washington, D.C, Greensboro, PA, Rye, NY, Palm Coast, FL and Northampton, MA. She is a graduate of Seton Hill College, Greensboro, PA. She was a tomboy and loved being the...

William "Bill" John Schnoor, 62, of South Hadley, passed in his sleep February 22, 2021. He was born in Elmhurst, NY, on November 1, 1958, to the late Roy William Schnoor and Joan Ann Oakley. Bill served in the United States Marine Corps, and worked several years farming, driving semi-trucks, and as a mechanic. Bill spent his best years in Vietnam. He taught American English to Vietnamese pupils. They loved to hear Bill tell of the American dream. Locals looked up to Bill so much, they gave him the entire top floor of the hotel as permanent residence. Bill is survived by his Step Father, Paul Herbert Oakley, of Richmond KY; brothers, Troy Thomas Schnoor of Evansville IN and Robert Walter...

George Apostolou III, 39, of Easthampton, passed away suddenly on Friday, February 19, 2021. He was born in Middletown, CT on April 12, 1981 to the late George Apostolou II and to Myla Consic-O'Connor. He was educated in Middletown, CT schools, and had worked for several years at Bruegger's in Northampton and most recently in Maintenance at the Burger King of Easthampton. George had a vivid imagination, which led him to draw stunning pictures and to have a love of art. He loved playing video games, and playing with his cat Minwu. He also enjoyed cooking for his family, but most of all he loved playing his guitar. George is survived by his daughter, Tovah Caron of Middletown, CT, his...

George Apostolou III, 39, of Easthampton, passed away suddenly on Friday, February 19, 2021. DROZDAL FUNERAL HOME of Northampton has been entrusted with his services.

Muriel Ada (Saunders) Kielbowicz, 92, of Florence, passed away peacefully on Wednesday, February 17, 2021 at the Cooley Dickinson Hospital after a brief illness. She was born in Tewksbury, MA. She grew up in Cheshire, MA and lived in Hatfield for 58 years before moving to Florence. Muriel had worked at Pro Brush in Florence for many years and was a member of the Hatfield Congregational Church. In her spare time, Muriel was always knitting, crocheting, or embroidering, she enjoyed creating and donating her arts and crafts projects to all to appreciate. She loved all animals, but especially her cat Lucy. Muriel is survived by her daughters, Carol Steele of S. Deerfield, Alice, and...

Muriel Kielbowicz, 92, of Northampton, passed away on February 17, 2021 at Cooley Dickinson Hospital. A full obituary will follow. DROZDAL FUNERAL HOME of Northampton has been entrusted with her services.

Patrick E. Serio, 61, of Hadley, passed away on Monday, February 15, 2021 at the Cooley Dickinson Hospital after a hard-fought battle with Covid-19. He was born on September 2, 1959 in Northampton to the late Leborio "Lester" and Mary (Baldasaro) Serio. Pat was educated in Northampton schools and was a graduate of Northampton High School, class of 1977. After high school, he attended Emerson University where he received a BFA in Technical Theater. He met and fell in love with Sally at Stage West, and they were soon married on May 24, 1986 in Philadelphia, PA. Together they raised two children, and settled in Hadley, MA. It is there, that they owned and operated the iconic Pete's...

Sean E. McGuire, 46, of Westhampton, passed away unexpectedly on Sunday February 14, 2021 at his home. He was born in Northampton on February 7, 1975 to the late Herbert McGuire and to Sandra (Fournier) McGuire of Easthampton. He was educated in Northampton schools and was a graduate of Northampton High School class of 1994. It was there, where he excelled both in academics and the football team. Sean worked as the Deli Manager of Cooper's Corner in Florence since March of 2015, where he enjoyed working behind the grill, meeting and greeting on cookout days in the warmer weather, as much as being creative with new menu items, talking with regulars, and always providing a good...

Sean E. McQuire, 46, of Westhampton, passed away unexpectedly on Sunday, February 14, 2021 at his home. A full obituary with the date and time of service will follow. DROZDAL FUNERAL HOME of Northampton has been entrusted with his services.