Beers & Story Belchertown Funeral Home

Heaven took another angel home on October 28, 2023, Marilyn Elma (Long) Tibbetts of Shutesbury, with her loving son Walter by her side. Marilyn was born on March 2, 1936 to Walter James Long and Elma Edith (Lemke) Long. She grew up in the Willimansett section of Chicopee. She married Robert Howard Tibbetts on August 11, 1956. Marilyn enjoyed living in and serving the Town of Shutesbury in many capacities. Like her father, husband and son Walter, her favorite and longest lasting service to the town was on the Shutesbury Fire Department. Marilyn had many careers during her lifetime starting with clerical work at Springfield Freightlines. She managed Long's Package store in Shutesbury, owned...

Wesley Korenewsky, 68, sadly passed away in a housefire on July 10, 2023. Wesley was born in Hadley, MA to Wassily and Erna Korenewsky on September 11, 1954. He attended the Smith Vocational and Agricultural High School in Northampton, where he studied to be an electrician. Wesley would go on to work as a logger across New England and later as a farmhand in Hadley, MA. He had a true passion for nature and the great outdoors, sharing his appreciation of forestry and woodworking with so many others. Wesley leaves behind his wife Denise Korenewsky; his sons Aaron (Aylin) and Matthew Korenewsky; his brother Fred (Sue) Korenewsky; sister Olga Gustin (the late Marvel Gustin); sister Dora...

Marguerite E. (Prescott) Harris, 82, passed away March 23, 2023 with the love of her family surrounding her. Born August 15, 1940 in Pelham, she was the daughter of Lawrence and Esther (Squires) Prescott. Marguerite grew up in Pelham and has lived in Belchertown for over 50 years. In her younger years, Marguerite worked at Umass and also in the Belchertown Public Schools. She then when on to run the office for her late husband, Roger E. Harris, at Harris Milk Transportation. In her leisure, she enjoyed sewing, puzzles, was an avid Red Sox fan along with feeding and watching the birds. Marguerite's greatest joy was the time spent with her grandchildren and great grandchildren. In 2014,...

Betty E. (Campbell) Lannon, 94, formerly of Amherst and Belchertown, MA passed away January 25, 2023, at Elaine Center at Hadley. She was born on May 19, 1928, in Brattleboro, VT. Betty lived most of her life in Amherst, MA until she and her late husband, Dick, relocated to Belchertown, MA and lived for 20 years. She retired from the University of Massachusetts in Amherst where she worked for many years in the Dean of Men's office. Betty and Dick enjoyed traveling; they traveled to the Caribbean Islands, Hawaii and their favorite place Aruba. She was also an animal lover and always had cats and dogs. Besides her parents, she was predeceased by her husband Richard L. Lannon and a brother...

Brian Ivar Persson, 30, passed away on December 18, 2022. A visitation will be held Friday, January 6 at 1:30- 3:30 PM at the Beers & Story Belchertown Funeral Home with a service to conclude at 3:30 PM. Please visit www.beersandstory.com for full obituary notice.

Maureen H. (Russell) Saltis, 72, passed away at home with the love of her family surrounding her. Born August 15, 1950 In Northampton, she was the daughter of the late William Jr and Raphaela (Natale) Russell. Maureen grew up in Amherst and lived in Easthampton for 30 years before relocating to Belchertown in 2013. She was a teacher for 27 years with many of those years spent in the New Hingham Elementary School. She was a warm, kind, and loving woman of great strength. To Maureen "family was everything and everything was family." She never missed an opportunity to spend time with her grandchildren, who lovingly called her "amma." Whether that was attending sporting events to cheer them...

Barbara A. (Goodhind) Stockwell, 80, passed away unexpectedly on November 9, 2022 with the love of her family surrounding her. Born in Northampton on May 31, 1942, she was the daughter of John R. and Marion (Gralinski) Goodhind. Barbara grew up and lived in Amherst for many years until moving to Pelham 25 years ago. She was a LPN at Cooley Dickinson Hospital along with working for many years at Northampton Area Pediatrics. Barbara loved the outdoors, whether it was traveling and camping with her family, tending to her gardens or fishing, and of course feeding and watching her backyard birds. Her greatest passion was her family and love of her grandchildren. She will be dearly missed by...

After a courageous battle with ALS, Stanley H. Libucha of Belchertown passed away peacefully at home on Thursday, October 27, 2022 at the age 84, with his family by his side. Born in Indian Orchard, he was the son of Edna (Warchol) Libucha Land and Thaddeus Libucha. He graduated from Technical High School in Springfield and served in the U. S. Navy on USS English. After military service, he attended Western New England College. Stanley was married to the love of his life, Patricia (Lisowski) Libucha for more than 56 years. They lived in Amherst for 35 years, raising two children. He worked at the University of Massachusetts for nearly 30 years as the Assistant Foreman in the Grounds...

Nancy A. (Brighenti) Kwiatkowski, 68, passed away September 12, 2022 with the love of her family surrounding her. Born February 22, 1954 in Athol, she was the daughter of Laurina (Gibbs) Brighenti and the late Albert J. Brighenti. Nancy grew up in Belchertown and graduated from Belchertown High School. She furthered her education at UMass with her BA in education. Mrs. K, as she was affectionately known by students and staff, taught third grade in Belchertown Public Schools for 36 years. She touched the lives of hundreds of children while teaching and being a longtime member of the Rec Dept Commissioners, as well as a devoted communicant of St. Francis of Assisi. She was loved and cherished...

John "Jack" F Henry, 62, of Greenfield, MA passed away June 15, 2022 at his home. He was born on July 10, 1959 in Holyoke, MA to Walter and Eunice (Austin) Henry. John grew up in Belchertown one of six children and graduated from Belchertown High School. He was an avid New England Sports fan and enjoyed a friendly political debate. He is survived by two children, Kayla Hicks of KY and Zachary Henry of GA and three grandchildren. He also leaves five siblings, Walter "Bud" Henry, Michael Henry and Anne-Marie LaValle all of Belchertown, Patrisha Henry of GA and Christopher Henry of FL. John's family would like to thank Meredith and Dan for their care and kindness. A graveside service was...

Marjorie O. Ewing, 88, passed away peacefully at her home on June 13, 2022. She was born March 7, 1934 in Worcester, daughter of Thomas H. and Marion (Steele) Ewing. Marjorie grew up in Worcester, spent time living in CA and was in Belchertown for about 10 years. For the past four years, she resided in Northampton. Marjorie was creative - she loved to paint and found beauty in color. She was an avid news radio listener and generous to many charities. Marjorie's passion was to right injustices and to help others less fortunate. She was predeceased by a brother, Howard Ewing, and a sister, Eleanor Ewing. To honor her memory, please consider donations to The Food Bank of Western...

Dale E. Ewell, 59, of Greenfield MA, a son, brother, father, and mentor passed away on June 4, 2022. He was born on December 10, 1962, in Northampton, MA. Dale attended Amherst Regional High School and Springfield Technical Community College. He worked at Coca Cola, Deerfield Urethane, and as a private contractor. In his free time, you would likely find him fishing, hunting, or doing carpentry work. Dale was a handyman that could fix just about anything. He was also a dedicated volunteer for his community, serving meals to the destitute, and mentoring those struggling with substance use. Dale was predeceased by his father Calvin T. Ewell of Pelham. He is survived by his mother Dorothy Frost...

David S. Fredenburgh, 82, passed away peacefully surrounded by his loving family at home on Wednesday, May 18, 2022. Son of the late Edwin and Mary (Duggett) Fredenburgh, he was born September 10, 1939. A graduate of the University of Rhode Island, David continued on to work for the Massachusetts Department of Fish and Game for thirty-three years where he retired as the Chief of hatcheries in 1997. In 1986, David opened Quabbin Analytical Laboratory where he served as owner and director. Despite his retirement from the state, David was hardly known to sit still as he continued his work at Quabbin Lab until recent. In his free time from 1990-99, David served as selectman for the Town of...

Richard D. Searle departed this life on May 8, 2022. Born on December 20, 1942, he was the fifth child of seven born to Paul W. Searle and Rachel (Young) Searle. Most knew him as "Dick," but his family and friends often called him "Decker" or "Herman." No matter how you addressed him, he was always willing to answer a call for assistance. He could frequently be found helping with a neighbor's project and he had a soft spot for those that were down on their luck and needed a helping hand. After graduating from Amherst High School in the class of 1961 Richard joined the air force and served until 1965. While still in the service he met his future wife, Nancy, at a local pizza parlor and soon...

Barbara A. (Salvatore) Smith, 61, passed away March 27, 2022 after a brief battle with cancer. She was born on May 23, 1960 in Northampton, MA to Shirley M. (Hubbard) Salvatore of Belchertown and the late Paul Salvatore. Barbara was raised in Northampton and graduated from Northampton High School. She proudly served her country in the US Navy and Navy Reserves for 17 years. Barbara has lived in Belchertown since 2016 and previously lived in Springfield. She worked for East Water Works in Palmer as an office manager. Barbara loved going to the beach and enjoyed taking rides on her boyfriend's Harley. She also enjoyed working in her garden and partaking in activities with her children. ...

Lillian A. (Lafland) Clark, 81, most recently of Palmer Healthcare passed away on February 27, 2022. Born on January 30, 1941 she was one of six children born to Hannah Newbegin and Philip Lafland in La Grange, Maine. She was married to her first husband Robert D. Alley, Sr. of Mapleton Maine and they attended elementary schools in Maine. In 1963 they moved to Massachusetts where they spent the rest of their lives. Lillian later received her associates degree from Fisher Junior College in 1982. She worked as an office administrator in an insurance company for several years until she retired in 1991. Lillian married her first husband Robert in 1957 and they had five children Robert Jr.,...

South Hadley -Norman R Laramee, 74, lifetime resident of South Hadley, died February 21, 2022 at age 74. He was a graduate of the South Hadley School System, and after High School, he enlisted in the U.S. Air Force, during the Vietnam Conflict. During that time, he served as an aircraft crew chief in the Philippines, ferrying supplies to the war effort. Upon returning to the States after his four years enlistment, he began work in highway construction for some time, but later accepted a job of truck driver for the U.S. Postal Service, where he worked until his retirement. After retirement, Norman enjoyed the outdoors, hunting and fishing and sometimes gardening, with occasional trips to...

Thomas E. Brown, Jr., 83, passed away February 16, 2022 at Elaine Center at Hadley. Born on January 3, 1939 in Winthrop, MA he was the son of the late Thomas E. and Beatrice (Shaw) Brown. He was raised in South Hadley and lived in Holyoke until he moved to Belchertown in 1978 with his wife and four children. Thomas retired after working for over 30 years as a Union Carpenter where he was employed at United Drywall and Johnson Acoustics. Thomas enjoyed the outdoors spending time hunting, fishing and tending to his garden. After his retirement he took up golfing and was a member of the Mill Valley Country Club. He competed in golf at the Senior Games in CT, winning the gold medal. He...

Long Lane, MO-Scott F. Purrington, 77, passed away unexpectedly January 27, 2022 at his home in Long Lane, Missouri. Born January 23, 1945 in Ware, Massachusetts. He was the son of Harland F. and Grace A. (Bosworth) Purrington. Scott grew up in Belchertown and lived in Greenfield for many years. While in Greenfield, he was self-employed at Quality Refrigeration. Scott proudly served his country in the US Navy from 1962 until 1968. He retired in Greenfield Mass and moved to Missouri , where he enjoyed his retirement for 20 years. In his leisure, he enjoyed riding his Boss Hoss motorcycle and canoeing. Scott leaves behind his former wife, Barbara Purrington of MO, along with sisters,...

Frank E. Towne, Jr., 83, passed away January 20, 2022. Born in Belchertown on June 13, 1938, he was the younger son to Frank Sr. and Emma (Dodge) Towne. Frank has lived in Belchertown all of his life and was well known in the community for his quiet presence and great skill with small engine repair. He began building his mechanical skills as a young man at the Hudson garage working beside his brother Don Towne (2005) at Don's Auto. For over 60 year he has owned and operated Frank's Lawn Mower Repair, planning to retire this year! Frank was a collector of many things from car parts to oil cans and everything in between. Additionally, he took great interest in anything historical,...

Belchertown- Owen W. Sedlacek, 19, passed away unexpectedly on January 16, 2022. He was born in Springfield on November 15, 2002, the son of Robert J. and Carissa (Pisarek) Sedlacek of Belchertown, Massachusetts. Owen lived in Belchertown all of his life and attended the Belchertown Public Schools, graduating in 2021. He was an accomplished athlete for Belchertown High School, exceling at lacrosse and football. During his senior year, he led the football team as quarterback and defensive end, and was a star attack and midfield lacrosse player for the Orioles. Owen was selected to the All Western Mass Football and Lacrosse Teams for multiple years. He enjoyed playing ball, working out,...