Czelusniak funeral home

Clayton Lee Sommers (July 17, 1931 - January 13, 2025). He was a beloved life partner, father, grandfather, great-grandfather, and friend who will be deeply missed by all who knew him. Clayton was born in Chicago, Illinois, where he spent his formative years before attending high school in Los Angeles, CA. He attended Harvard University and Harvard Law School, graduating with high honors. He served as a JAG in the United States Marine Corps. before pursuing a career in higher education, first as an instructor and finally as a college president. Throughout his career, he was known for his hard work, dedication, and passion for helping others Clay was a man of many talents: a lover of...

Clayton Lee Sommers (July 17, 1931 - January 13, 2025). He was a beloved life partner, father, grandfather, great-grandfather, and friend who will be deeply missed by all who knew him. Clayton was born in Chicago, Illinois, where he spent his formative years before attending high school in Los Angeles, CA. He attended Harvard University and Harvard Law School, graduating with high honors. He served as a JAG in the United States Marine Corps. before pursuing a career in higher education, first as an instructor and finally as a college president. Throughout his career, he was known for his hard work, dedication, and passion for helping others Clay was a man of many talents: a lover of...

Our hearts break to share the news that Jan unexpectedly passed away on December 23, 2025 after a long battle with Parkinsons disease. Born in Somerville, MA to Thomas and Teresa Healy, she graduated from Chelmsford Highschool in 1973 and obtained her B.A. from the University of Massachusetts (Amherst) in 1978 where she fell in love with the Pioneer Valley. Jan attended Suffolk University Law School in Boston and prepared herself for a career in civil rights and criminal justice. As a third-year law student, she interned for the Massachusetts Defenders Committee and upon graduation accepted a staff attorney position in the Springfield office. Between 1981 and 1986, she represented...

David Walter Goguen, beloved father and husband, died peacefully on December 15, 2024 at the age of 70 after a long illness. He was born in Wellesley, MA to the late Frederick "Buster" Goguen Jr. and Dorothy Carman Goguen. Dave graduated from Wellesley High School where he was a star sprinter on the track team. The 100-yard dash was his favorite event. He graduated from UMass Amherst with a degree in physical education. While there, he met his wife Andrea, with whom he had a loving marriage for 46 years. A love of learning was central to Dave's life, from reading encyclopedias for fun as a child to having an infinite knowledge of music and movies. He took this love of learning to his work...

Pearl I. (Coburn) Lynds, 93, of Cummington, Massachusetts, passed away on Saturday, March 23, 2024 at Cooley Dickinson Hospital, surrounded by family. Pearl was born in Pittsfield, Massachusetts on April 14, 1930 to Paul Coburn and Edith (Mougin) Coburn. She was a life long resident of Cummington and graduated from Smith Vocational High School in 1948. Pearl was known for being very active in and dedicated to her community throughout her life. She was a long-time member of the Council on Aging, advocated for the construction of the Cummington senior housing project, volunteered at the town historical society and local 4H groups, and was an active member of the Cummington Village...

Cynthia (Boudreau) Cooke died on March 20, 2024 of dementia. Cindy was the daughter of John Alfred and Alice (Lyman) Boudreau born January 25, 1944 in Newton. She graduated with honors from the St. Jean's French School in 1958 and with honors from Our Lady's High School in 1962 both in Newton. In 1967 she married Roy Cooke of Amherst on November 5th. They lived in the Northampton area all their married life. They have one daughter, Caroline (Cooke) Tatro. Cindy worked in secretarial areas all her life, retiring from Cooley Dickinson Hospital in Northampton in 2006. She is survived by her two brothers, John Boudreau, Jr. and James Boudreau, both of Newton. Her husband Roy, daughter...

Phyllis Halket Forsander, 90, of Enfield, CT, passed away peacefully on January 29, 2024. Phyllis was born on January 8, 1934, the daughter of Robert L. and Clara Stocks Halket. Her husband, Robert, predeceased her in 2003. Phyllis graduated from Holyoke High School in 1951 and from Cooley Dickinson Hospital's School of Nursing in 1954. She married Robert O. Forsander, a native of Florence MA, on September 21, 1957. In 1985, Phyllis and Robert moved to Newburyport, MA so she could be closer to the beach, and he could be closer to his friend from childhood, George Lawrence. Phyllis spent her life caring for people as a nurse and as a mother and grandmother. After retiring from Anna...

Anne Olsen Wood, 89, passed away January 9, 2024 at the Cooley Dickinson Hospital. Born in Medford, MA on March 1, 1934 she was the daughter of the late Charley and Anne (Gilmore Learmonth) Olsen. She grew up and graduated from Weymouth High school. She Graduated from the New England Deaconess School of Nursing in Boston, MA, and went on to receive her bachelor's degree from Springfield College and continued her education at Dartmouth College and Russell Sage College ending with her Master's Degree in Psychology and Sociology and in Nursing, specializing in coronary care. Anne retired her nursing career in 1999 and went on to do charts for the American Heart Association. She also spent many...

Mary Ann Thrane, 65, passed away peacefully surrounded by family on January 7th after fighting a heroic battle against cancer. Mary Ann was born in Troy, NY to Alfred and Rose Marie Thrane. She grew up in Mechanicville, NY and enjoyed spending her summers with family and friends at her family's camp on Pine Lake in Johnsonville, NY. As a teenager, many would see her riding around town on her Honda motorcycle. She left Mechanicville to attend college at The University of Buffalo where she earned her degree in plant biology. In 1985, she moved to Western Massachusetts with her three daughters where she found a love for working with children with special needs. She ultimately went back to...

Thomas Joseph Ruane Born August 25, 1954 and died July 19, 2023 Son of Gertrude Ann Ruane (Cantu) and Joseph John Ruane Bachelor's Degree in English (Creative Writing) from SUNY New Paltz in 1970 and Master's Degree in Computer Science from Union College in 1980. Tom was a Programmer at IBM, Poughkeepsie NY. Over his 43 years at IBM, Tom worked with many different divisions, ranging from tools development to hardware verification. He was essential in the design of the testing environment used across many IBM projects. Tom immersed himself into his assignments, learning new methodologies and consistently proud of his achievements. Always optimistic, Tom brought a brightness to a place...

July 24, 2023 Thomas B. Kusek passed away July 13, 2023 at the age 67. Born March 9, 1956 to Frank and Statia (Zygmont) Kusek. Tom was a proud 1974 graduate of Hopkins Academy and Holyoke Community College, 1976. Tom started his career farming with his father and switched to become an auto mechanic. He was a skilled mechanic for over 30 years. Tom was a member of the National Hot Rod Association (NHRA). He drag-raced at LebanonValley Raceway in the NHRA Pro division, where he won his division for two years. As Tom began planning for retirement, he secured a long-term lease on his property and hosted one of the first large scale solar projects in Hadley. Later, he purchased another...

Charles W. Dragon, of Northampton, died July 12 2023, attended by family, he was 91 . He was pre-deceased by his brother Peter Dragon and his wife Barbra I. Dragon of Phoenix, Arizona; his mother Harriet W. and father Hector A Dragon. He is survived by his wife of 67 years Veronica (Ronnie) J. Dragon, his sons; Paul Dragon, daughter in law Ceil Reynes-Slater, Peter Dragon, daughter-in-law Mary Ruth Burke, Charles A. Dragon, daughter-in-law Susan Skorupski Dragon, daughter Martha Dragon, son-in-law Joseph Dunn, grandchildren; Alexa Dragon and Dakota Dragon, nieces; Debra Dragon Gortman, Laura Dragon, and Susan Dragon. "Chuck" attended Northampton High School, was a graduate of Monson...

Born in Greenfield to Armand V. Foote of Norwich, Connecticut, and Marion R. Whitcomb of Brockton, Massachusetts, Rusty attended elementary and secondary schools in Greenfield where he played coronet in the high school band, graduating from GHS in 1965. After a four-year enlistment in the U.S. Air Force, stationed in Texas, Mississippi, California and New York, he attended UMass where he was a member of the gymnastics team and graduated with a Bachelor of Science degree. Following his college years, Rusty began a long career of self-employment establishing businesses in high-pressure systems and electrical contracting. Rusty had a unique talent for designing and fabricating mechanical...

Beverly, 76, passed away peacefully after a brave fight against ALS. She was born on February 9, 1947 in Northampton, MA and was the daughter of the late Everett and Jeannette (Hall) Horne. Beverly was raised in Amherst, MA and graduated from Greenfield Community College's liberal arts program and Cooley Dickinson Hospital's School of Nursing. She worked as a registered nurse for 42 years. She lived in Massachusetts and Connecticut before moving to North Carolina to be closer to her daughter and grandsons. Beverly enjoyed traveling, shopping, dining out with family and friends, music, reading, and spending time with her grandchildren. She leaves behind two daughters, a son-in-law and...

John A. Mazur, 73, passed away surrounded by his loved ones on April 24, 2023 following a short illness. John Anthony Mazur was born on January 26, 1950 in Northampton, MA. After a successful career in real estate in Massachusetts and Rhode Island, John retired to Nokomis, FL in 2010 with the love of his life, Irene. But John, who never could stay still and had worked his entire life, was restless. He tried a few odd jobs before ending up at the perfect retirement job for him - selling used boats for Coastal Marine in Nokomis, FL. John quickly became a highly- valued salesman and loved getting to do sea trials and spend his days around boats. He was employed there until his death. John...

David Tate Matusko, 54 of Church St in Newington CT. passed away April 10, 2023 at the Hospital of Central Conn. He was born in Northampton May 10, 1968 the son of Eugene Matusko and Marcia Prokop. He graduated from Plainville High School. David lived at the Church St Group home with five other guys and staff for over thirty years. David loved everyone he met and was quite a character. He was predeceased by his father Eugene Matusko. He leaves his Mother Marcia Prokop and her husband Bill; his sister Samantha Prokop and her son Blake; his brother Billy Prokop (Shannon) and his daughter Mia; his Aunty Sandy and Uncle Frank who always looked out for him; his many aunts, uncles and cousins; and...

The Reverend Roger Smith, (95), formerly of Beaufort, South Carolina, beloved husband of Headley Smith, died peacefully on March 13, 2023, at Rockridge Retirement Community in Northampton, MA with family by his side. Born on February 21,1928, in Jackson, Michigan, Roger was the son of the late Genevieve Dunn Straight and Hugh Thompson Smith. He graduated from Howe Military Academy, the University of Michigan, Episcopal Theological School, in Cambridge, MA. He spent a year studying history at Oxford University, Oxford, England in 1971 before earning a MA from Trinity College in Hartford, CT. He was always interested in spreading the news: from his early years, when he started and ran...

Robert Thomas Doyle Jr, better known as Bob Doyle, Dad, Grandpa Bob, Nana, Pa-pop, Beeba; was a Lawyer, Metaphysician, husband, poet, father, veteran, and Friend of Bill since 1976. Born in Northampton on June 10, 1937 to Robert and Katherine Doyle, Kay and Bob. Bob passed on October 7, 2022 in his home surrounded by Poppy, his wife of more than 63 years, their 8 children as well as partners, grandchildren and friends. He was predeceased by his sister Mary (John) and his granddaughter, Megan Ashley (David) Bob, a born storyteller, regaled many with his stories and filled a room with his booming laughter and enormous presence. His intelligence and heart brought people in and are how...

David Robert Grills, 82, of Northampton, MA and Misquamicut, RI passed away peacefully on July 25, 2022 with his loving daughters by his side. David was born in Westerly, RI on November 21, 1939 to Helen (Tosi) and Henry Grills. He attended Westerly High School, the University of Rhode Island, and received a Masters Degree at Westfield State. David worked as a Physical Education teacher at Williamsburg High School and Hampshire Regional High School, where he also coached cross-country, basketball, and baseball. After his retirement, he continued to coach baseball and girls' basketball. David began coaching baseball in 1959 and his career ultimately spanned seven decades with his continued...

Mr. Gale Alvin Giles born on February 13, 1936 in Hamilton Ohio died peacefully on July 9, 2022 in Northampton, Massachusetts. Gale spent his youth growing up in Hamilton, Ohio before going off to college to prepare for a long career in education. He graduated from Kenyon College in Gambier, OH. Gale proceeded to become a Spanish Professor. He thoroughly enjoyed his teaching career which included time at the Hackley School in Tarrytown, NY and at the Wilbraham and Monson Academy in Wilbraham, MA. Following his retirement from education he settled down in Northampton, MA. Gale enjoyed traveling, foreign cultures, reading, and art. He was predeceased by his parents, Earlston M. Giles, Sr...

Alexander (Alex) Bayne passed away peacefully on Thursday, June 30, 2022. Born in 1936, Alex grew up in and around London, England, with his parents, William and Dorothy, and older brother Bill. His childhood was marked by the bombings of London in World War II, evacuations to the countryside, and a decade of rationed food post-War. These events sparked several of Alex's passions?a love for train and plane spotting, snacks, a good meal, and time with family. At age 16, Alex stopped attending school so he could work to help support his family?"I only had one pair of trousers, so I thought that meant we needed money." He later served 2 years in the Royal Air Force, based in England. He then...