Michael G. Abdalla Sr.,

01/22/2001

Michael G. Abdalla Sr., 64, of 28 Main St. died yesterday at home. Born in Great Barrington on July 22, 1936, son of George K. and Martha Skype Abdalla, he was a 1954 graduate of the former Searles High School and a 1958 graduate of Bryant College in Rhode Island. He served in the Army Reserves from 1958 until 1964. After graduating from college, Mr. Abdalla moved to Stockbridge, where he purchased the Elm Street Market, which he operated for 21 years, from 1958 until 1979, and was the former owner of the Town and Country Travel Agency in Lee. He was also the owner of Abdallas Liquors in Lee. He was the founder of Michael's Restaurant, which he opened in 1981. From 1977 until 1981, he was a partner in the Great Barrington Fairgrounds and, in 1994, opened Bogies Restaurant in Great Barrington. He was also the founder and owner of South West Friends, a franchise of Friendly Ice Cream, in South West Florida. Mr. Abdalla was a member and past president of the Stockbridge Lions Club and the Syrian Lebanese Club of Pittsfield. He was a former member of the Stockbridge Kiwanis Club and a member of the Stockbridge Sportsmen's Club. He was a volunteer member in the Stockbridge Fire Department. He leaves his wife, the former Judith A. Herbert, whom he married Sept. 6, 1959; two sons, Michael G. Abdalla and George "Rick" Abdalla, both of Lenox; two daughters, Debra A. Swain of Stockbridge and Pamela M. Benham of Great Barrington; a sister, Coreen G. Nejame of Lenox, and five grandchildren. The funeral of Michael G. Abdalla will be held Friday morning at 9:45 from KELLY FUNERAL HOME in Lee, with a Liturgy of Christian Burial at 10:30 at St. Joseph's Church in Stockbridge, with the Rev. Steven M. McGuigan, pastor, officiating. Burial will follow in St. Joseph's Cemetery. Visiting hours at the Kelly Funeral Home will be Thursday from 4 to 8. In lieu of flowers, friends wishing may make donations to the American Diabetes Association of Massachusetts.

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