James "Beaver" Bednarski III

02/16/2005

James "Beaver" Bednarski III, 55, of Hill Road, Interlaken, died yesterday morning at Fairview Hospital in Great Barrington after a yearlong battle with cancer. Born in Greenfield on Dec. 23, 1949, son of Christine Reid Bednarski of Sunderland and the late James Bednarski Jr., he was raised in Sunderland, attending schools there and graduating in 1967 from Frontier Regional High School in Deerfield. He received his bachelor's degree in business administration in 1972 from Husson College in Bangor, Maine. In high school, he was a standout baseball player. He had been offered a contract by the Houston Astros, but decided to continue his education. A licensed nursing home administrator, Mr. Bednarski purchased the former Edgecombe Nursing Home in Lenox in 1973. He operated the facility until selling it to Berkshire Health Systems in 1986. At the time of his death, he owned Cozy Corner Nursing Home in Sunderland, which he had operated for many years. A longtime fan of horse racing, he had owned many horses over the years, racing them at local fairgrounds as well as at tracks in Boston, New Hampshire and West Virginia. He was an avid fan of the Boston Red Sox and New York Giants. He also enjoyed traveling. He and his wife, the former Jean Garrity, were married Oct. 18, 1975, in St. Paul's Church in Hingham. Besides his wife and his mother, he leaves two sons, Gregory J. Bednarski, a student at the University of Massachusetts at Amherst, and Brian A. Bednarski of Interlaken; two brothers, Gary Bednarski of Troy, N.H., and Bruce Bednarski of Greenfield, and two sisters, Tina Finkowski of Queensbury, N.Y., and Jacqueline Gauthier of Hadley. FUNERAL NOTICE -- The funeral for Mr. James "Beaver" Bednarski, who died Feb. 16, 2005, will be Saturday at 10 from ROCHE FUNERAL HOME, followed by a Liturgy of Christian Burial at 11 at St. Joseph's Church in Stockbridge. Burial will follow in St. Joseph's Cemetery. Calling hours at the funeral home will be Friday from 4 to 7. In lieu of flowers, those who desire may make donations in Jim's memory to the Eleanor Sonsini Memorial Animal Shelter in care of the funeral home, 120 Main St., Lenox, MA 01240. Jim was predeceased by a brother, Jeffrey Bednarski. Jim was a loving husband and father who will always be missed by his family and friends.

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