Joan E. MacTavish, 73
ADAMS, Mass. — Joan Elaine "Babci" MacTavish, 73, of 101 Friend St. died Monday, April 11, 2011, at Berkshire Medical Center in Pittsfield after a four-year battle with cancer.
Born in Adams on Sept. 23, 1937, a daughter of Louis and Veronica Kuza Lesnick, she attended schools in Adams.
Primarily a homemaker, Mrs. MacTavish went to work as a seamstress for the former Waverly Co. after her husband, Robert D. MacTavish, died and retired as a home health aide.
She was a communicant of the former St. Stanislaus Kostka Church. She was beloved to her children and was a devoted mother and grandmother, and was gifted great-grandmother to her little miracle, Aiden Mendonca. She enjoyed gardening, holiday gatherings, and especially spending time with her grandchildren. She was an inspiration and will be dearly missed by all who knew her.
Her husband, whom she married on Aug. 24, 1957, died on June 25, 1977.
She leaves three daughters, Linda Hermanski and her husband, Daniel, of Pittsfield, Kathleen Babeu and her husband, Mark, of Adams, and Susan Schneider of Adams; a sister, Mary Adler of Pittsfield; eight grandchildren, Jennifer Hermanski, 1st Lt. Daniel Hermanski and his wife, Sharlene, Kathryn Hermanski, Katie Mendonca and her husband, Jason, Nicole Babeu, Matthew Babeu, Holly Pelczynski and Bryan Schneider; a great-grandson, Aiden Mendonca, and many nieces and nephews.
Mrs. McTavish was predeceased by a son-in-law, William Schneider; a brother, Stanley Lesnick, and by one sister, Josephine Dean.
FUNERAL NOTICE — The funeral for Mrs. McTavish will be Friday, April 15, at 8:45 a.m. from Paciorek Funeral Home, 13 Hoosac St., Adams, followed by a Liturgy of Christian Burial at 10 at St. Mary of the Assumption Church, Cheshire, celebrated by Rev. David R. Raymond, pastor. Burial will follow in St. Stanislaus Kostka Cemetery, Adams.
Calling hours will Thursday, April 14, from 5 to 7 at the funeral home. Memorial donations may be made through the funeral home to the Eileen Barrett Cancer Center in North Adams or to the Berkshire Taconic Community Foundation's Denise Kaley Fund, which supports the day-to-day financial needs of women diagnosed with cancer. To leave a message of condolence, or for directions, please go to www.apsfuneralhome.com.