Adele A. Behrens, 71
CHESHIRE, Mass. — Adele A. "Penny" Behrens, 71, of 87 Lanesborough Road died Tuesday, Nov. 8, 2011, at home.
Born in Adams on May 9, 1940, the daughter of Thaddeus and Adele Bieniek Wojtaszek, she grew up in Adams and Cheshire, and attended Cheshire schools. She graduated from St. Joseph's High School in Pittsfield with the class of 1958.
A Navy veteran, she enlisted shortly after high school and served in the Washington D.C. Naval Security Group and also at the Naval Communication Station in Honolulu. She was especially proud of her military service, from which she was honorably discharged in 1964. She lived briefly in Michigan before returning to Cheshire.
Mrs. Behrens was employed as a secretary in the Naval Ordnance Division of the former General Electric Co. in Pittsfield.
She was a communicant of St. Mary of the Assumption Church, where she was a former choir member, Eucharistic minister and RCIA member. She found extremely rewarding the religious education she taught for 23 years. Her love for family and church were the centerpieces of her life.
She and her husband, Edward Behrens, whom she met at GE, were married on Jan. 1, 1971.
Besides her husband, she leaves a daughter, Kimberly Mendes of East Taunton; a son, Brian Behrens and his wife, Tracy, of Cumming, Ga.; a brother, David Wojtaszek and his wife, Beth, of Adams; three grandchildren, Kaitlin Mendes, Nicolas Mendes and Alexander Behrens; her great-granddaughter, Madison Adele Marvel, who was born on the day of Mrs. Behren's passing; a brother-in-law, Ernest Behrens and his wife, Judith, of Suffolk, Va.; an aunt, Betty Godek of Adams, and nieces, nephews and cousins.
FUNERAL NOTICE — A Liturgy of Christian Burial for Mrs. Behrens will be celebrated on Saturday, Nov. 12, at 1 p.m. in St. Mary of the Assumption Church, Cheshire, by the Rev. David R. Raymond, pastor. Burial will military honors will follow in Cheshire Cemetery.
There will be no calling hours. Memorial donations may be made to St. Mary of the Assumption Church or the Cheshire Public Library through the Paciorek Funeral Home, 13 Hoosac St., Adams, which is in charge of arrangements. To leave a message of condolence, go to www.apsfuneralhome.com.