Joseph F. Gentile, 84
NORTH ADAMS, Mass. — Joseph Francis Gentile, 84, of 88 Walker St. died Monday, Feb. 13, 2012, at his home.
Born in North Adams on March 5, 1927, son of Michael Gentile and Gertrude Andrews Gentile LaFountaine, he attended North Adams schools and graduated from Drury High School with the class of 1944. An excellent athlete, Mr. Gentile was a member of Drury's 1943 undefeated county football champions. As athletes enlisted in the armed forces during World War II, the team, with only 18 players on the roster, went undefeated.
In the annual Adams-Drury game that October, he scored both touchdowns in a 12-0 Drury win. He remains one of the few players in the long history of the rivalry to score all the points in the game. He was named to the All-Berkshire football team and was one of the first Blue Devils to be named to The Republican's All-Western Mass team in any sport. He attended St. Michael's College in Winooski, Vt., where he also played football, and later played with several semi-pro teams in the area, including the Adams Saints.
A veteran of World War II, he served in the Navy.
Mr. Gentile was employed by General Electric Co. as a draftsman in the Naval Ordnance Division for many years until his retirement.
He was a communicant of the former St. Anthony of Padua Church and a member of its Adoration Society. An avid golfer, he was a member of the Taconic Golf Club and scored a hole in one in 1988 at the North Adams Country Club. He was an exceptional bowler, and appeared on "TV Tournament Time" several times in the 1960s, winning two tournaments. He was a rare bowler who bowled both tenpins and candlepins. He also was a member of the GE Quarter Century Club and a New England Patriots fan.
He leaves his wife, the former Sylvia Godyn, whom he married on May 30, 1998; four daughters, Mary Beth Chapman and her husband, Edward, of Arlington, Texas, Melanie Gelaznik of Adams, Hilary Gentile of Manchester, Conn., and Karla Ball and her husband, Douglass, of Bennington, Vt.; a son, Derek Gentile of Great Barrington; as stepson, William Sweet and his wife, Valerie, of Northampton, and five grandchildren, Kane Gelaznik, Kyle Gelaznik, Nicholas Chapman, Shira Sweet and Ari Sweet.
FUNERAL NOTICE — A Liturgy of Christian Burial for Mr. Gentile will be celebrated Friday, Feb. 17, at 10:30 a.m. at St. Elizabeth of Hungary Church. Burial will be in the spring in Southview Cemetery.
A calling hour will be held Friday morning from 9 to 10 at Flynn & Dagnoli-Montagna Home for Funerals, Central Chapels, 74 Marshall St., North Adams. Memorial contributions may be made to the Berkshire Humane Society in care of the funeral home.