Obituaries

Margaret E. ‘Betty’ LaRocque, 86

LEE, Mass. — Margaret E. “Betty” LaRocque, 86, of Lee passed away Thursday, February 8, 2018, at her home with her loving family of children, grandchildren, great-grandchildren...

Kevin C. Killackey, 62

LEE, Mass. — Kevin C. Killackey, 62, of Chapel Street, Lee, died unexpectedly last Monday evening, February 5, 2018. He was born October 20, 1955, the son of the late Charles H....

Barbara Riiska, 78

OTIS, Mass. — In the early morning hours on Saturday, February 3, 2018, the Riiska Family said goodbye to their beloved Matriarch. Barbara Riiska was born on January 19, 1940, and died...

Max Jongkind, 77

LEE, Mass. — Max Jongkind, 77, formerly of Lansing, Mich., died Wednesday evening, January 24, 2018, at his home, in Lee, surrounded by his family. He was born in Eindhoven,...

Kerry and Grayson Pellegrino

LEE, Mass. — On Saturday, December 30, 2017, we lost two beautiful people, Kerry Kathleen Hamill, age 40, and Grayson Luc Pellegrino, age 3 1/2 years, tragically in a motor vehicle accident...

Ernest Brazee Jr., 66

LEE, Mass. — Ernest T. Brazee Jr. died at his home in Lee on Thursday, January 18, 2018. He was born on February 15, 1951, In Pittsfield, Mass., the son of Ernest T. and Beatrice...

Mercedes Gallagher, 63

BECKET, Mass. — Mercedes Gallagher, 63, of Becket, Mass., died Tuesday, January 16, 2018, at Craneville Place in Dalton. She was born in Portsmouth, Va., on February 22, 1954, the...

Hazel Brewer, 98

GREAT BARRINGTON, Mass. — Hazel Brewer, 98, passed away on December 29, 2017, at Geer Health Care in Canaan, Conn. Born in North Egremont, Mass., on November 15, 1919, she was the...

George E. Membrino, 86

LEE, Mass. — George E. Membrino, born April 20, 1931, to Pasquale and Angela Pesa Membrino of Fitchburg, Mass., died on Monday, January 8, 2018, peacefully at home. A 1952 graduate of...

Thomas J. Wickham, 88

LEE, Mass. — Thomas James Wickham of Lee, Mass., passed away peacefully and surrounded by his loving family at home on January 3, 2018, after a brief illness.  Tom was born March...

Ernest S. Hood Jr., 58

OTIS, Mass. — Ernest S. Hood Jr., 58, of Otis died Monday, January 1, 2018, at BayState Medical Center. Born on August 26, 1959, he was the son of Ernest and Marion Gangloff Hood Sr....

Easterbelle Clark, 93

GREAT BARRINGTON, Mass. — Easterbelle Clark, 93, of Cottage Street, Great Barrington, died peacefully at home December 27, 2017, surrounded by her family.  She was born, the...

David L. Mitchell, 59

BECKET, Mass. — David Louis Mitchell, 59, of Becket, passed away unexpectedly from a heart attack at home on Christmas Day, December 25, 2017. David was born May 17, 1958, the son of the...

May B. Collins, 95

SOUTH LEE, Mass. — May B. Collins, 95, died Saturday evening, December 23, 2017, at her daughters home in South Lee surrounded by her family. She was born on May 18, 1922, in Manchester,...

Karen Ross, 61

GREAT BARRINGTON, Mass. — Karen Bru Ross, 61, of Park Street, Great Barrington, passed away on Christmas Day, December 25, 2017, surrounded by her family after a brief battle with...

Brian Donovan, 51

LEE, Mass. — Brian Thomas Donovan, 51, of 620 Laurel Street, Lee, died Wednesday, December 20, 2017, at Kindred Nursing and Rehabilitation at Laurel Lake. Born in Pittsfield on October...

Joseph F. Puleri Sr., 84

LEE, Mass. — Joseph F. Puleri Sr., 84, died at his home in Lee on Sunday, December 17, 2017, surrounded by his family. He was born in Lee on June 10, 1933, the son of Frank and Mary...

Margaret Collins, 86

LEE, Mass. — Margaret "Ann" O'Connell Collins, 86, passed away at her home on the evening of Monday, December 11, 2017. Ann was born on June 18, 1931, the fourth of four...

Christine R. Holian, 91

LEE, Mass. — Christine Dunbar Holian, 91, died Monday, December 11, 2017, surrounded by her loving family. Christine Rose was the daughter of Ray Dunbar and Amelia Naomi Costantino. She...

Patricia E. Brown, 90

LEE, Mass. — Patricia E. Brown, 90, of Lee died Sunday, December 3, 2017, at Kindred Laurel Lake. Patricia was born in Springfield, Mass., on September 2, 1927, the daughter of Warren A....

Joan E. Vigneron

GREAT BARRINGTON, Mass. — Joan Elizabeth "Betty" Vigneron passed away November 30, 2017, at home in Great Barrington, Mass., where she was a longtime resident since...

David G. Williams, 80

LEE, Mass. — David G. Williams passed away on Sunday, November 26, 2017, at Berkshire Medical Center surrounded by his loving family. Dave was born at home in South Lee, to Florence K....

Freda K. Macken, 95

STOCKBRIDGE — Freda Katherine Macken, 95, of Stockbridge died Friday, November 24, 2017 at Berkshire Medical Center in Pittsfield. She was born in Digby, Nova Scotia, on April 9, 1922,...

Robert J. Lynch, 76

LEE, Mass. — Robert Lynch, 76, of Lee died Wednesday, November 15, 2017, at Berkshire Medical Center in Pittsfield. He was born in Pittsfield on November 9, 1941, the son of Edward and...

Walter W. Rathbun, 79

LEE, Mass. — Walter “Ozzie” Rathbun, 79, passed away peacefully, Tuesday, November 14, 2017, with his wife of 30 years, Mary Withers Rathbun, by his side.  Born October...