Thursday, October 29, 2015

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Obituaries

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Angelina Rizzolo WESTFIELD — Angelina Rizzolo(Campione) passed away on October 27, 2015 at the Governors Center following a brief illness, with her daughter Angela by her side. She was the wife of the late Gerardino Rizzolo who passed in 1983. Originally from Calabritto,(Avellino) Italy, Mrs. Rizzolo first lived in Newark, NJ and then moved to Westfield in 1970.

She leaves behind a daughter, Angela and granddaughter Marissa, both of Ashland, MA. She will be sorely missed.

She also leaves behind her sisters Camilla Mattia of Westfield, Maria Marcantuono of Nutley, NJ, Lina Fungaroli of North Arlington, NJ and a brother-in-law Italo Fungaroli, also from North Arlington, NJ. She also has numerous nieces and nephews from all over the U.S., Canada, Italy, Spain, France and Australia. Mrs. Rizzolo, loved to work in her garden filled with flowers and tend to her vegetables and grape vine. Westfield residents would see her walking all over the town. Mrs. Rizzolo worked at Columbia Bicycle and Old Colony Envelope until she retired in 1987. Funeral arrangements by the Robert E Cusack Funeral Home, 94 Main St (Rt 20), Westfield.

Visiting hours Friday from 5:00-7:00 p.m. with a Funeral Mass at St. Mary’s Church, Bartlett St, on Saturday at 9:15 a.m. Burial will follow in St Mary’s Cemetery, both in Westfield.

Oliver Alan Teece WESTFIELD — Oliver Alan Teece, infant son of Jessica Zinn and Raymond Teece passed away hours after birth on October 7th. He leaves his loving family; sister Laelah, Grandparents; Jackie Clague & Alvin Zinn, Mark & Roma Alamed; his uncle Patrick Smith and Aunts Krysten Zinn and Shawna Owen and his cousins Rosa Badillo and Paisley Smith. He was pre-deceased by his paternal grandmother Tina Teece and his Great Grandmothers Carmen Dunlap and DJ Foote.

A private service for Oliver will be held on Saturday, October 31st at St. Mary’s Church in Westfield.

Donations may be made to The Children’s Miracle Networks at: http://childrensmiraclenetworkhospitals.org/Hospital/ BaystateChildrensHospital

Halloween Happening participants included (front row) Jen Thielen, director of children and family ministry, Ashley Santos, 10, Aurora Thielen, 2, and Avian Cost, 7; (middle row) Amelia, Gravel­Blaney, 9, Madison Byers, 11, and Grace Fisher, 4; (back row) Doug Rogers, 15, and Nick Rogers, 16. (Photo by Marc St.Onge)

Halloween Happening at Second Congregational Church WESTFIELD — The Christian Education Committee of the Second Congregational Church in Westfield recently held its annual “Halloween Happening” at the church on Western Avenue.

Youth members of the congregation carved pumpkins, had a sing­along, and heard scary stories while pizza and other goodies were served.

Douglas A. Messenger Springfield—Douglas A. Messenger, 73 (1942-2015) passed away at Baystate Medical Center on Sunday, October 25, 2015. He was born in Westfield, the son of Ruth (Bettinger) Messenger and the late Allen T. Messenger. He graduated from Westfield Trade School. He worked as a machinist for many years for Jet Industries. He had many interests including woodworking, traveling and gardening. Douglas is survived by his daughters, Marlene Hoffman and her husband, Mark and Tammy Charbonneau and her husband, David; his companion, Julianna Chase; his sisters, Evelyn Egerton and Irene Egerton; his step-brother, Richard Kaslikowski; and his 4 grandchildren. He was predeceased by his daughter, Allene J. Durgin. Calling hours will be held on Friday, October 30th from 4-6PM at Southwick Forastiere Funeral Home, 624 College Highway, Southwick.

A service at the funeral home will follow at 6PM. Burial will be private and at the convenience of the family. In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions may be made to Baystate VNA & Hospice, 280 Chestnut Street 6th Floor, Springfield, MA 01199. For more information, visit www. forastiere.com

Jackie DeCoteau, 15, helps Nancy Rogers of the Christian Ed Committee while she carves a pumpkin for the Halloween Happening. (Photo by Marc St.Onge)

Ruth E. Gibbs Ruth E. (Bryant) Gibbs of Westfield, MA passed away peacefully at the Governor’s Center, surrounded by her loving family on Tuesday, October 27, 2015. Ruth was predeceased by her loving husband Robert L. Gibbs in 1974, her son, Robert L. Gibbs, Jr in 2008, her brother Alfred Bryant and her sister Lillian N. Murphy. She leaves her devoted daughters, Patricia Stec and her husband John, Linda M. Brittain and her husband Patrick, her grandsons, John T Stec, Jr. and her great granddaughters, Colleen and Sarah Stec. Her grandson Richard Stec and his wife Gina and great grandson Everett. Her grandsons Jonathan Gibbs and Brian Gibbs, and her brother, Theodore of Charleston.

Ruth was a department manager for JC Penney for 8 years, assistant manager for Albert Steiger’s for 24 years and retired in 1987, and worked as a receptionist at the YMCA. She was a communicant of St. Peter’s/ St. Casmir’s Parish, a previous resident of General Shepard, was a volunteer during Desert Storm with the USO in food serving and cooking and many different volunteering endeavors. She became limited over the past 7 ½ years due to Dementia and poor health. A very loving and caring person to everyone who she came in contact with. Her family would like to extend a very special thanks to the staff at Governor’s Center for the wonderful care and support given to Ruth and her family over the past 7 ½ years.

Ruth’s funeral will be held on Saturday at 9AM from Firtion Adams FS, 76 Broad St. Westfield, MA 01085 followed by a Liturgy of Christian Burial at 10 AM in St. Peter’s/St. Casmir’s Parish, 34 State St. Westfield, MA. Burial will follow in Pine Hill Cemetery, Western Ave. Westfield, MA 01085. Visiting hours will be held on Friday from 4-7 PM at the funeral home. Ruth was a donor to St. Jude since 1984, so in her memory and in lieu of flowers, her family asks that donations be directed to St. Jude’s Children’s Hospital, 501 St. Jude Place, Memphis, TN 38105-1905.

THE WESTFIELD NEWS

Volunteer Meribeth Baldwin sets up pumpkins carved for the Halloween Happening at Second Congregational Church.

(Photo by Marc St.Onge)

quickly,” said St. George. “and are often over within 10-15 minutes, before law enforcement arrives on the scene.”

This is why it is so important to prepare non-emergency personnel how to respond to an active shooter scenario.

RUN: If safe to do so, the first priority should be to escape from danger. When it is safe, individuals should contact campus police first before calling 911.

St. George said that 911 calls first will go to state police dispatch, then will likely be transferred to Westfield Police Department dispatch before getting to university police.

This wastes valuable time.

The many call boxes on campus, with the blue lights, can be used and go directly to campus dispatch.

When running, if in the open, run in zigzags to make yourself less of a target.

St. George also advised not to go to pre-determined meeting places (that would be used during other emergencies) and avoid parking lots since the attacker may target these locations.

HIDE: If there is no opportunity to run, then hide by locking and/ or barricading doors, turning off lights, silencing cell phones and remaining quiet.

FIGHT: Fighting should be a last resort, but sometimes it becomes necessary. Improvise weapons: liquids from coffee cups/water bottles can be thrown into an attacker’s face to momentarily distract or startle him/her; flashlights can be used to shine into the attacker’s eyes to disorient him/her; furniture can be used as weapons.

“You don’t need to kill the attacker,” he said. “You just need to disarm him or her.”

St. George shared some powerful videos showing simulations done by students demonstrating how to take out an attacker in various ways.

When police respond, St. George said let them do their job. Their first priority is to stop the threat, which means they will not be immediately attending to the injured.

Police need people to follow commands, keep hands empty and visible, move slowly unless instructed otherwise, give a description of the shooter(s) and weapon(s) and afterwards give a clear account of the incident.

STAT (Student Threat Assessment Team) meetings are held on a weekly basis, said St. George.

Anyone who sees changes in a student- they are becoming less friendly, there is a decrease in hygiene, they seem distraught – can report the student to the team for them to make a determination about the individual’s possible level of threat.

Even though the audience was small, there was a lively discussion with St. George following his formal presentation.

Sophomore Derek Dulac said he wanted to attend because of all the recent shootings. He was impressed by the simple ways to distract an attacker, such as using coffee or flashlights.

This week St. George will be presenting the training to the entire student government.

Next month, the training will be given to resident assistants.

Other sessions will also be made available this semester to the general population of students, faculty and staff.

Staff Writer Christine Charnosky can be reached at christinec@thewestfieldnewsgroup.com

Multi Artist Open House HUNTINGTON — The Huntington Public Library, located at 7 East Main Street, Huntington, MA., will present a Multi-Artist Showcase for the Month of November. Many local artists will be displaying a small sample of their works, including paintings, pottery, and quiltwork. Please join us for an Open House on Saturday, November 7th from 1:00-3:00 PM when the artists will be on hand to discuss their craft. Light refreshments will be served.This event is free and open to the public. After this the exhibit can be viewed anytime during regular business hours: Wed. 4-8 PM, Thurs. 2-8 PM, Fri. 2-8 PM, and Sat. 10 AM- 3PM.

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