PITTSFIELD- John Dittmar Stapleberg, 88, of 3 Naples Ave., died Monday at his home.
Born September 18, 1921 in Danbury, CT the son of William A. and Henrietta Dittmar Stapleberg, he attended Danbury Public Schools. John served in the US Navy during World War II from 1942 until his dischasrge in 1945.
He was employed by General Electric as an assembler in the Transformer Manufacturing division for 40+ years, working in Building in 100.
John was a member of the Zion’s Evangelical Lutheran Church.
He enjoyed doing carpentry, coin collecting, working around his house and traveling. He was a member of the Golden Seniors, Greylock Credit Union Quality Time Club, GE Quarter Century Club, and the IUE Retirees Union.
He leaves his beloved wife the former Katharine Meinhart whom he married on his birthday September 18, 1943, while he was home on leave; they recently celebrated their 66th anniversary.
He leaves his daughter Jacqueline D. Gilardi of Pittsfield, son Ronald J. Stapleberg of Windsor, five grandchildren, nine great grandchildren, and a step sister Gladys Bartley of Florida. He was predeceased by a brother William Stapleberg.
FUNERAL NOTICE- Funeral services for Mr. John D. Stapleberg will be held Thursday at 11am at the Zion’s Evangelical Lutheran Church with the Rev. Dr. Peter D. Boehringer pastor officiating. Burial will follow in the Pittsfield Cemetery. Calling hours will Wednesday from 4-7pm at the WELLINGTON FUNERAL HOME. Condolences may be sent to the funeral home at condolences@wellingtonfuneralhome.com. Donations in John’s memory may be made to HospiceCare in the Berkshires care of the funeral home, 220 East St., Pittsfield, MA 01201.
| DALTON- Mrs. Geraldine Seagrave Kelly of Dalton died Wednesday, September 30, at Bay State Medical Center in Springfield. She was 86 years old.
Gerrie was born in Pittsfield on 3/23/23, a date she thought particularly auspicious. She was the oldest daughter of Richard Seagrave and Stella Hollis Seagrave. At age 3, while living on Field St in Dalton she met another 3 year old who remained a lifelong friend. During the Great Depression, the Seagrave family moved frequently, and Gerrie spent years with her maternal grandparents in a suburb of Boston, summers at a cottage in Maine, and Jr. High school years in Elizabeth New Jersey. After returning from New Jersey to the Pittsfield School system, she skipped a grade and was able to graduate from Pittsfield High School in 1940 at age 17. Although accepted at Mount Holyoke College, she enrolled in Larson Junior College in New Haven CT. At Larson she took art classes, and majored in Fashion Merchandising, graduating in 1942. During summer vacations Gerrie had worked for England Brothers Department Store, and upon graduation she accepted a full time position. She rapidly advanced through the ranks, in part because of the shortage of workers as men enlisted in the army following the outbreak of WWII. She was at various times involved with designing ads and displays, an assistant buyer, an assistant in the Personnel Dept., and Customer Service. While in her position as an assistant buyer, Gerrie was sent to NYC to obtain a bottle of Chanel #5 perfume for Queen Beatrix, the ruler of the Netherlands who was in exile in Berkshire County.
Gerrie was married on November 28,1942 to Clifford A Kelly (also of Pittsfield) at the 1st Methodist Church on Fenn St. They met with the minister, booked the church, and ordered the cake a mere two weeks before the date. Gerrie then traveled to NY to purchase the silk for her dress and returned home to design and sew it in time for the wedding.
In 1946 Gerrie left England Brothers to start her family, and over the years had four children. In the early 1960’s, she decided to pursue a different career, and returned to earn her Bachelor Degree in Education from North Adams State College. She had the rare distinction of graduating from college on the same day her eldest son Craig graduated from Wahconah Regional High School, in June of 1965.
With her degree in hand, she soon had a position in the Dalton School system as a 3rd grade teacher, 6th grade teacher and finally as the guidance counselor for the Dalton Jr High School. There she remained for many years, a kind and compassionate mentor of the pre teen student body. Throughout these years Gerrie continued to take education courses, earning her Masters degree in Education plus 45 credits. Gerrie always talked fondly of those years spent with children, and was deeply touched by the students who remembered her as adults.
After Gerrie retired from the Dalton School System, she and Cliff began to spend their winters in St. Petersburg, FL. Always a creative person, she became interested in spinning and weaving and soon taught herself to spin, and joined weavers guilds in both Berkshire County and Pinellas County FL. As she became more adept, she would gather butternuts from the tree in the yard and hand dye the wool, spin the wool into yarn, weave the yarn into cloth, and then sew the cloth into garments. She exhibited these garments at the Cummington Fair among other places. Over the years she won many awards for her spinning and weaving of rugs, blankets and various other items. Her love of working with children led her to continue to volunteer in schools, giving spinning and weaving demonstrations. She also worked as a docent at Heritage village in FL demonstrating. Always an outgoing and engaging person, Gerrie was active in many organizations over the years. She as a longtime member of the Dalton Methodist Church , a member of the organization Current Topics , and the educators honor society, Delta Kappa Gamma. After Cliff died in 1995, Gerrie continued to be active, and made several trips abroad with friends.
A resident of Sugar Hill in Dalton since 2008, she was able to enjoy many concerts, speakers and classes in the facility, as well as visits to see concerts at the Colonial Theater.
Gerrie leaves a son, Ford D. Kelly and wife Ruth of Dalton, another son Jonathan D Kelly of Holyoke, and a daughter Laurie A Kelly and husband Michael Riley of Narragansett RI. Her oldest son, Craig Seagrave Kelly of Columbia SC predeceased her in 2003. She also leaves eight grandchildren and eight great grandchildren. Gerrie leaves a younger sister, Evelyn Glade of Me.
Funeral Notice: Funeral services will be Monday October 5, 2009 at 10am at the BARTLETT WELLINGTON FUNERAL HOME in Dalton with the Rev. Robert Jackson of the Dalton United Methodist Church officiating.. Calling hours will be Sunday October 4 at the Bartlett-Wellington Funeral Home from 2 PM to 5 PM. In lieu of flowers please send donations to the WRASP Fund to benefit Wahconah Regional High School care of the funeral home 525 Main St., Dalton, MA 01226. Condolences and wishes for the family may be sent to condolences@wellingtonfuneralhome.com.
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