James Gazzini

James V. Gazzini, loving father, grandfather and great-grandfather, died peacefully on Sunday, November 21, 2010, following a long illness.

He was predeceased by his wife of 45 years, Helen (Evans) Gazzini; his second wife, Grace (Osterman) Packard; his parents, Carmella (Negro) Gazzini and Joseph Gazzini; his brothers, Ben, John and Jerome Gazzini; his brothers-in-law, Joseph Russo and James H. Evans II; his cousin, Theresa (Igoe) Carney; and his stepdaughter, Barbara (Packard) Crowley.

He is survived by his devoted daughter and son-in-law, Barbara (Gazzini) and Norman "Mick" Kalber, of Fiskdale, MA; his older granddaughter, Elizabeth (Kalber) Baglio, her husband, Steven, and their sons, Matthew James and Charles Anthony, of Rye, NY; and his younger granddaughter, Kathryn Kalber, and her boyfriend, David Guertin, of Watertown, MA.  In addition, James is survived by his sister, Madeline (Gazzini) Russo, of White Plains, NY;  his sisters-in-law, Teresa (Marulli) Gazzini of Pleasantville, NY and Eleanor Evans DeFilippis of Pompano Beach, FL; stepson-in-law, William Crowley, and his wife, Barbara, of Hampden, MA; step granddaughter, Alison (Crowley) Pape, her husband, Daniel, and their sons, William Raymond and Travis Jax, of Hebron, CT; step granddaughter, Leanne Crowley Sellers, and her husband, Josh, of Los Angeles, CA; stepdaughter, Elaine (Packard) Snider and her husband, Greg, of Montgomery, AL, and their four daughters; and many nieces, nephews, and friends.

James was born on February 17, 1924 in White Plains, NY, and made his home there for over 65 years. He moved to Massachusetts 20 years ago following the death of his first wife, Helen, to reside closer to his daughter and her family. He is a World War II veteran who proudly served as a medical technician with the 135^th General Hospital stationed in England during the war. He worked his entire career for the Great Atlantic and Pacific Tea Company, serving as store manager the last 15 years of his career. James was an avid reader and gardener; and he enjoyed fishing, traveling and spending time with his family and friends.

His family extends their heartfelt thanks to those who gave James compassionate care in recent years:  Dr. John Howland, Dr. Rohit Vakil, the staffs of South County and Palmer Dialysis, South County VNA, Christopher Heights, Webster Manor, King Courier and K’s Ambulance Service.

There will be a memorial Mass on Tuesday, November 30 at 10:00 a.m. at St. Anne and St. Patrick Roman Catholic Parish in Fiskdale, MA.  A graveside service will take place on Wednesday, December 1 at 11:00 a.m. at Mt. Calvary Cemetery in White Plains, NY.  In honor of James’ love of reading and in lieu of flowers, his family gratefully requests that memorial donations be made in his name to the Friends of the Joshua Hyde Library, 306 Main Street, Sturbridge, MA 01566.

The Belanger-Bullard Funeral Home, 51 Marcy St., Southbridge, is directing arrangements.  An online guestbook is available at www.BelangerFuneralHome.com.

To view the video tribute, please click on the following link:

http://memorial.yourtribute.com/jamesgazzini/