Heather J. Taferner

Elizabethtown, Pennsylvania
Heather-Jo Taferner, a frequent visitor to the Greenfield and Northfield areas, passed away on November 27, 2010 at the age of 60.

She was born in Denville, NJ, the third child of Richard and Mary Taferner. Shortly after her birth the family moved to Port Washington, NY where Heather was raised along with her two siblings, Christine and Grace. After graduating from Paul D. Schreiber High School, she moved with her parents to Northfield, MA where her father, Richard, was the Chief of Police. She attended Greenfield Community College, earning an Associate's degree before continuing her education at Mount Holyoke College and graduating in 1985 with BA in English Literature.

In 1986 she moved to NJ where she worked in publishing and then in banking. She met her husband, Stephen Lopez while staying in the Great Barrington Region. Later the couple settled In Pennsylvania where they resided until Heather's death.

Heather was an accomplished artist working in paint as well as chalk. She did portraits of her nieces and nephews which became treasured family gifts. She loved to bake homemade bread on a winter afternoon and share a cup of tea with her sister. And her chocolate chip cookies were gobbled up by eager little hands. She shared her mother's interest in genealogy and was the family record keeper, taking her mother's lineage and extending them further using the internet. Many truths about the family's Irish ancestry were uncovered through her persistence.

Heather was also a woman of unwavering faith, a faith which consistently comforted her through her life. She had a deep sense of justice and integrity as well as a powerful and unshakable sense of right and wrong. These virtues were readily apparent to those who knew her and will be sorely missed.

She and Stephen loved each other deeply and led a quiet life in Elizabethtown, PA until Heather's untimely death after a short illness.

She is survived by her husband, Stephen Lopez, her sister Christine and husband Rodd, her sister Grace and husband Don, her five nieces and nephews, Meredith, Kelly, Michael, Kurt and Brandon as well as her five grandnieces and nephews, Josie, Camilla, Michael, Maxine and Patrick. She is also survived by her namesake, Heather Purcell, Richard's sister who loved her dearly. A private burial will be held at Calvary Cemetery in the spring of 2021.

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