Helen O. Dostal

Colchester, CT
Helena “Helen” O. (Pontbriand) Dostal, 93, formerly a resident of 400 Westhampton Road, died Sunday, July 20, 2014 at the Apple Rehabilitation Center, Colchester, CT, following a period of declining health.
A native of Northampton, Massachusetts, she was born on April 5, 1921 to Olivine (Boucher) and Romeo Pontbriand. Helen was educated in Sacred Heart Parochial School until the age of 16, when she set aside her formal education to assist her father in raising her four siblings, following the death of her mother. She worked as a personal cook for a professor at Smith College and also at the Northampton Clarke School in the housekeeping department.
Helen grew up on Prospect Street in Northampton and lived with her family until she married Robert J. Dostal, Sr. on June 23, 1941. Following their marriage, they resided in Florence, MA and South Carolina while her husband was serving in the military. Upon his discharge from the service, they moved back to Massachusetts, in particular to their beloved “Pine Hill Farm” on Route 66 to start a family. It was there that they raised Black Angus cattle, later raising show ponies and horses. Helen was often found helping on the farm by driving hay truck during the haying season and canning vegetables from the family garden. Helen and Bob celebrated 65 years of marriage together prior to his passing in September of 2006.
Helen was a devout communicant of the former St. Mary’s of the Assumption Church in Northampton, Massachusetts and was active in parish life. Her leisure time activities and hobbies included: crocheting, word search puzzles and bird watching.
Survivors include her loving children: Robert J. “Bud” Dostal, Jr., of Ocala, FL; Carol Elizabeth Perkins and her husband Raymond of Conway, MA and Mary Rose Dostal and her partner Marianne Murawski of Marlborough, CT. Helen was predeceased by her daughter Barbara Tacy in September of 2002 and is survived by her son-in-law Louis Tacy of Westfield, MA. She leaves her loving brother Ernest Pontbriand of Waterville, ME and was predeceased by her brothers Romeo, Albert, Henry and Edmund Pontbriand. Helen leaves four grandchildren who love and adore her: E.J. Perkins and his wife Tori of Little Ferry, NJ; Patricia Rutkowski and her husband “Skip” of Northampton, MA, Robert Tacy of Northampton, MA and Theresa Murawski of Marlborough, CT.
Funeral services will be conducted on Friday, July 25, 2014 from the McCarthy Funeral Homes, 36 Bank Row, Greenfield, MA, with a Catholic Rite of Burial Service at 11:00AM, with Msgr. Ronald G. Yargeau, Pastor, of Holy Trinity Church, Greenfield, MA to officiate. Rites of committal and burial will follow in St. Mary’s Cemetery, Northampton, MA. Helen’s family will receive guests Friday morning from 10:00AM until the time of the services at 11:00AM. Memorial contributions are suggested to either the American Cancer Society online at www.cancer.org or by phone at 1-800-227-2345 or to the Shriner’s Hospital for Children, 516 Carew Street, Springfield, MA 01104.

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