Obituaries 04-12-2012

David Kristin 

Poet and Actor

David Kristin of East Boston, formerly of Winthrop, died at home on March 31 after a long battle with cancer. He was 62 years old.

A lifelong poet, avid theatre-goer, photographer, and passionate lover of music, he was also an actor who was known for his unique, humorous, and powerful roles on local stage, national screen, and in life. Whether he was intensely delivering his poetry at the Winthrop Public Library, directing/acting in productions like One Flew Over The Cuckoo’s Nest at the Winthrop Playmakers, or silently surrendering his punk-rock jacket over to a nude Arnold Schwarzenegger in The Terminator, David radiated with a fullness of character, a raw sense of humor, and an emotional honesty that was admired and cherished by everybody who knew and loved him. From Brooklyn to Denver to L.A. to Boston, he carried himself with the gentle swagger of an accomplished eccentric and the warmth of a sensitive extrovert with a penchant for stopping to read a poem he knew by heart to a stranger. Above all, he was a compassionate and loving father.

David is survived by his mother, Bea Krivulin of Brooklyn, NY, his three children, Wil, Jesse, and Sarah, their mother, Virginia Land, and his partner Kathy. He is peacefully buried at New Montefiore Cemetery on Long Island, NY. A memorial and celebration of David’s life will be held on Sunday, April 15 at 4 p.m. at the Winthrop Playmakers, 60 Hermon St.  Friends and acquaintances are encouraged to attend with any stories, anecdotes, poetry, or artwork to share, or just for company and comfort. For information: e-mail [email protected]

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Wade Stallings

Retired Printer

Wade L. Stallings of East Boston, formerly of Winthrop, died at home on April 5. He was 56 years old.

A graduate of Winthrop Schools, prior to his retirement, he worked as a printer for A&M Printing

He was the beloved husband of Lorraine (DiLeo) Stallings; born in Pontiac, MI, he was the cherished son of Jane (Harvey) Chevalier of Winthrop and the late Delbert Stallings; devoted father of Taylor Stallings of New Hampshire, Heather MacLean of East Boston and Richard MacLean of Lynn; dear brother of Deborah Chevalier of Winthrop and adored grandfather of David Stephan and Isabella and Nicholas MacLean.

Funeral arrangements were by the Maurice W. Kirby Funeral Home, Winthrop. Burial was in Winthrop Cemetery (Belle Isle section). For guestbook, go to www.mauricekirbyfh.com.

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Dante Gallo 

Of Winthrop, formerly of East Boston 

Dante J. Gallo of Winthrop, formerly East Boston, died on April 7. He was in his 93rd year.

He was the beloved husband of Rose J. (Milia) Gallo with whom she shared 70 years of marriage; loving father of Albert Gallo and his wife, Ella of Baldwinsville, Diane Feely and her husband, Paul of Reading and Linda Cronin and her husband, James of Winthrop; dear brother of the late Vincent Gallo and Clara Perez; cherished grandfather of five and great grandfather of six.

Funeral arrangements were by Vazza’s “Beechwood” Funeral Home, Revere. Burial was in Woodlawn Cemetery. For guest book: www.vazzafunerals.com.

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Catherine ‘Sissy’ MacDonald 

Worked at State House For Many Massachusetts Governors; ABLE Award Recipient

Catherine “Sissy” MacDonald of Winthrop, beloved wife of the late John (Smokey) MacDonald, died on March 30, with her children by her side. She was 82 years old.

Born in Boston, she grew up in Roxbury where she attended St. Rita’s and St. Patrick’s High School. She also attended Boston Clerical Business School and later in life took courses at Suffolk University.

After their marriage in 1952, Catherine and John MacDonald moved to St. Matthew’s Parish in Dorchester where they brought up their family and where they did extensive volunteer work for St. Matthew’s and in the community. They also lived in Quincy for 20 years and spent a lot of time in Nova Scotia with their grandsons.

Mrs. MacDonald, who lived in Winthrop for the last five and loved living by the ocean, started her working life at Graybar Electrical where she made many lifelong friends. She also worked for Attorney J. Albert Johnson and on Thompson Island. She loved her years working at the State House as the Assistant Director of Personnel (Boards and Commissions) in the Governor of Massachusetts’ office. She worked for Governor Dukakis during his two terms, Governor King and retired in 1992 after working for Governor Weld. She was a Commissioner to Qualify Public Officers and a Notary Public, a delegate to several Democratic conventions and received an ABLE award.

A very kind, compassionate, fun and talented woman who lived her life with quiet determination, she was a wonderful mother, wife, grandmother, daughter, sister, aunt and friend who fought a long, courageous battle against many illnesses and who is now at peace, she is survived and dearly missed by her son Michael MacDonald (M & M Cable) and Judy Silverman of Winthrop, her daughter Kathy Gerrior and son in law, James Gerrior, grandsons Alex Gerrior and Ben Gerrior and his wife, Teena, all of Nova Scotia. She was one of 10 children who took great pride in the closeness of her large family. Catherine is also survived by her sisters, Margaret Goodwin of Quincy and Frances Zoldos of Biloxi, MS., many nieces and nephews and great nieces and nephews and other family members across the U.S. and Nova Scotia. Catherine was predeceased by her husband of 40 years, John; her parents, Garrett and Catherine Sullivan; her brothers, Arthur Bopp, John Bopp, Garrett (Buddy) Sullivan, Thomas Sullivan and sisters: Alice Bennett, Mary Fazio, Dorothy Sullivan and nephews: Kevin Zoldos, William Bennett and Robin Bennett.

Funeral arrangements were by Keohane Funeral Home, Quincy. Burial was in Mt. Benedict Cemetery, West Roxbury. Donations may be made in her name to All Care Hospice, 210 Market Street, Lynn, MA 01901. Thank you to everyone who was so kind to Catherine throughout her life. Special thanks to the staff at Whidden Memorial Hospital in Everett and All Care Hospice in Lynn. Call 1-800 Keohane for further information.

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Anna Lynch 

Melrose Resident 

Anna M. (Flannery) Lynch of Melrose died on April 4.

Raised in Winthrop, she was the devoted wife of 45 years to the late Edmund P. Lynch Jr.; loving mother of Joanne M. Schamberg and her husband, Thomas of Melrose, Eileen M. Flynn and her husband, Michael of N. Andover, Susan E. Gaudreau and her husband, James of Dracut and Christine A. Boulter and her husband, Myles of Wakefield; cherished grandmother of Kevin and Ryan Flynn, Michelle and Jennifer Gaudreau and Amanda Boulter; caring sister of Mary Johnson and her husband Gus of Stoughton and the late Eugene, James and George Callahan and Babette Murphy; sister-in-law of Mary Helen Lynch of Virginia and is also survived by many nieces and nephews.

Funeral arrangements were by the Gately Funeral Home, Melrose. Burial was in Belmont Cemetery, Belmont. In lieu of flowers contributions in Anna’s memory may be made to Families of Spinal Muscular Atrophy, P.O. Box 2902 Woburn, MA 01888 or Mystic Valley Elder Services 300 Commercial St. Malden, MA 02148. For obituary or to sign guest book, visit www.gatelyfh.com

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Eleanor Louise Shepherd 

Retired Nurse

Eleanor L. (Small) Shepherd of Florida died suddenly on April 1. She was 72 years old.

Born and raised in East Boston she moved to Florida many years ago. She was the daughter of the late Samuel and Eleanor (Carlson) Small. Louise (as she was called) was educated in East Boston, graduated from East Boston High School, went on to nursing school and held Associates, BSN and Masters Degrees in Nursing. She retired in 2006 after a 53 year nursing career.

She was the loving mother of Donna Kenlin, Jack Kenlin and Sandy Smith, all of Florida; the devoted grandmother of Christine Lopez and great grandmother of Joey Lopez;  loving sister of Carol Kilbreth of Florida, Catherine Clapp of Maryland, Patricia Brown of Winthrop, Charles Small, Lillian Nesbit, Ronaele Polito and Samuel Small, all of East Boston and Suzanne Small of Everett and the late Marion Cheffro, Barbara McCormick and William Small. She also leaves behind many nieces, nephews and cousins.

A public memorial service will be held at Woodlawn Cemetery on August 10 where she will rest with her mother and father.

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(Torf suggests that this Ginsberg obit is a newsworthy item

Abraham Saul Ginsberg 

Among World War II POW’s Featured in New York Times Current Bestseller; Founder of IGS Store Fixtures

Abraham Saul Ginsberg, a long time resident of Winthrop and later of Coconut Creek, Florida, died on April 3. He was 94 years old.

Born in Chelsea, Mr. Ginsberg graduated from Everett High School and later attended Northeastern University, leaving after two years to help support the family during the Great Depression.  In 1942, he left to serve his country during World War II and rose to the rank of staff sergeant of the 421^st Squadron of the 504 Bomb Group stationed in Tinian. He was the left blister gunner on a B29 bomber named “Sitting Pretty” and flew 16 missions before being shot down by anti-aircraft fire over the target on his 17^thmission – a low altitude daylight incendiary bombing mission against Yokohama.

Many of Abe’s missions included  long grueling raids on the Japanese mainland lasting 13 hours or more and included incendiary raids on Japanese cities, including Tokyo, as part of General Curtis LeMay’s strategic bombing strategy in 1945 to bring Japan to its’ knees and avoid a U.S. invasion.    The Yokohama raid was a complete success, destroying 8.9 square miles of the city and the 504^thearned one of two Presidential Citations for heroism and extraordinary devotion to duty demonstrated during this difficult mission.  Abe and the entire crew were able to bail out of the B29 and all survived the war.  This was very unusual for a B29 crew as many were killed upon capture or during POW captivity.

He was interned at a secret interrogation facility called Ofuna where the prisoners were not considered POW’s but rather “unarmed combatants” and not given the rights and protections normally afforded prisoners of war under the Geneva Convention.The incredible cruelty and inhumanity of Ofuna’s guards and internment at Ofuna  is outlined  in  the current New York Times Bestseller  “Unbroken.”  His life and those of other POW’s interned in  Japan were saved by the dropping of the atomic bomb on Hiroshima by the B29 Enola Gay, flying out of Tinian, as it is widely believed that the order had been given to kill all POW’s in the event of an Allied invasion.

Abe was liberated, along with 134 other prisoners ( primarily U.S and British airmen) from Ofuna after the war ended and he returned to Winthrop and his family extremely thin and a shadow of his former self. He was honorably discharged and awarded the Purple Heart.

In 1950, Abe began a company with his two younger brothers, William “Billy” Ginsberg and Benjamin “Benny” Ginsberg. The company, I. Ginsberg & Sons (“IGS”) was a store fixture manufacturing and supply company and exists today under different ownership and the name of IGS Store Fixtures.   The company was the principal store fixture supplier to Marshall’s during its very early years and grew as Marshalls expanded throughout the country.  Other clients included Bed, Bath and Beyond, Staples and T.J.Max.

Abraham married the late Doris Gertrude (Stone) Ginsberg in 1950 and the couple was married for 59 years before her death in July of 2009. He was the devoted father of Boston Red Sox Vice Chairman, David  Ginsberg of Boston  and Joy Rothberger and her husband, Richard of San Diego, CA. He was the loving son of the late Isadore Ginsberg and Edna (Copans) Ginsberg; dear brother of Selma Chankin of Westwood California, the late Irene Brother, Gertrude Eisenberg, William “Billy” Ginsberg, and Benjamin “Benny” Ginsberg and loving grandfather of Eric and Brett Rothberger.

Funeral services were held at the Torf Funeral Chapel, Chelsea. Burial was in Liberty Progressive

Cemetery, Fuller Street, Everett. In lieu of flowers, memorial remembrances may be made to the “Home Base Program” to help veterans with deployment related post traumatic stress disorder and traumatic brain injury; visit www.homebaseprogram.org or send directly to Mass General Hospital/Home Base program 165 Cambridge Street, Suite 600, Boston, MA 02114. For on-line guest book, please visit www.torffuneral service.com

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Nicholas Maggio 

Retired Self Employed Building Contractor

Nicholas J. Maggio of Circuit Road, Winthrop died suddenly at the Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston on March 27. He was 81 years old.

Born in East Boston, he was the beloved son of the late Josephine (Bonacorso) and Nick Maggio. A resident of Winthrop for over 69 years, he was a US Navy veteran of the Korean War. Prior to his retirement, he was a self employed building contractor. He was also a former member of the Winthrop Lodge of Elks.

He was the devoted husband of Rose (Toscano) and the loving father of Roseann Tavares of Danvers, Diane Morel of North Reading, Nicholas Maggio III and Anthony Maggio, both of Winthrop; the dear brother of Herbert Maggio of Florida and Carmella O’Brien of Winthrop; the cherished grandfather of Joanna, Dennis, Julianne, Andrea and Lea and is also survived by many loving nieces and nephews.

Funeral arrangements were by the Ernest P. Caggiano and Son-O’Maley Funeral Home, Winthrop. Memorial donations may be made to the American Heart Association P.O. Box 417005 Boston, MA. 02241-7005.

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Mary DeBonis 

Seamstress and Winthrop Catholic Women’s Club Member

Mary DeBonis of Locust Street, Winthrop died at the Winchester Nursing Home on March 27 after a brief illness. She was 95 years old.

Born in East Boston, she was the beloved daughter of the late Marie (Ruggierio) and Anthony Gioiosa. A resident of Winthrop for over 55 years, she was employed as a seamstress in the drapery business for many years. She was also a member of the Winthrop Catholic Women’s Club.

She was the devoted wife of the late Frank DeBonis and the loving mother of Joanne Bedard of Norfolk, Marie Evans of Winthrop, Carol Breed of Woburn and the late Joseph DeBonis;  the dear sister of Frances Wright of Winthrop and is also survived by eight grandchildren and 14 great grandchildren.
Funeral arrangements were by the Ernest P. Caggiano and Son-O’Maley Funeral Home Winthrop. Burial was in the Belle Isle section of Winthrop Cemetery.
Memorial donations may be made to the Alzheimer’s Association P.O. Box 96011 Washington, DC 20090-6011.