Mrs. Edith "Edie" Almstead

Edith M. “Edie” (Butler) Almstead, 90, of Pittsfield, passed away peacefully on April 15, 2023, at Berkshire Place, Pittsfield. Edie was born in Bennington, VT on June 4,1932 to William A. Butler and Esther Plumb Butler. She graduated from Pittsfield High School in 1950 where she was Co-Editor of the Yearbook, Essay and Short Story Editor as well as active on Student's Pen. On March 26, 1951, she married her high school sweetheart Edgar "Tom" Almstead. Edie embarked on a long and remarkable career trajectory, which began in the late 1950s as a part time salesclerk at JJ Newberry Company in Pittsfield, followed by employment at Lichtman Tanning Company and Berkshire Life Insurance Company, until May 1962 when she began a thirty-year career at GE Ordnance Systems. She was hired as a Clerk-Typist but was steadily promoted to Technical Clerk, Computer Programmer, Designer – Advanced Programming Techniques, and several analyst positions culminating with Systems Analyst – Shipboard & Development Contracts. She worked in several departments at GE Ordnance, including Information Systems Design, Polaris Support Project, later FBM Support Project, Computer Techniques, Ordnance Equipment Programs and Contract Administration. In May 1987 Edie became a proud member of the GE Quarter Century Club. She retired from GE in 1992. Edie had a lifelong passion for learning. Immediately after retirement she returned to academia to earn Associate degrees in 1994 and 1996, from Berkshire Community College (BCC), in Computer Information Systems (Valedictorian) and Business Administration, respectively. She then continued on to Massachusetts College of Liberal Arts (MCLA) to receive a BS in Business Administration, in May 2000, with a Summa Cum Laude designation and earning the coveted The Wall Street Journal Award – In Recognition of Outstanding Academic Achievement, and finally a Bachelor of Arts degree in Sociology in May 2009. During her higher education years Edie was inducted into Phi Theta Kappa Honor Society (BCC), National Vocational-Technical Honor Society (BCC), Alpha Chi National College Honor Society (MCLA) and Delta Mu Delta International Honor Society in Business (MCLA). Edie loved and cherished her family. While in retirement Edie found a hobby in restoring and digitizing old photos and creating family albums. This was a labor of love, as she looked back at all the wonderful times shared with family celebrating weddings, showers, holiday events, birthdays, graduations, vacations at the Almstead camp on Plunkett Lake, trips to Cape Cod, happy times at the Great Escape and Catskill Game Farm with Matthew and Sarah-Beth, her grandchildren, exploring Yosemite and Lake Tahoe, the Galvagni family reunion in Maine and happy memories of time with her family in the backyard pool and cookouts on the deck are all beautifully memorialized in albums. Such great memories! Edie was an avid reader and an expert swimmer. She always said that you can never be bored as long as you have a good book to fill the empty moments. She loved the water, from the time she learned to swim in Lake Peron in North Bennington to the family picnics at Pontoosuc Lake, and in more recent years, just relaxing in her backyard pool with a good book close at hand. Edie was predeceased by her beloved husband Tom Almstead in 2015, brother William F. Butler, son-in-law Robert Galvagni, and nephew Matthew Butler. A loving mother, grandmother, great grandmother, sister and aunt, she is survived by her two daughters, Donna Gniadek (Ali) of San Ramon, CA, Debra Galvagni of Pittsfield, Grandson, Matthew Gniadek (Marisa) of Redwood Shores, CA, Granddaughter, Sarah-Beth Mansfield (Ash) of San Ramon, CA, four great-grandsons, Jackson and Aiden Gniadek and Chase and Callan Mansfield, two brothers, Arthur Butler (Cathy), of Pittsfield, Robert Butler (Mary Jo), of Kenmore, NY, as well as many cherished nieces and nephews. Looking back at a life remembered, her most precious memories were times shared with family. We want to acknowledge and thank her in-home caregivers from Home Instead as well as the entire wonderful staff at Berkshire Place for looking after her with love and compassion. Funeral Notice: Funeral services for Mrs. Edith M. “Edie” Almstead will be Tuesday, April 25, 2023, at 11 am at Sacred Heart Church, 191 Elm Street, Pittsfield. There will be an hour of visitation prior to the service, from 9:30 am to 10:30 am at the Dwyer-Wellington Funeral Home in Pittsfield, 220 East Street, Pittsfield. In lieu of flowers, donations in Edie’s memory can be made to the Elizabeth Freeman Center, Elder Services of Berkshire County, Inc., or the BCC Foundation Scholarship Fund, in care of the Dwyer-Wellington Funeral Home.

Mrs. Edith "Edie" Almstead

June 4, 1932 - April 15, 2023