Mrs. Mary Jane Gonia

Mrs. Mary Jane Gonia, 91, of 140 Melbourne Rd., formerly of West Lebanon, NY, died peacefully Saturday evening at home surrounded by her loving family. Born in Pittsfield on July 7, 1920, the daughter of George W. and Jane E. Daley Nesbit, she was a 1938 graduate of St. Joseph’s High School. She graduated from Our Lady of the Elms College and received her Master’s Degree in Education from The College of St. Rose and, in her seventies, a Master’s Degree in Theology from St. Bonaventure University. After college she worked as a Chemist for Bayer Aspirin. Mrs. Gonia loved teaching and began her career as an educator at the NYS museum. She worked in both the Schenectady and Guilderland, NY school districts for 16 years, retiring in 1980. She also tutored for many years at The Darrow School in New Lebanon, NY. A devout Catholic, Mary Jane was a communicant of St. Mark’s Church and formerly a communicant of, and lector at, Immaculate Conception Church in New Lebanon, NY. Her life echoed her beliefs and she contributed much to her communities, both global and local. She leaves her husband, Walter J. Gonia, whom she married on June 22, 1973; six children, Marilyn Lemmerman and her husband, David of Media, PA; Joseph W. Stauch and his wife, Karen of West Lebanon, NY; Kathleen Millett and her husband, Gary of West Lebanon, NY; Carol Hudson and her husband, Dale of So. Freeport, ME; James Stauch and his wife, Catherine of Gansevoort, NY; Jayne Bannish and her husband, Dan of Longmeadow, MA; and step-daughter Jeanie Popalis and her husband Jim; her brother, Paul Nesbit and his wife Therese of Pittsfield, two sisters, Anne Nesbit of Pittsfield and Sheila Keator and her husband George of Lenox, MA. Mary Jane was predeceased by her first husband, Joseph Stauch who died in 1966 and her sister ‘s Kathleen, Margaret Farley, brothers George, John FX , Leo, and Robert Nesbit. Mary Jane has 23 grandchildren, 17 great-grandchildren and many dear nieces and nephews. She always considered and treated all she knew as family and her love ‘knew no bounds’. Funeral Notice Funeral services for Mary Jane Gonia will be Friday, March 30, 2012 at 9 am from the Dwyer Funeral Home, 776 North St., Pittsfield MA, with a Liturgy of Christian Burial at 10 am at St. Mark’s Church celebrated by Mary Jane’s Capuchin friend, Fr. Jerry Schroeder. Burial will follow in North Cemetery in Richmond, MA. Calling hours at the funeral home will be Thursday, March 29, 2012 from 4 to 7 pm with a time for sharing memories. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to The Dwelling Place Ministry c/o Rev. Jerome Schroeder, OFMcap, 1611 Manitoba Ave., South Milwaukee, Wisconsin 53172 or to the New Lebanon Library, 550 State Route 20, New Lebanon, NY 12125.

Mrs. Mary Jane Gonia

July 7, 1920 - March 24, 2012