Erna S. Messenger

HOLYOKE: Erna Pauline (Schiesske) Messenger passed away at Baystate Medical Center, Springfield, on February 11, 2019 at age 95.   She was born in Holyoke on February 18, 1923, to the late Max & Anna (Marquardt) Schiesske.  Speaking only German on her first day of school, she quickly picked up English, excelled in poetry & literature at Morgan Junior High, and graduated from Holyoke High in 1940 in the business curriculum. She married fellow Holyoker, Warren C. Messenger in 1945, working as a bookkeeper for local paper companies until the birth of her first child. Erna ran the family home with excellence… a proficient cook, baker, seamstress and gardener.  Any craft that she put her hand to was done to perfection.   She adored animals of all kinds…domestic and wild… and fed any critter that showed up on her doorstep. She will be deeply missed by those who loved her, but especially her younger daughter, Bonnie, her caregiver and companion for the past several years.  Erna leaves older daughter and son-in-law, Anne Messenger and Willard Bouricius, and grandchildren Sarah Miller (Chris) and Amanda, Emily, & Max Messenger Bouricius, all of Colorado, as well as close family friends, William, Gregory & Christie Bodge, and Ann Marie Lucey who have been a blessing at this difficult time.  She was predeceased by her husband, brothers Victor, Herbert and Gerard, nephew Robert, and granddaughter, Katy. Services will be private at Erna’s request.  Barry J. Farrell is handling arrangements, with burial in Fairview Cemetery, Chicopee.  The family requests no flowers or food—but donations to Dakin Humane Society in Erna’s name would be much appreciated. And if your mother is still living--tell her how much she means to you. The time you have left together will never be enough.

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