Jacob W. Kohl

"Jacob W. Kohl passed away peacefully on July 5, 2008 at the Wingate Nursing Home in East Longmeadow. He leaves his wife Leonora (Lee) to whom he was married for nearly 20 years. Prior to that he was married to the late Dorothy Kohl for 39 years until her early death in 1986. With her he had three children – Gary and wife MaryAnn of Portsmouth, RI and their children Matthieu, Ian, Jared, Julia, Spencer, Gordon, Adam and Bethany; Elaine Ward and husband Don of North Pole, Alaska and her children with the late John Maiorano - Ben and Andrew; and Leanne Dowd and husband Edward of Greenfield, MA and their children Rachel and Patrick. He also has fifteen great-grandchildren. He was also very much involved with Lee's children - Carol, Judy, Marcia and Dottie and her 7 grandchildren, and 2 great grandchildren. He also leaves his sister-in-law Josephine Passe of Pittsfield, MA and his nephew Craig Passe of Germany. He was born February 20, 1922 in Stroudsburg, PA to the late Wilmer R. and Ida Kohl. He moved to Pittsfield, MA in his teenage years and graduated from Pittsfield High School. He served in the Army in 1942 and later worked at General Electric Co. in Pittsfield and for a bakery owned by his father. He started married life in Pittsfield and in 1953 moved to West Springfield, MA and worked at Hamilton Standard in Windsor Locks, CT until his early retirement in 1985, which was done so he could better take care of Dottie. He was very proud of all of his family and loved to talk about their accomplishments Very noteworthy, was his dedication to volunteer work. During the years when he was raising his family he worked with the Boy Scouts, was a Sunday School teacher for many years, was a "Band Parent", and was a volunteer with the Open Pantry, a service group in West Springfield. After Dottie died, he volunteered at several area hospitals providing encouragement to patients, and for several years served as a tour guide at the New England Air Museum in Windsor Locks, CT. Even when he moved to the nursing home he continued volunteer work. His room was always open for anyone who wanted to talk, he gave a class on the power of positive thinking, and served as President of the Nursing Home's Patient Advocate Board. Jay had a close relationship with God, and freely shared his faith with others. He always tried to have a positive outlook, and encouraged others to do the same. He always kept spiritual books handy that he could share with folks that needed a bit of encouragement. He is very much missed by family and friends. A family gathering was privately held at the Beers & Story Palmer Funeral Home. Donations may be made in his memory to the Open Pantry Community Services, Inc, PO Box 5127, Springfield, MA 01101-5127 or Wingate of East Longmeadow, Resident Council Fund, 32 Chestnut Street, East Longmeadow, MA 01028. "