Stella M. (Chrusciel) Tokarz

Stella M. Tokarz, 98, a longtime resident of Indian Orchard, passed away on Monday, October 10, 2016, at the Marlborough Hills Healthcare Center in Marlborough, Massachusetts. Her son and daughter were at her side.

Born in Indian Orchard, the daughter of Albert and Mary Chrusciel, she was a woman of family and faith who drew strength and solace from the simple things—gathering her family around the dinner table, saying the Rosary every night, hunting for bargains for family and friends at the Two Guys department store where she worked for many years, and making pierogies for the annual picnic at Immaculate Conception Church, where she was a communicant for many decades. She lived a life of grace and charity, always ready to extend a helping hand, steadfastly devoted to her family and resolute in her devotion to God.

She is predeceased by her husband, John W. Tokarz, a decorated Army veteran of World War II; her brother, Stanley Chrusciel; and two sisters, Jane Ordynowicz and Helen Przybylowicz.

Stella is survived by her two children, Kenneth J. Tokarz of North Andover, Massachusetts, and Cynthia M. Tokarz of Ashland, Massachusetts; her only grandchild, Kira B. Tokarz of Arlington, Virginia; her sister, Estelle Orszulak, of Springfield, and many nieces and nephews.

Funeral Services for Stella will be on Friday, Oct. 14, with Visiting hours from 9am – 10:30am at  Nowak Funeral and Cremation Service, 15 Ludlow Ave., Indian Orchard, MA 01151, followed by a Mass of Christian Burial at Christ the King Church, 41 Warsaw Ave., Ludlow, MA 01056 at 11am. She will be buried next to her beloved husband in St. Aloysius Cemetery, 1273 Berkshire Ave., in Indian Orchard.

In lieu of flowers, the family requests that donations be made in memory of John W. and Stella M. Tokarz to St. Francis High School, 4129 Lake Shore Road, Hamburg, NY 14075.