Obituary of Daniel W. Symancyk

" Daniel W. Symancyk, 88, of Granby, Massachusetts, died of cancer on June 25 in his home of fifty-eight years after a year-long illness. Mr. Symancyk was born in Mt. Tom, Massachusetts, to the late William E. and Julia Symancyk of Mt. Tom, Massachusetts. He graduated from Easthampton High School in 1937 and served in the Army in Europe during World War II. After the war, he was employed by the National Blank Book Company, where he worked for more than twenty-five years. In the 1970's he started working for the town of Granby. He developed an early interest in music which persisted throughout his life, as did his love of painting, reading, and writing. In recent years, his poetry and prose included his recollections of post-liberation Dachau. Mr. Symancyk was the first Hampshire County Deputy Sheriff from Granby, as well as the first Democrat elected to the Granby School Committee. He was a member of the Immaculate Heart of Mary Church in Granby. His wife of fifty-three years, Dorothy (O'Hare) Symancyk, preceded him in death, as did his brothers, William and Robert. He is survived by his sister, Elizabeth C. Brooks of Northampton; his seven children, Daniel F. Symancyk and his wife, Janie, of Arnold, MD, Anne Bresnahan and her husband, Larry, of Cordova, TN, Jerome D. Symancyk and his wife, Mona, of Harker Heights, TX, Thomas D. Symancyk and his wife, Kathy, of Boxborough, William D. Symancyk and his wife, Cheryl, of Belchertown, Christine O'Hare Symancyk of Holbrook, AZ, and Carol Benson and her husband, Thomas, of Granby; 15 grandchildren; and 6 great-grandchildren. Family and friends may visit from 4:00-8:00 p.m. on Friday June 27 at Beers & Story S.Hadley Funeral Home, 646 Newton St. (Rte 116). A Mass of Christian Burial will be celebrated at 11:30 a.m. on Saturday June 28th at St. Patrick's Church due to renovations at Immaculate Heart of Mary Church. Friends and family may gather at the funeral home at 10:30 a.m. prior to the mass. Burial will follow in West Cemetery. In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions can be made to Hospice Life Care, 113 Hampden Street, Holyoke, MA 01040. "