Obituary of Sandra A. Tolpa

Sandra A. Tolpa, 72, passed away on January 13, 2022. She was born July 2, 1949 in Springfield, Massachusetts, daughter of Frank and Cecilia (Miodonka) Drenzek. Sandy was raised in Chicopee, graduated from Chicopee High School in 1968, and earned her Associates Degree in Business Administration – Data Processing from Northampton Commercial College in 1969. Sandy retired from the University of Massachusetts Amherst in 2015 after 35 years working in human resources. Sandy loved gardening, planting and tending her vegetables, finding new recipes, cooking and celebrating family traditions, especially those of her Polish heritage. She cherished spending time with those she loved most having weekly family suppers and vacationing together. She also enjoyed taking bus trips and vacations with her good friends. She adored her granddaughter Eloise with all of her heart, loved taking care of her, spending weekends and holidays with her and Grampy at their house on Lake Arcadia, traveling to Eloise’s volleyball tournaments and attending her school events. Sandy enjoyed learning new cooking techniques from watching the Food Network and she never missed an episode of her favorite daytime television show Days of Our Lives. Sandy was a die-hard New England sports fan who religiously watched Red Sox baseball and the New England Patriots and was a dedicated fan and season ticket holder of the University of Massachusetts Men’s Basketball team. She is survived by her sister Deborah Drenzek of Feeding Hills, and her daughter Jennifer (Tolpa) Tuleja, her son-in-law Noah Tuleja and her granddaughter Eloise Morse Tuleja all of Amherst, Massachusetts as well as many cousins, nieces and nephews. Sandy was preceded in death by her late husband Charles Frederick Tolpa in 2016 and her daughter, Karen Tolpa in 1982. Abbreviated calling hours will be held on Saturday, January 22, 2022 from 9:30am to 10:30am at Beers & Story Belchertown Funeral Home followed by a brief graveside service at South Cemetery at 11am. In lieu of flowers, contributions may be made in her memory to BARC – Belchertown Animal Relief Committee, PO Box 161 Belchertown, MA 01007 or to the Food Bank of Western Massachusetts, P.O. Box 160, Hatfield, MA 01038