CHICOPEE – Chester J. Kos, 86, of the Aldenville section of Chicopee, was Called Safely Home on Friday, November 21, 2014. He passed into Eternal Life surrounded by his loving sons at Baystate Medical Center in Springfield. He was born at home in the Chicopee Falls section of Chicopee on November 10, 1928, a beloved son of the late Josef and Zofia (Rybak) Kos. He was raised in Holyoke, graduated from Holyoke High School in 1947 and later graduated from Western New England College in Springfield in 1960. He served his country in the United States Army during the Korean War and attained the rank of Corporal. He retired as a Federal Government employee having worked at Westover Air Force Base and Hanscom Air Force Base in the Data Automation, Supply, Civil Engineering and Logistics Departments. He was a communicant of the former Mater Dolorosa Church in Holyoke and now a communicant of Sainte Rose de Lima Church in Chicopee. He was a member of the Mater Dolorosa Holy Name Society, the Polish Roman Catholic Union of America Lodge 424 of Chicago, IL, the Polish National Alliance Lodge 525 of Holyoke, the Polish American Club of Western Mass, the American Legion Kennedy Post 275 and the AMVETS Chapter 11, both in Chicopee, the Veterans of Foreign Wars and the Disabled American Veterans. Above all, he showered his family with his love and affection which was returned to him a thousand fold. Besides his parents, he was predeceased by his beloved wife and best friend, Loretta P. (Pokora) Kos who was Called Home on December 10, 2000; and his two dear brothers-in-law, Michael S. Krok and Edward Pokora. He leaves his two loving sons, Chester M. Kos and his wife, Deborah, of Carmel, IN, and Frank T. Kos and his wife, Coleen, of Wentzville, MO; his five cherished grandchildren, Michael Kos and his wife, Melinda “Mindy” Kos, Stephanie Langford and her husband Evan, Jacqueline Kos, Sean W. Fletcher and his wife, Janell, and Justin T. Kos; his two cherished great-grandchildren, Samuel B. Kos and Lily Langford; his dear brothers, Reverend Donald M. Kos, OFM Conv., of Rome, Italy and Joseph M. Kos and his wife, Christine, of Holyoke; his dear sisters, Stasia J. Krok of Holyoke and Jane T. Pokora of Chicopee; his special nephew and caregiver, John Pokora of Chicopee; and his many additional nephews, nieces, cousins and extended members of the Kos and Pokora families. His funeral will be held on Tuesday morning, November 25, 2014 beginning at the St. Pierre – Phaneuf Aldenville Chapels, (413-532-9806), 13 Dale Street, Chicopee, MA 01020, (funeral home will open at 8:00 a.m.), followed by a Mass of Christian Burial at 9:30 a.m. in Sainte Rose de Lima Church, 600 Grattan Street, Chicopee, MA 01020. His Burial with United States Army Military Honors will follow the Mass at Mater Dolorosa Cemetery, Pitroff Avenue, South Hadley, MA 01075. His family will receive friends at the funeral home on Monday, November 24, 2014 from 4:00 p.m. to 7:00 p.m. The parking lot and main entrance are located in the rear of the funeral home at 20 Lafayette Street, Chicopee, MA 01020. His family has requested that memorial donations be made in his memory to the Soldiers Home in Holyoke, 110 Cherry Street, Holyoke, MA 01040. For more details, please visit: www.stpierrephaneuf.com
