CHICOPEE ~ Gladys M. (Bottomley) Protz, 97, of Chicopee, was Called Safely Home on Friday, December 13, 2019. She passed into Eternal Life at Holyoke Medical Center surrounded by the care and comfort of her loving family. She was born in New Bedford on March 27, 1922, the beloved daughter of the late John H. and Lily (Wilkinson) Bottomley. She was raised in New Bedford, graduated from New Bedford High School in 1940 and had moved to Chicopee in 1957 where she lived the remainder of her life. She was a loving wife, mother and grandmother to her beloved family. She was a member of the Chicopee Senior Center where she often volunteered there and ran a cribbage group. She also was a member of the Chicopee Women’s Club and the Fairview Golden Agers. She enjoyed reading, playing bingo and loved traveling and visiting Foxwoods Casino and Atlantic City. Above all, she loved spending time with her family and her many friends. She was predeceased by her beloved husband, Bernard G. “Bernie” Protz who was Called Home on August 6, 1999. They were married on November 28, 1942 in New Bedford and were blessed with over 56 years of happiness together. She leaves her three loving daughters, Beverly A. Wallace and her husband, Kent “Chuck” Wallace, of Conway SC and Chicopee, and Sandra L. Morris and her husband, Stephen, and Diane Lussier and her husband, Ralph, all of Chicopee; her six cherished grandchildren, Deborah Boudreau and her husband, Michael, David Wallace and his wife, Shannon, Stacey Pare and her husband, David, Sherry Piantoni and her husband, James, Deena Borkowski and her husband, Thomas “Tab” Borkowski, and Rebecca “Becky” Lussier and her companion, Michael Duval; her 11 cherished great-grandchildren, Ryan, Connor and Quinn Boudreau, Maura and Evan Wallace, Rylee and Noah Pare, Paul and Gianna Piantoni, Haylie Wawrzonek and Aaron Borkowski; and her two dear sisters-in-law, Margaret Viens of Hopedale and Pauline Dellamotta of Austin, TX. In addition to her parents and husband, she was predeceased by her two dear brothers, Roland and Norman Bottomley. Family and friends are invited to attend a Committal Service on Friday, December 27, 2019 at 10 a.m. in the Chapel at the Massachusetts Veterans’ Memorial Cemetery, 1390 Main Street, Agawam, MA 01001. There are no visiting hours. Her funeral arrangements are entrusted to the St. Pierre-Phaneuf Fairview Chapels, (413-533-3307), 506 Britton Street, Chicopee, MA 01020. In lieu of flowers, her family requests that memorial donations be made in her memory to Friends of the Chicopee Senior Center c/o Rivermills Center, 5 West Main Street, Chicopee, MA 01020 or the Shriners Hospital for Children, Springfield Unit, 516 Carew Street, Springfield, MA 01104. For more details, please visit: www.stpierrephaneuf.com
