CHICOPEE – Gina (Spagnesi) Bernard, 94, of the Fairview section of Chicopee, was Called Safely Home on Thursday, February 27, 2014. She passed into Eternal Life at the Holyoke Health Care Center surrounded by the care and comfort of her loving family and her wonderful caregivers. She was born in Pistoia, Italy on February 11, 1920, a beloved daughter of the late Giovanni and Savina (Andreini) Spagnesi. In 1946, Gina and Lucien Bernard were married in Massarosa, Italy and came to the United States in 1947. Lucien served in the United States Air Force during World War II, Korea and Vietnam. His military assignments brought them to various places in the United States and Europe. His final duty assignment brought them to Westover Air Force Base in Chicopee where they purchased a home in the Fairview section of Chicopee in 1970. Gina was a communicant of Saint Anne Church in Chicopee. She was an especially religious woman who was devoted to her church and her entire family. Her family and many friends will miss her wonderfully prepared Italian dishes. During her leisure time, she was a devoted gardener. The landscaping of her yard was widely known to her family, friends and immediate neighbors. Everyone marveled at her ability to maintain a large assortment of trees and flower beds. She was predeceased by her beloved husband, United States Air Force Master Sergeant Lucien R. “Bernie” Bernard who was Called Home on April 28, 2005. They were married in Massarosa, Italy on January 26, 1946 and were blessed with over 59 years of happiness together. She leaves her three loving children, John E. Bernard and his wife, Cindy, of Westminster, CO, David R. Bernard and his wife, Donna, and Linda A. Bryson and her husband, Tracey, all of Chicopee; her six cherished grandchildren, Jennifer Allen and her husband, Timothy, Jason Bernard, Amy Bernard and her husband, Ed Lee, Michael Bernard and his wife, Jessica, Zachary Bryson and Angela Bryson; her five cherished great-grandchildren, Alexander and Gabriel Allen, Jane Bernard, and Aidan and Laila Bryson. She also leaves her dear special niece, Eliana Skalski of Little Egg Harbor, NJ; and many other dear nieces, nephews, cousins, and extended members of the Bernard and Spagnesi families in the United States and Italy. Besides her parents and her husband, she was also predeceased by her two dear brothers and two dear sisters, Gino and Primo and Lena and Eda. Her funeral will be held on Wednesday morning, March 5, 2014 beginning at the St. Pierre – Phaneuf Fairview Chapels, (413-533-3307), 506 Britton Street, Chicopee, MA 01020, (funeral home will open at 9:30 a.m.), followed by a Mass of Christian Burial at 11 a.m. at Saint Anne Church, 30 College Street, Chicopee, MA 01020. Her Committal Service will follow the Mass at 1:00 p.m. in the Chapel at the Massachusetts Veterans’ Memorial Cemetery, 1390 Main Street, Agawam, MA 01001. Her family will receive friends at the funeral home on Tuesday, March 4, 2014 from 5 p.m. to 7 p.m. The parking lot is located in the rear of the funeral home. Because of Gina’s love of animals, her family has requested that memorial donations be made in her memory to the Dakin Pioneer Valley Humane Society, PO Box 6307, Springfield, MA 01101-6307. For more details, please visit: www.stpierrephaneuf.com