Mary Louise (Belanger) Traversa, of Pittsfield, Massachusetts, died Thursday, October 11, 2018, at Brigham & Women’s Hospital in Boston, after a short illness. She was the widow of Robert L. Traversa, who died on June 21, 2016. They were married on April 19, 1965, at St Mark’s Church.
She was born in Pittsfield on September 27, 1942, daughter of the late Hermon F. and Evelyn (McCumiskey) Belanger. She graduated from St. Joseph’s High School in 1959, College of Our Lady of the Elms in 1963, and North Adams State College in 1970 with a Master's Degree. She taught in the Pittsfield Public Schools from 1963 – 1965, and in the Pittsfield Catholic Schools from 1978 – 2000.
She was a member of All Souls Church from 1965 – 2008, and of Sacred Heart Church from 2008 to Present. She taught CCD from 1973 through 2018 at All Souls, Mt. Carmel and Sacred Heart churches and tutored with Literacy Volunteers of Berkshire County for many years.
She is survived by one daughter, Gail A. Briggs and her husband, Todd, of Lee, two sons, Dr. Brian Traversa and his wife, Christine, of Pittsfield, and Gary Traversa and his wife, Deanna, of Lanesboro, one sister, Pauline Stedman, of Lee, three brothers, Anthony Belanger of Lenox, H. Tyrone Belanger, of Lanesboro, and Roger Belanger, of Great Barrington, her sister-in-law, Vivian Montini, of Lanesboro, and seven grandchildren, Shane and Taylor Briggs, Anthony, Dominic, Joseph, Talia and Luca Traversa, and one great-grandchild, Harper Briggs. She is also survived by many nieces and nephews.
Funeral Notice: Services will take place Wednesday, October 17, 2018 at 9:00 A.M. from the FLYNN & DAGNOLI-BENCIVENGA FUNERAL HOME, 5 Elm St., Pittsfield, MA 01201. A Liturgy of Christian Burial will be celebrated at 10:00 A.M. at Sacred Heart Church, 196 Elm St., Pittsfield with the Rev. Michael F. Bernier, Pastor officiating. Entombment will follow in St. Michael Archangel Mausoleum at St. Joseph's Cemetery. Calling hours at the funeral home will be Tuesday, October 16, from 4-7 P.M. In lieu of flowers, memorial donations are suggested to Sacred Heart Church or Pregnancy Support Services of Berkshire County in care of the funeral home. To add to the Book of Memories, please visit www.flynndagnolifuneralhomes.com.
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