ROSE MARIE (DURFEY) PINDER

SOUTHWICK – Rose Marie Pinder, 79, passed away on June 26, 2023, at Baystate Noble Hospital in Westfield, MA.

Rose was born on October 18, 1943, in North Adams, MA to Willard E. Durfey and Martha Stella Birch Lowe Durfey.

Rose earned her certification as a nursing assistant and had worked as a CNA. However, most of her adult life was spent as a homemaker raising her 2 daughters and babysitting her grandchildren.

Rose and her late husband Pete shared a love for horses. Rose and her family owned 2 horses through the years. Many fond memories revolve around horseback riding with the family and picking blueberries. She had an ongoing quest to tame the family horse, Blaze.

Rose had an incredibly strong will and drive to live her life her way. She expressed cherishing the younger days with her Aunts, Uncle and cousins at the family farm in Vermont.  Rose was generous and thoughtful. She remembered and celebrated all the special occasions with family and friends. Her generosity extended beyond her home as an avid supporter of St. Jude Children’s Hospital and the Shriners and the Wounded Warriors.

Rose was an amazing grandmother, spending time with her grandchildren was always a favorite pastime. She and her husband enjoyed taking the kids and grandkids fishing at Congamond Lake, ice fishing, camping and sleepovers.

In her spare time, Rose enjoyed watching her favorite soap operas on TV and going to the shooting range with her husband. She enjoyed dances, such as the twist with her family at family reunions. She loved country music including Elvis Presley, as well as spiritual Christian music. Her favorite saying was “love you with all my heart”. She had a strong, close personal relationship with Jesus Christ.  Rose also enjoyed reading and writing poetry and was an amazing storyteller.

Rose is pre-deceased by her husband Peter A, Pinder, her parents Willard and Martha Durfey, and her brother John Durfey.

Survivors include her daughters Cheryl White-Duffy (Robert) of Westfield, MA, and Laura Irving of Jacksonville, FL, her brother Wayne Durfey (Stella) of Southwick, MA, her sister Debra Tatro (Roger) of Westfield, MA, her grandchildren: Erica Paton (Josh), Sarah Meunier, Heather Meunier, (Nicholas Campbell), David Irving (Alejandra), and Antoinette Irving, her great-grandchildren: Sage Hobbs-Paton, Madalyn Campbell, and Athena Paton, as well as her close and special cousin Donna Birch of VT, along with many other family members and friends.

She wrote in a bible “please don’t be sad for me when I leave this earth for I have gone to be with my savior Jesus Christ”. She will truly be missed deeply by everyone.

In lieu of flowers please consider a memorial donation to St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital, 501 St. Jude Place, Memphis, TN 38105

All services for Rose will be private and will be held at the funeral home.

To express condolences to the family, to share photos, or memories please visit Rose’s memorial page at www.avaloncelebrations.com 

End of life arrangements entrusted to Avalon Life Celebration Center & Cremation Services, LLC 691 College Hwy, Southwick, MA 01077

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