- Date Of Birth: March 8, 1922
- Date Of Death: January 10, 2022
- State: Massachusetts
Easthampton, MA – Nellie “Nell” Kirschner passed away in the early hours of January 10, 2022 following a brief illness. Her death came just eight weeks before what was to be her one hundredth birthday. A life-long Easthampton resident, Nell was born March 8, 1922 to European immigrants Antoni and Victoria (nee Wegrzyn) Mamulski.
A family of ten, the Mamulskis were living in a small apartment near the Nashawannuck Pond when the Wall Street Crash occurred. Nell was seven years old at the time. It was because of the Great Depression that Nell had the opportunity to learn piano, and it became one of her lifelong passions. During the 1930s employment was as high as twenty-five percent. The Works Progress Administration (WPA) was created to put people back to work. Thousands of public works projects were completed, but probably less well known was the fact that artists, actors, writers and musicians were also provided jobs. The WPA’s Federal Music Project sponsored free piano lessons to the citizens of Easthampton, and a teenager named Nell Mamulski was one of the enrollees. Nell took to the piano readily. She not only experienced the joy of playing past her ninety-ninth birthday but inspired her son and granddaughter to also learn the instrument.
Despite the hardship of growing up during the Great Depression, Nell led an incredibly fulfilling and rich life. Never a person to complain, she steadfastly maintained a positive outlook to the end of her life. She was an engaging and social, but humble, woman. A graduate of Easthampton High School, she continued her education at the former Northampton Commercial College. She held office and secretarial positions at the Springfield Armory, Westover Air Force Base and Smith College.
In her twenties Nell met and married her true love Karl L. Kirschner.
Nell warmly received friends and family into her home and liked cooking and baking for all to enjoy.
After Karl retired, the couple enjoyed several escorted bus tours of the United States and Canada. They made lasting friendships with a number of couples they met in their travels. After Karl’s passing, Nell joined numerous Elderhostel (now Road Scholar) study tours with her travel buddy Elizabeth “Betty” Ferrante or her sister Helen McQuillan. Nell was particularly proud of items she made as part of a woodworking class at an Elderhostel in Maine. Her sister-in-law Jacquelyn LaFrance invited Nell on a university-sponsored tour of Europe which she thoroughly enjoyed.
In addition to her parents and beloved husband, Nell was predeceased by a sister Mary Lux and five brothers Stanley, Walter, Fred, Edward and Felix Mamulski. Many dear friends also predeceased her including Eleanor Blakesley, Betty Ferrante, Elsie Kessler, Jane and Bill Krug, Helen Latka, Jeanette and Real Richer, Dora Parsons and Elsie Silvia.
