Arthur P. "Arty" Gennari Jr.

Arthur "Arty" P. Gennari, Jr. 1953 - 2008 HOUSATONIC Arthur "Arty" P. Gennari Jr., 55, died Thursday Sept. 25, 2008, at Berkshire Medical Center in Pittsfield. Born in Pittsfield on April 18, 1953, son of Jean Ballard Gennari and the late Arthur P. Gennari Sr., he attended West Stockbridge Village School, the former Williams High School, and was a 1971 graduate of Monument Mountain Regional High School. He also attended Berkshire Community College. As a child, Arty delivered papers in West Stockbridge, was a member of the Boy Scouts and was an alter server at St. Patrick's Church, West Stockbridge. At the age of 10, he worked for his father at Balgen Machine Inc., West Stockbridge. Over the next 45 years, Arty worked his way up to manager and to co-owner. He also worked at the former Berkshire Truck Plaza. Arty was a communicant of Corpus Christi Church. He was a member of the Alford Pitch League. He volunteered to teach and do metal work at area schools. Having an aptitude with his hands and being a master fabricator, he designed and made the 555 for the Housatonic Fire Station in memory of 9/11. He enjoyed fly fishing, auto racing and working on cars, but most of all, he loved and was very involved with his family's activities, adoring his children and always putting his family first. Besides his mother of Jupiter, Fla., Arty leaves his wife, the former Lois Roviaro, whom he married Aug. 27, 1977, in St. Patrick's Church; one son, Arthur "Arty" III of Housatonic; three daughters, Liza and Claire, both of Housatonic, and Nora Calautti and her husband, Matthew, of West Stockbridge; one brother, Christopher Gennari, of Great Barrington; three sisters, Diane Lehnert, of Jupiter, Fla., Charlene Gennari of New Lebanon, N.Y., and Pamela Bartlett of West Stockbridge; one grandson, Dominic Calautti, nine nephews and four nieces. FUNERAL NOTICE: Services for Arthur "Arty" P. Gennari who died Sept. 25, will be Tuesday, Sept. 30, with a Liturgy of Christian Burial at 10 a.m. at Corpus Christi Church, with the Reverend William P. Murphy, pastor, officiating. Burial will follow in St. Bridget's Cemetery. Family will receive friends at the BIRCHES-ROY FUNERAL HOME on Monday Sept. 29, from 4 to 7 p.m. In lieu of flowers, family requests that expressions of sympathy in Arty's memory may be made to the Arthur P. Gennari Jr. Scholarship Fund or to the American Heart Association, both in care of the BIRCHES-ROY FUNERAL HOME, 33 South St., Great Barrington, MA 01230.