Evelyn Ann Davis

1926 - 2025

Mrs. Evelyn Ann (Gardzina) Davis, 98, a longtime resident of North Adams before moving to Williamstown during her later years, passed away peacefully in her sleep at Williamstown Commons on Saturday, October 18, from Alzheimer's dementia, a disease she battled for over eight years.

Evelyn was born on December 18, 1926, in North Adams, the fifth of ten children born to John and Victoria (Zdon) Gardzina. She attended local schools but preferred to spend time helping her father with his woodworking projects. Growing up, her sisters used to call her a "toughie" or a "tomboy."

She was employed at Sprague Electric Company for many years, taking time off to raise her two children. While employed there, she helped to assemble transistors that were used by NASA in the Apollo space missions that took astronauts to and later onto the moon. Evelyn then worked as a teacher's aide at Williamstown Elementary Schools, retiring in 1989 after 19 years, coincidentally the same year her one-and-only grandchild was born.

Throughout her life, Evelyn was an avid reader, especially enjoying the romance novels of Danielle Steele and Nora Roberts. She was a devoted fan of Boston sports, especially the Boston Red Sox. While living at the nursing home, she especially enjoyed watching the Red Sox and the Boston Bruins, preferring baseball and hockey over the sing-along VHS tapes being shown in the residents' day room.

Evelyn loved to travel, and at least once a year she visited her granddaughter, Colleen, wherever the Coast Guard had decided to send her dad. For Evelyn, it meant trips to Hawai'i, Puerto Rico, and Mexico, along with over a half-dozen other coastal cities.

Evelyn was a communicant of St. Francis of Assisi Catholic Church, where she married William A. Davis on May 17, 1947. He predeceased her in 1979. Her son, Daniel, predeceased her in 2017. When Evelyn moved to Williamstown, she attended Mass at Saints Patrick & Raphael Parish.

Evelyn leaves her daughter Victoria Davis Farrell and son-in-law CAPT Michael P. Farrell, USCG (Ret.), of Round Rock, Texas; her beloved granddaughter Colleen, of Austin, Texas; her sister-in-law Nancy Gardzina, of Aiken, SC; several nieces and great nieces, as well as several nephews and great nephews. In addition to her husband and son, she was predeceased by her three sisters: Genevieve Ferdin, Helen Brendza, and Emily Suprenant Harrington; as well as her six brothers: Joseph, Edward, John, Daniel, Francis, and Stanley.

Funeral Notice: A Liturgy of Christian Burial will be held at 11 a.m. on Thursday, October 23, at Saints Patrick & Raphael Parish, 63 Southworth Street, Williamstown. Burial will follow in Southview Cemetery, North Adams.

Visitation Calling Hours: Wednesday, October 22, from 4 p.m. to 7:00 p.m. at Flynn & Dagnoli Funeral Home, 521 West Main St., North Adams.

In lieu of flowers, donations in Evelyn's memory may be made to Hospice Care in the Berkshires, the Alzheimer's Association of America, or St. Jude Children's Research Hospital, all through the funeral home.

Evelyn's family is forever grateful for the compassionate care given to her by the nurses, nurses aides, and staff at Williamstown Commons, especially throughout the Covid Pandemic. This allowed Evelyn to be her happy, feisty self over the years, which provided her family much comfort while living so far away.