HAMPDEN-Gail Mary (Ezold) Keeler (1944-2016) passed peacefully with her daughter by her side into the loving arms of God on November 30, 2016. Gail was the daughter of Charles and Anna Ezold who both pre-deceased her. Born on July 05, 1944, Gail was raised at Hampton Ponds in Westfield, MA. In her later years she lived at her lakeside home in Springfield, NH. During her lifetime Gail enjoyed the outdoors, hunting, fishing and sports. She played on many softball teams, hunted and fished with her father and cooked with her mother. She was an active member of the Girl Scouts throughout her youth. Her greatest passion was music and dancing. Gail worked for H.P. Hood and Sons, Digital Equipment Corp and Ruger Firearms. She was an avid collector of antiques and enjoyed going to tag sales. A gifted songwriter, she was instrumental in helping to form a caregiver groundbreaking Alzheimer’s music therapy program at Wingate in Hampden, MA. Gail was pre-deceased by her parents and her sister Jean Dionne. She is survived by her daughter and only child Alice MacKenzie and her husband, Kevin MacKenzie of Westfield, MA; her sister Susan Boissonneault and her husband, Francis (Dusty) Boissonneault of Westfield, MA; her deceased sister Jean’s husband, Nelson (Ray) Dionne of Westfield, MA; her three grandchildren: Kirsten Thresher and her spouse, Colin Green of Boston, MA; her granddaughter Chelsea Thresher and grandson, Samuel Thresher both of Westfield, MA and their father, Ralph Thresher also of Westfield, MA; her nephews: Charles Boissonneault and his wife, Sara of Huntington, MA , and their children; Raymond Dionne of Westfield, MA and his children and Robert Dionne and his wife, Karen of Holyoke, MA and their children;her godchild Stephanie Cole and her husband, Roger of NY and her ex-husband, William Keeler of Wyoming, as well as many other family members and friends that she adored. Pursuant to Gail’s request there will be no calling hours. A formal Mass and burial will be scheduled at a later date and time convenient for the family. Gail’s request was that her passing not be mourned but that her life be celebrated instead. Anyone wishing to make a donation in Gail’s memory can make it to Wingate at Hampden, Activity Fund, 34 Main Street, Hampden, MA 01036 or to the National Alzheimer’s Research Foundation, Fisher Center for Alzheimer’s Research Foundation, 110 E. 42nd. St. 16th Floor, NY, NY 10017 (www.alzinf.org) End of life arrangements entrusted to Avalon Life Celebration Center & Cremation Services, LLC 691 College Hwy., Southwick, MA. To express a condolence, share memories or photos please visit Gail’s memorial page at www.avaloncelebrations.com.
