WESTFIELD – Phyllis Anne (O’Connor) Koziol, 77, (1941-2019) of Westfield passed away peacefully in her home on Sunday, March 10th. Born on April 15th, 1941 Phyllis was the daughter of the late Thomas and Margaret (Preston) O’Connor of Springfield. She was pre-deceased in death by her two brothers, Thomas “Buddy” O’Connor of Athens, GA and John “Jackie” O’Connor of St. Louis, MO, in addition to her daughter Maura Parent of Westfield who passed in 2014. She leaves behind her loyal and loving husband John “Doc” Koziol, whom she recently celebrated a 50th wedding anniversary with this past October. She leaves behind her son and daughter-in-law, Jeff & Kristen Koziol of Westfield. Phyllis will be missed by her dog Bailey and her six grand-children – Jennifer, Connor, Tanner and Madison Koziol and Ben and Meg Parent. Phyllis was a proud “Panther”, an alumnus of Springfield Cathedral’s High School Class of 1958. When she re-entered the workforce in the mid-1970’s, Phyllis worked in various capacities within the Westfield Public Schools for nearly 30 years as a bus driver, assistant and secretary in several of city’s schools. She retired in 2007 from her school secretary position at Munger Hill Elementary. An avid Red Sox fan, she rarely missed a game in their historic 2018 championship season. Phyllis enjoyed her time with family and friends and the dinners and performances with her Majestic Theater crew.
Waking hours will be on Thursday, March 14th from 4 to 7 pm at Firtion Adams Funeral Home on Broad Street in Westfield. There will be an additional waking hour at 9 am on Friday, March 15th at Firtion Adams with a Funeral Mass to follow at St. Peter’s Church on State Street in Westfield. In lieu of flowers, the family respectfully requests that contributions in Phyllis’ memory be made to either the Dana Farber Cancer Institute at 450 Brookline Avenue in Boston, MA 02215-5450, or the Patrolman Charles Gryska Family Fund, c/o Jay McManus, 120 George Street, Arlington, MA 02476. Firtionadams.com
