Adeline Cecilia Cuchiara

Adeline Cecilia Cuchiara, 94, of Hagar Township, passed away on Sunday, February 18, 2007, at South Haven Nursing and Rehabilitation Center under the care of Hospice at Home. A Committal Service will be held at the Chapel of the Pines at North Shore Memory Gardens in Coloma at 11:00 A.M., on Wednesday, February 21, 2007 with Chaplain Richard Grom officiating. Memorial donations may be made to the charity of the donor’s choice. Friends may send the family a condolence message or sign the guest book on-line www.starks-menchinger.com. Adeline was born January 11, 1913 in Chicago, Illinois to Henrietta and Matthew Szalczynski who immigrated to the U.S. from Poland. Adeline attended St. Stanislaus Catholic School through the seventh grade and began her working life at age 14, eventually becoming a floor manager at Glasco Products in Chicago. On January 21, 1933, Adeline married Vincent Cuchiara. The couple resided in the Chicago area until 1944 when they moved to Michigan and made their home in Hagar Township. Adeline worked for Pratt’s Resort and later as a bookkeeper for Elson Cabinet Company (later known as Modern Wood Products).She continued her education through night classes at Twin Cities Business College. She took a civil service exam and began her final employment as a clerk at the Riverside Post Office. At age 72 Adeline passed the GED on her first attempt. She retired from the Post Office when her husband’s health declined, and she cared for him until his death on January 25, 1990. In January of 1991 a stroke ended the very active life Adeline had enjoyed and she moved into the home of her daughter and son-in-law, Cecile (Bonnie) and Lawrence LaValley who cared for her until her death. In addition to Bonnie and Lawrence, Adeline is survived by her daughter, Paulette Boyer, of Iowa, grandchildren Beth Houseal, Lisa LaValley, Renee (Scott) VanHoeven, Paul (Celeste) LaValley, Mark LaValley, Roxanne (Jason) Miller, and Carrie Boyer, several great-grandchildren, nieces and nephews. Besides her husband, Vincent, Adeline was preceded in death by her parents, two sisters, Helen and Jenny, and her half-brother, Joseph Lacke, Jr. Adeline’s children and grandchildren remember her love of animals, her beautiful flower and vegetable gardens, her kindness, the curative powers of her chicken soup and the incredible spaghetti dinners she cooked every Sunday using sauce made from her homegrown tomatoes.