CHICOPEE – Claire M. (Lemelin) Hamel, 77, of Chicopee, was Called Safely Home on Saturday, November 22, 2014. She passed into Eternal Life surrounded by the care and comfort of her loving family and her wonderful caregivers. She was born in Lawrence, Massachusetts on June 24, 1937, a beloved daughter of the late Elzeard and Marie Claire (Roy) Lemelin. At the age of three years, her family moved to Tewksbury, Massachusetts where she was schooled and raised. She later lived in Springfield, Palmer and Feeding Hills in Agawam before moving to the Willimansett section of Chicopee in 2012. Claire was employed for many years as a machine operator at the former Rex Chain Belt Company in Springfield. Active in her Catholic faith, Claire was a longtime communicant of Sacred Heart Church in Feeding Hills where she was a member of their Rosary Sodality. Claire was now a communicant of Sainte Rose de Lima Church in Chicopee. During her leisure time, Claire enjoyed walking, exercising, gardening and shopping. Most of all, she was a wonderful wife and homemaker to her family. She showered them with her love and affection which was returned to her a thousand fold. Besides her parents, Claire was predeceased by her cherished grandson, Anthony M. Rame who was Called Home on November 1, 1990; her loving son-in-law, George G. Washington who was Called Home on April 26, 2014; and her dear sister and brother, Beatrice Gelineau and Roger Lemelin. She leaves her beloved husband and best friend, Raymond J. Hamel. They were married on September 19, 1959 at Saint William Church in Tewksbury, Massachusetts and were blessed with over 55 years of happiness together. She also leaves her loving children, Pauline M. Gosselin and her husband, William, Michael J. Hamel and his wife, Nancy, and Jeannine M. Washington, all of Chicopee; her four cherished grandchildren, Christopher and Matthew Hamel, Nicole Hamel and Michelle Rame; her two cherished great-grandsons, Anthony Michael Hamel and Colin Hamel; her dear sisters, Doris Tanguay, Rose Nadeau and her husband, Donald, Theresa Doherty and her husband, Robert, and Lorraine Levesque and her husband, Alfred; her dear brothers, Robert Lemelin and his wife, Blanche, Edward Lemelin and his wife, Jackie, and Jerry Lemelin and his wife, Helen; and her many dear nephews, nieces, cousins and extended members of the Hamel and Lemelin families. Her funeral will be held on Wednesday morning, November 26, 2014 beginning at the St. Pierre – Phaneuf Aldenville Chapels, (413-532-9806), 13 Dale Street, Chicopee, MA 01020, (funeral home will open at 8 a.m.), followed by a Mass of Christian Burial at 9:30 a.m. in Sainte Rose de Lima Church, 600 Grattan Street, Chicopee, MA 01020. Her Committal Service will follow the Mass at 11 a.m. in the Chapel at the Massachusetts Veterans Memorial Cemetery, 1390 Main Street, Agawam, MA 01001. Her family will receive friends at the funeral home on Tuesday, November 25, 2014 from 4 p.m. to 7 p.m. The parking lot and main entrance are located in the rear of the funeral home at 20 Lafayette Street, Chicopee, MA 01020. Her family has requested that memorial donations be made in her memory to the Shriners Hospital for Children, (please specify Springfield), 516 Carew Street, Springfield, MA 01104. For more details, please visit: www.stpierrephaneuf.com