CHICOPEE – Annie Richards, 94, came into this world on Christmas Eve 1924 in Rowne, Poland and left it early Saturday morning in Chicopee, where she has lived for almost 70 years. Through her own resourcefulness she escaped from a Nazi work camp during the war and immigrated to the U.S.A. on New Year’s Day 1950. Annie was strong, capable and stubborn, always figuring out how to accomplish anything she needed to from using her expert seamstress skills to ensure her kids had nice clothes on a tight budget, to making sure there was food on the table and enough to welcome any extra friends who showed up, to mastering the skills needed to manage the camera department at the Base Exchange, to climbing onto her roof in her 70s to shovel snow, all with her hair perfectly styled! She lived a full life, happy to have her hands in soil growing things, always ready to go polka dancing, enjoy a game of cribbage or a little gambling, walking the full length of Hampton Beach each summer, and never missing her 4pm glass of wine. She will be missed by her daughter, Julie, and husband, Dennis; her son, Tommy; her granddaughter, Tonianne, and wife, Lori; and step-son, Bobby, and his family. She can now spend eternity in peace with her husband, Roger, and her beloved mother, sister and brother. Her relatives and friends are invited to attend a Graveside Service on Friday, November 1, 2019 at 1:00 p.m. at Notre Dame Cemetery, 63 Lyman Street, South Hadley, MA 01075. There are no visiting hours at the St. Pierre – Phaneuf Aldenville Chapels, (413-532-9806), 13 Dale Street, Chicopee, MA 01020. Her family requests that memorial donations be made in her memory to the Food Bank of Western Massachusetts, P.O. Box 160, Hatfield, MA 01038. For more details, please visit: www.stpierrephaneuf.com