CHICOPEE – JoAnn C. “Jo” (Skea) Hamel, 68, of the Fairview section of Chicopee, was Called Safely Home on Tuesday, October 24, 2023. She passed into Eternal Life at Saint Francis Hospital in Hartford, Connecticut. She was born in Holyoke on December 18, 1954, a beloved daughter of the late George W. and Lorraine Y. (La France) Skea. She was raised in Holyoke, graduated from Holyoke High School and had lived in Tucson, Arizona and Wichita, Kansas before moving to Chicopee in 1999. She was a loving homemaker to her family and a communicant of Sainte Rose de Lima Church in Chicopee. During her leisure time, she enjoyed antiquing, reading and was known as a “master decorator”. Above all, she loved spending time with her family and her many friends. She leaves her beloved husband and best friend, James M. “Jim” Hamel. They were married on November 10, 1973 at the former Saint Mary of the Assumption Church in Chicopee and were blessed with over 49 years of happiness together. She also leaves her two loving daughters, Samantha A. Hamel and Angela R. Hamel, both of Chicopee; her dear brother, Steven Skea of Massachusetts, her five dear brothers in law, Richard Hamel and his wife, Jeri, of Blandford, Francis Hamel and his wife, Marcia, of Acushnet, David Hamel and his wife, Mila, of Phoenix, AZ, Dennis Hamel and his wife, Maryann, of Westfield and Kevin Hamel and his wife, Sharon, of Granby; her two dear sisters in law, Mary Beth Houle and her husband, Denis, of Granby and Terri O’Connell and her husband, Jim, of Chicopee; and her many dear nephews, nieces, cousins, extended family members and friends. In addition to her parents, she was predeceased by her dear brother, George Skea; her dear brother in law, Donald Hamel; and her two dear sisters in law, Cheryl Houle and Carol Couture. Her relatives and friends are invited to attend a Mass of Christian Burial on Saturday, November 4, 2023 at 10 a.m. at Sainte Rose de Lima Church, 594 Grattan Street, Chicopee, MA 01020, (please meet directly at the Church). Her Burial will be private at Sainte Rose Cemetery in Chicopee. There are no visiting hours. Her funeral arrangements are entrusted to the St. Pierre-Phaneuf Aldenville Chapels, (413-532-9806), 13 Dale Street, Chicopee, MA 01020. In lieu of flowers, her family requests that memorial donations be made in her memory to the Harmony House of Western Massachusetts, 66 View Street, Chicopee, MA 01020. For more details and to leave her family condolence messages, please visit:
www.stpierrephaneuf.com