Alberta Stello, 99, of Franklin, Massachusetts died peacefully at home on February 10, 2024 with family by her side.
She was born in Franklin, MA in 1924 to Otto and Marguerite Yankee and was the oldest of six children. Alberta attended Franklin schools and graduated from Franklin High School in 1941. She married her husband, Quido Stello, also of Franklin, in November of 1942. Quido had enlisted in the Army in 1941 and was deployed to Europe soon after they were married. Alberta attended the Katharine Gibbs School for two years after high school. During the war, she worked in the inventory department of the Shearling Division in Norwood, MA.
When her husband was discharged in 1945, they built a home in Franklin, founded Stello Construction, and started their family. Alberta was a homemaker and active in the local Rebekah’s Lodge and the Franklin Federated Church. In 1972, they moved to Chatham, MA where they resided for over 30 years. Alberta worked at the Chatham High School and during the summer at the Chatham Bakery where she made many life-long friends. A year after her husband’s death in 2003, she moved back to Franklin to be closer to her children and siblings.
Her greatest joy was time spent with family and friends and sharing her pastimes with others. She was a talented decorative painter. She restored antiques and her husband made furniture that she enjoyed painting. She delighted in giving her work to family and friends. She was active in civic organizations in Chatham, including the Chatham Chapter of the AFS. She and her husband sometimes stayed up all night to finish 3-D puzzles and other projects to donate to fundraisers for the local hospital and charities. As in everything she did, it was being and laughing with others that she enjoyed most.
Alberta is survived by her sister Claire and her brother Kenneth Yankee and his wife Robbie. She is survived by her children Jan, Bruce, Curt and Pam Stello and their spouses; her grandchildren Torin Mullen, James Stello and Janine Medeiros, and her great grandchildren Kealahn and Annabel Mullen and Denton and Elora Medeiros, as well as many nieces and nephews.
She is preceded in death by her husband Quido Stello, her sisters Norma Tibbetts, Virginia Bowen and Geraldine Hatley, and her grandson Christopher Stobbart.
There will be a graveside service at People’s Cemetery in Chatham, MA on Thursday, February 15, at 1 pm.
Alberta cared about children in need. In lieu of flowers, memorial donations to Boston’s Children’s Hospital 300 Longwood Ave, Boston, MA 02115 or Home for Little Wanderers 10 Guest Street Boston, MA 02135 would be greatly appreciated.
Arrangements are under the care of the Ginley Funeral Home of Franklin (www.ginleyfuneralhomes.com).