Published: 7/26/04

ROUSES POINT — Mary Carole Guastella, 40, of Rouses Point, died Saturday, July 24, 2004, at the CVPH Medical Center in Plattsburgh.

She was born June 2, 1964, the daughter of Kenneth H. Pratt and Rena Loretta Skaggs Pratt. She attended local schools and was employed as a scan file coordinator at TOPS supermarket in Champlain. She was married to Leonard M. Guastella. He survives. She was a member of the Ladies Organization of the Mooers Wesleyan Church.

Besides her husband she is survived by two sons, Devin K. LaPorte of Champlain and Dylan S. LaPorte of Rouses Point; two daughters, Hannah E. LaPorte of Rouses Point and Emily T. LaPorte of Mooers; her mother, Rena L. Pratt of Plattsburgh; two brothers, Edward Gross of Glendora, N.J., and Glenn Pratt of Holyoke, Mass.; and seven sisters, Shirley Niemiec of Chicopee, Mass., Barbara Castine of Orlando, Fla., Audrey Champman of Sonoma, Calif., Linda Fosher of Rouses Point, Anna Bourden of St. Albans, Vt., Laverne Virgile of Franklin, Pa., and Jacqueline Colgan of Manhattan, N.Y.

She was predeceased by her father and one brother, Curtis R. Pratt.

Calling hours will be from 2 to 4 and 7 to 9 p.m. tonight at the M.B. Clark Funeral Home at 196 Elm St., Champlain. A funeral service will be held 2 p.m. Tuesday at the Mooers Wesleyan Church in Mooers. Burial will follow in Glenwood Cemetery on Oak Street in Champlain. Arrangements are with the M.B. Clark Funeral Home in Champlain.

PLATTSBURGH — Johanna A. Bellew, 89, of Tom Miller Road, died Saturday, July 24, 2004 at CVPH Medical Center.

She was born on March 15, 1915, in Cuyk, the Netherlands, the daughter of Martinus Hendricus and Agnes (Wolfraad) Stoots.

Johanna came to America in 1948 at the invitation of five Gold Star Mothers whose sons had died in Belgium during the Battle of the Bulge, and Anne had tended their graves following the war. She toured the eastern United States while speaking at schools, churches and community groups, telling her story of life experiences in the Netherlands and her gratefulness to the American people for their part in Holland’s liberation.

An Act of the 82nd Congress, signed by President Truman on Oct. 29, 1951, gave Annie the right to permanent residency in the United States and in 1960 Johanna became a proud U.S. citizen. In the headlines, Annie was known as "Washington’s favorite Dutch Girl."

Johanna married James Robert Bellew in Washington, D.C., on Nov. 1, 1952.

Annie loved children and spent her life caring for her own and those of diplomats and local families. She adored their two grandchildren, Lindsay and Brian Bellew.

Many of her pastime activities include "Old World" cooking and "American Fare." She was gifted in all kinds of handiwork and needle craft. An accomplishment she was proud of was the work with neighborhood friends on the Town of Plattsburgh quilt for the U.S. Bicentennial celebration in 1976.

Annie greeted all who met her as a friend ... you could tell by the wonderful twinkle in her beautiful blue eyes. Her memory will live on with us all.

Survivors include her husband, James R. Bellew of Plattsburgh; one son and daughter-in-law, Michael and Jacqueline Bellew of Plattsburgh; one brother, Theodore Gerardus Stoots of Frederick, Md.; three sisters and one brother-in-law, Tina Kok of Amsterdam, the Netherlands, Agnes Baggen of the Netherlands, Fracisca and Carlos Rutten of the Netherlands; two grandchildren, Brian and Lindsay Bellew of Plattsburgh; 12 nieces and 10 nephews.

She was predeceased by a son, George Patrick Bellew; two brothers, Franciscus Stoots and one brother died in infancy.

A Mass of Christian burial will be held at 11 a.m. Tuesday at St. Peter’s Church in Plattsburgh. Burial will be in St. Peter’s Cemetery.

Donations may be made to St. Peter’s Church.

Arrangements are with the R.W. Walker Funeral Home in Plattsburgh.

SCOTT C. COLBY, 93, of Meadow Lane, Champlain, died Sunday, July 25, 2004, at the CVPH Medical Center in Plattsburgh.

He was born in AuSable Forks on March 27, 1911, the son of Richard and Sarah (Van Norman) Colby.

There will be no calling hours. A date and time for a memorial service will be announced.

The Zaumetzer-Sprague Funeral Home in AuSable Forks is in charge of arrangements.

To contact the Press-Republican, Phone: (518) 561-2300 or send mail to:
Press-Republican, 170 Margaret St., P.O. Box 459, Plattsburgh, NY 12901

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