A Branch of the Bardsleys: Way Beyond the Furnace
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Edited Out/Author's Additional Research Notes
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— A Southwick Time Machine Reader-Requested Tragedy | True Crime
A Branch of the Bardsleys
Alan Bardsley was born in Springfield, Massachusetts, on December 22, 1915. By September 1937, he was working as a sheet metal worker when he and Miss Phyllis Ruth Morse—who lived just down the road from him—filed their marriage intentions.
Their first child, Kenneth A. Bardsley, was born on February 7, 1938. Six more children would follow: Barbara Jean, Bette, Donald, Harold W. “Buddy,” Joyce, and Philip.
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| Kenneth Bardsley |
The growing family moved frequently in those early years. On July 26, 1942, Kenneth was baptized at White Church in Chicopee while the family was living at 192 Chicomansett Village. By 1950, the Bardsleys relocated from 97 Lancaster Avenue in West Springfield to 91 Hillside Avenue, also in West Springfield.
It was there that disaster struck.
Thanksgiving Plans Ruined
Two days before Thanksgiving in 1953—on November 24—Alan left for work while Phyllis went shopping for a turkey for the holiday dinner. Four of the children—Barbara, Bette, Donald, and Buddy—were home alone when, at about 11:05 a.m., fire broke out. Buddy discovered the blaze as flames and dense smoke burst through the middle of the house. He quickly herded his siblings to the front door.
Neighbors at 60 and 74 Hillside Avenue sprang into action, calling in an alarm and rushing to help the children out to the street. When firemen arrived, they had to rip down walls and ceilings to reach hidden flames. Every window in the house was broken. In the attic, firefighters found the lifeless body of the family’s pet cat. It was the only casualty. Mrs. Bardsley returned shortly after firefighters arrived. She was hysterical.
The smoke was so thick that nearly all 12 firemen—wearing masks—had to crawl on their hands and knees to exit the home. The blaze was brought under control at 12:33 p.m., but the interior of the house was completely gutted, leaving only the shell standing. The fire was traced to an overheated furnace in the basement. Alan Bardsley estimated that the fire caused more than $4,000 in structural damage—excluding household furnishings.
In the aftermath, the displaced family was taken in by close friends, Mr. and Mrs. Leland W. Smith of 24 Worthy Avenue, whom the Bardsley children called “grandpa and grandma.” The Smith home was gaily decorated and illuminated for Christmas, complete with a tree and presents underneath for everyone. Six of the home’s seven rooms were turned over to the Bardsley family. On Christmas Eve, stockings were hung on the fireplace.
Way Beyond the Furnace: Wrecks, Legal Trouble, and a New Valiant
Life, however, continued with its share of close calls. In 1956, Kenneth was a passenger in a car that wrecked in Palmer, Massachusetts. He suffered a bruised knee.
In 1958, Kenneth, working as a silk screen printer, applied for a marriage license with Carol Ann Morgan of Chicopee. She was born on February 29, 1940. The couple was living at a boarding house at 11 Ingersoll Grove in Springfield. That same year, on August 22, Kenneth was driving in Chicopee with Carol when the traffic ahead suddenly came to a stop. He applied the brakes—but the pedal went to the floor. To avoid hitting other cars, Kenneth steered over a curb and crashed into a tree at about 3:10 p.m. The car’s front end was smashed and had to be towed. Kenneth suffered bruised knees. Carol was taken to Springfield Hospital with bruises to her head and shoulder.
The couple remained at 11 Ingersoll Grove when their first daughter, Donna Jean, was born on December 5, 1958. By November 11, 1959, when their daughter, Lynn A., was born, they were living at 226 Hillcrest Avenue in West Springfield.
On July 15, 1960, celebration came in a different form when Kenneth’s sister, Joyce Bardsley, won a new Valiant automobile as part of a promotion at Riverside Park—despite not yet having her driver’s license.
In 1961, Kenneth was again involved in a wreck—this time as the driver. He suffered head and knee bruising and lacerations. The couple continued to expand their family: Lori B. was born in 1962 while they lived at 62 Stonina Drive in Chicopee; Lisa M. was born on May 29, 1964, when they were residing on Plante Circle in Chicopee. Christine G. was born circa 1970.
On January 12, 1962, Kenneth’s brother Harold was questioned by the local police after he ran down a pedestrian crossing Main Street in Springfield. The accident happened at about 10:50 p.m. Police questioned him again after he slammed into a parked car in Holyoke, Massachusetts, in May.
In 1966, while living in West Springfield, Kenneth failed to appear for a hearing related to a speeding charge, prompting a Chicopee District Court judge to issue a bench warrant.
By 1969, Kenneth Bardsley had moved to the Lakeview Apartments on Point Grove Road in Southwick, Masachusetts. On January 11, he was arrested for drunkenness along with two other men following a disturbance at a Springfield Kings hockey game at the Coliseum at the Eastern States Exposition. Several fans had exchanged words with the police. Later that year, a Westfield District Court judge fined him $10 for speeding.
The following years brought both joy and heartbreak.
On January 30, 1971, Barbara Jean Bardsley married Craig A. Johnson in a West Springfield church. Kenneth served as an usher.
By early February, concern surrounding Kenneth mounted. On February 4, 1971, a missing persons report was filed with the Southwick Police Department.
Discovery at the Tree Farm
Two months later, on April 4, 1971, an employee of Imperial Nurseries discovered a badly decomposed male body in a former Culbro tobacco field turned tree farm in Southwick, Massachusetts, near the Connecticut state line. Some reports placed the discovery off Point Grove Road; others cited Routes 10 and 202.
At the time, the finding was confirmed by the medical examiner, Dr. Arthur J. Logie; however, there was some confusion among local police and government agencies. A spokesman for the Southwick Police Department reportedly had no information or even knowledge about it. He referred inquiries to Chief Curran. However, Chief Curran refused to make a comment and referred all calls to the district attorney’s office, which admittedly puzzled the D.A. because they had yet to be notified. The Massachusetts State Police at the barracks in Russell said they had no knowledge of the discovery.
But, Dr. Logie said, the body of a male in his 30s was found. The body was taken to Healey Funeral Home in Westfield, where, once notified, investigators with the Hampden County district attorney’s office viewed it. On Monday, Chief Curran said that state pathologists were preparing additional tests.
Dr. Logie performed an autopsy but was unable to determine the cause or time of death. Additional test results were expected on April 12.
Working together, the F.B.I. and county, state, and local police eventually made a positive identification through fingerprints on April 9. The body was that of Kenneth A. Bardsley of the Lakeview Apartments, Point Grove Road, Southwick. Kenneth’s fingerprints were on file in Washington, D.C., taken during his service as an Airman Third Class in the Air National Guard. He had served three years, stationed in France and at Barnes Airport in Westfield.
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| Lakeview Apartments, Southwick, Massachusetts, circa 1966 |
Around the time of his death, Kenneth had been employed as a machinist for International Beam Welding in West Springfield. Investigators also faced some confusion regarding Kenneth’s living situation. His wife was living in Chicopee Falls at the time of his disappearance. It is unclear if or why they had separated. In addition to his wife, he left behind five daughters: Donna J., Lynn A., Lori B., Lisa M., and Christine G.
Funeral services were held on April 13, 1971, at Sampson’s Funeral Home in Springfield. Kenneth was buried in St. Patrick’s Cemetery. (In December 1971, Carol purchased a home in Agawam.)
In 1972, Lakeview Apartments became Lakeview Village Apartments.
Another Tragedy Connected to Lakeview
In January 1974, another fatal accident drew attention to Lakeview Village Apartments. Margaret M. Norris, a bookkeeper for Lakeview, died on January 24 after her car went out of control around 4:30 a.m., crashed through a fence at St. Patrick’s Cemetery, and struck a tree. She was pinned for more than an hour and died within seconds of being extricated. She was Chicopee’s first traffic death of 1974.
Today, Lakeview Village Apartments is Lakewood Village.
Jeanette: A Sweet Little Flower...Too Fair to Bloom on Earth
Tragedy struck the extended family in July 1968. On July 14, Harold and his wife Judith’s daughter, Jeanette Bardsley, fell from the top bar of a backyard swing set at the family home at 43 Baldwin Street in Springfield. Harold told responding officers that she had been swinging by her hands when she slipped and fell. Police administered oxygen on the way to Springfield Hospital, but they were unable to revive her. She was pronounced dead on arrival at 6:52 p.m.
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| Illustration inspired by the 1968 birthday message written by Jeanette's Grammie Bertha. |
Jeanette’s funeral was held at 8:00 a.m. on July 17, 1968, followed by a Mass of the Angels. In addition to her parents, she was survived by two younger brothers, Steven, age two, and four-month-old Michael, and her maternal grandmother, “Grammie Bertha.”
On various anniversaries of Jeanette’s untimely death and on the birthdays she would never celebrate, her Grammie Bertha paid tribute to her with various poetic quotes and scriptures, including the following piece on what would have been Jeanette’s next birthday.
Birthday greeting to my beloved granddaughter - November 21, 1968
“Sweet little flower of heavenly birth.
She was too fair to bloom on earth,
And, oh, the wrench, an angel come,
And took our dear child home.
“Suffer little children to come unto me.”- sadly missed by grammie Bertha
On November 14, 1970, tragedy returned. Sometime between noon and 3:00 p.m., Harold’s wife, Judith Ann (Karam) Bardsley, hanged herself in the family home on Baldwin Street. She left a note addressed to Harold. (Harold remarried, and the couple welcomed a son, Alan, on April 18, 1973.)
Lisa: She Blossomed on Earth and Bloomed in Heaven
The family endured further heartbreak on December 27, 1982. Around 3:00 a.m., a passing motorist discovered the battered body of a woman in the median of the southbound lane of Interstate 91 just south of the Holyoke city limits. Massachusetts State Police were notified. The woman was transported to Springfield Hospital and pronounced dead on arrival at about 3:30 a.m.
She was identified as Lisa, the daughter of Kenneth and Carol Bardsley.
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| Lisa M. Bardsley, circa 1980 |
Investigators believed she had been struck and killed by a hit-and-run driver during the Christmas holiday break. Earlier that day, she had visited relatives in Holyoke. A junior at Agawam High School, Lisa may have been walking along or crossing the highway when she was struck.
Based on skid marks near the body, police issued an A.P.B. for a heavy-duty pickup truck with dual rear tires and front-side and grille damage. Other details were unknown. The public was asked for assistance.
On December 28, Massachusetts State Police announced that police on Long Island, New York, had impounded a 1971 Chevrolet sedan registered in Sayville in connection with the hit-and-run. Authorities said items were found inside the vehicle, but declined to describe them or identify the driver.
Like her father before her, the exact circumstances surrounding Lisa’s death remain unclear.
Unable to Share in Our Dreams of Tomorrow
On February 15, 1975, Alan Bardsley died at his home in Vero Beach, Florida. He was only 59.
In 1986, tragedy struck again. On March 9, Harold and Judith’s 17-year-old son, Michael Wayne Bardsley, was found unconscious in his car at Nathan Bill Park. His death was ruled accidental, caused by carbon monoxide poisoning from a faulty vehicle exhaust system.
Just as Grammie Bertha did for grandaughter's untimely passing, Michael's stepmother penned tributes to her stepson on behalf of herself, Harold, Steven, and Alan. On the third anniversary of Michael's passing, she wrote in part: "Though unable to share in our dreams of tomorrow, You live in our hearts today and always."
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| Michael Bardsley, February 1975 |
Shortly after Michael’s untimely death, his brother, Steven, started having run-ins with the law. In September, he and his girlfriend, the mother of his daughter, were arrested for an unarmed theft they committed in May. Police picked up Steven again in December 1986 for assault and weapons possession.
Stevens legal troubles continued through the rest of the 1980s, throughout the 1990s, and well into the 2000s.
In 2005, Steven was arrested in New Jersey for stalking. In 2010, he was arrested again for stalking and wielding an ax. In 2021, he was arrested for stabbing an adult male to death on July 24, 2021. On June 9, 2023, he was sentenced to 18 years in prison for aggravated-manslaughter. His mandatory minimum term is 15 years, 3 months, and 17 days. He will be eligible for parole and release on November 10, 2036.
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Steven Bardsley (Photo courtesy of the Hudson County Prosecutor’s Office) |
The Bardsleys remind us that life rarely follows the path we expect - offering joy in one breath, then wrenching it away.
The family celebrated weddings, births, and a new Valiant, only to find tragedy lurking in a furnace, a field, and on a swing set. Their story, like many in this archive, proves that no life ends as planned.
— Uncovered and preserved by the Southwick Time Machine
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Research Note: Dates listed below reflect information available at the time of publication and may be updated as additional records are located.
Alan Bardsley: December 22, 1915 - February 15, 1975
Phyllis Ruth (Morse) Bardsley: August 13, 1915 - June 25, 2004
Kenneth A. Bardsley: February 7, 1938 - body found April 4, 1971 (Reported missing February 4)
Carol Ann (Morgan) Bardsley: February 29, 1940 - January 17, 2019
Lisa M. Bardsley: May 29, 1964 - December 27, 1982
Philip David Bardsley: February 14, 1940 - January 27, 1995
Joyce C. (Bardsley) Banks: June 28, 1943 -
Harold W. “Buddy” Bardsley: August 3, 1944 - December 6, 2023
Judith Ann (Karam) Bardsley: November 10, 1947 - November 14, 1970
Jeanette Marie Bardsley: November 21, 1962 - July 14, 1968
Steven Wayne Bardsley: February 20 1966 -
Michael Wayne Bardsley: March 12, 1968 - March 9, 1986
Alan W. Bardsley: April 18, 1973 -
Donald S. Bardsley: April 15, 1946 -
Bette Gail Bardsley: March 6, 1948 - September 2017 (tragic auto accident)
Barbara Jean (Bardsley)(Johnson) Knight: September 3, 1949 -
“Grammie” Bertha Jean (Kaleta) (Karam) (Prorok): 1919 - June 13, 1981
April (Laventure) Cox
David Leventure was Linda's brother.
Bertha had married chauffeur George Raffael Karam in 1939-40. She remarried in 1968.
Imperial Nurseries was owned by Culbro Tobacco, a subsidiary of General Cigar Company. With declining tobacco sales, Culbro began selling off some of its massive landholdings in Connecticut and Southwick, Massachusetts, for residential development to the dismay of existing residents. (This issue of declining farmland is still a major issue throughout New England.)
Lakeview Apartments opened in Southwick in 1965. In 1972, it became Lakeview Village Apartments. In 1985, it got new owners and was called Lakewood Village. In 1973, a one-bedroom apartment rented for $200 per month, while a two-bedroom townhouse rented for $210 per month.
Lisa had dropped out of school for about a year, possibly due to health problems. She returned to school in the fall prior to the accident. Lisa was known as being outgoing. She was not afraid to speak her mind.
Crystal Bardsley was an honor student at Smith Vocational.
It's unclear what happened to Kenneth, but at the time, investigators said they did not suspect foul play.
A Hampden County judge granted Donald’s wife, Barbara Holman, a divorce in November 1972. They were married on July 8, 1967. Custody of one child went to the mother. Barbara’s father died in March 1972.
Kenneth's Daughters - Donna Jean Damon, Lynn Griffin, Lori Pugliano, Lisa M. Bardsley, and Christine Bingham.
Philip was a forklift operator for Sweet Life Foods in Windsor Locks, Connecticut. Philip died in his West Springfield home (469 Westfield Street).
In September 2017, Bette was a passenger in a Nissan Altima traveling northbound on Turnpike Road in Somers, Connecticut, when it left the roadway and crashed head-on into a tree at about 2:14 p.m. Both driver and passenger were transported to the hospital via LifeStar. Neither survived.
In 1982, a 49-year-old man hanged himself from a shower rod in the bathroom of 11 Ingersoll Grove. The boarding house had a long history of crime and tragedy.
Kenneth’s father, Alan, pleaded not guilty to a charge of driving to endanger, and the case was continued until November 15, 1935. Bardsley was passing a wagon loaded with cornstalks in Whately, Massachusetts, on October 1, when he hit an automobile driven by Steven Maniatty head-on. Three people were injured in the collision, including Alan, who had a broken leg. John Haselton was the attorney for the defendant. The car belonged to Steven Maniatty’s wife, Anna S. Maniatty. In 1936, the Maniattys filed suit against Alan for personal injuries. $4,000 and $10,000, respectively. Wife was Anna S. Maniatty. The outcome of the suits is unclear.
International Beam Welding was founded in 1967. It was later acquired by Roark.
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