Fitchburg- Anne E. (Mönster) Kastal, 90, of Fitchburg, formerly of Leominster, died Wednesday, July 21, 2021 at Health Alliance Leominster Hospital.

Anne was born July 23, 1930, in Brooklyn, New York, daughter of the late Cornelius and the late Anna (Grenier) Mönster. She attended Clara Barton High School in Brooklyn and the former AIB Banking School in New York City. Anne, for several years, was the principal bookkeeper at IC Credit Union. She also worked for 27 years at Fitchburg State College at the Film Library and the department of Graduate and Continuing Education before her retirement in 1994. She also volunteered at St. Leo’s Church, Leominster Hospital and Montachusett Home Care. She was a member of the Daughters of Isabella.

Anne loved New York City, especially Brooklyn and her home at 83 Underhill Avenue. She was a Brooklyn Dodgers fan, sneaking into Ebbets Field during the 1940's, and in 1972, had the distinct pleasure of meeting and conversing with Jackie Robinson while he was visiting Fitchburg State College. She loved walking through the Botanical Gardens, frequented Flatbush Avenue, and was a fan of Frank Sinatra. The fabric of Anne's heart and soul were the sights, sounds, places, and people of Brooklyn and NYC!  Anne was a lifelong learner who loved art, especially oil painting, and the theater, where she would listen and sing along to her favorite Broadway musicals. Anne loved to travel, learning about the history and culture on trips taken to Ireland, Spain and especially Germany, where she participated in the Oberammergau Passion Play and enjoyed the cuisine of the German Beer Gardens. Anne was extremely proud of her German and Dutch ancestry, and corresponded regularly with her German and Dutch relatives. Most importantly, Brooklyn is where she met her soulmate and husband Karol Kastal. Together, they embarked on a quest; a journey rooted in an ever-strengthening spiritual and emotional bond of both friendship, love, and an unquestioned, never wavering devotion and faith to one another. 

Anne was all about Family. She was the inspiration for her son Gary whom she deeply loved, and through her words of encouragement, support and motivation instilled in him a strong work ethic and the importance of caring for both self and others. She dearly loved her nieces and nephews. She especially loved her grandchildren, Derek and Jillian, whom she offered boundless support, guidance and love. Additionally, Anne included neighbors, friends, and their children in her extended family where her concern, support, and friendship was experienced by all who had the privilege and honor to know her unconditional love.

She leaves her son, Gary A. Kastal and his wife, Victoria J. of Westminster; two grandchildren, Derek A. Kastal of Worcester and Jillian L. Kastal of Hudson, her niece, Maureen Beauvais of Fitchburg, who provided love, support, and to whom Anne was like a second mother, her nephews, Albert, Charles, George and Victor Khoury, and her cousin, Irene Couget.

She will be reunited with her husband, Karol A. Kastal, who died September 20, 1998. She was also predeceased by her two sisters, Emma Murray and Antonia Khoury.

Calling hours are Tuesday, July 27, from 10:00 to 11:00 A.M. at Richardson Funeral Home, 106 West St., Leominster. The funeral will follow at 11:00 A.M. at the funeral home. Burial will follow in St. Joseph’s Cemetery.

In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions may be made to the American Heart Association, 300 5th Ave. Suite 6, Waltham, MA 02451-8750 or by visiting www.heart.org.