Dr. Douglas M. Astion, 59
STOCKBRIDGE, Mass. — Dr. Douglas Mark Astion, 59, of Stockbridge died Monday, Sept. 7, 2009, at home surrounded by his family after a courageous battle with cancer.
Born in Bridgeport, Conn., on July 5, 1950, son of Phillip Astion and the late Muriel Recht Astion, he graduated from Doherty Memorial High School in Worcester. He also resided in Fairfield, Conn., on Cape Cod, Amherst, and Long Island, N.Y. He moved to Stockbridge in 1988.
He earned his bachelor of arts degree and master's degree in science from the University of Massachusetts at Amherst. He attended New York College of Osteopathic Medicine, followed by residencies at Massapequa General Hospital and Coney Island Hospital, both in New York.
Board-certified in both family medicine and addiction medicine, Dr. Astion was medical director of addiction medicine at Kingston (N.Y.) Hospital. When he first moved to the Berkshires, he was a physician at Solstice in Great Barrington and then medical director of Parkside Lodge of Connecticut. He also worked as a staff physician at Adcare Hospital of Worcester.
He was president of the Massachusetts Osteopathic Society and served on the board of trustees of the American Osteopathic Academy of Addiction Medicine and on the boards of the Stockbridge Library and the Lee Visiting Nurse Association. He served in the Israeli military as a paratrooper in 1975 and remained on reserve.
Dr. Astion was an avid golfer and popular member of Stockbridge Golf Club, where he scored a rare hole-in-one during the 2003 Karrick Cup Finals, in which he prevailed as champion. A connoisseur of jazz, unusual words, stand-up comedy of the Larry Miller variety, Red Breast Irish whiskey, and fine chocolate, he enjoyed life and loved living in the Berkshires. He considered Stockbridge his one true home. He was a generous friend, and devoted to his wife and daughters, who will miss him immensely. He gave them a lifetime of happiness, they said, and leaves a legion of cherished extended family members, friends, and colleagues.
He and his wife, the former Donna Potter, met while both were graduate students at UMass. They were married on Aug. 27, 1978, in Northfield.
Besides his wife, he leaves two daughters, Ariella Astion and Alanna Astion, for whom his love was boundless; two sisters, Jane Astion of the state of Florida and Irit Galmor of Israel; his uncle and aunt Julian and Adele Astion of New Jersey; cousins Audrey, Donna and Michael of New Jersey, New York and Seattle, and Pamela Sandler of Stockbridge; niece Mica Parziale and her husband, Richard, of Roslindale, and sisters- and brothers-in-law Debra and Tim Goodwin of Ashfield and Diane Potter and Patrick Morrissey of Heath.
He was predeceased by his sister Tali Astion and by his stepmother, Bette Astion.
FUNERAL NOTICE — Services for Dr. Astion will be held Tuesday, Sept. 15, at 4 p.m. at First Congregational Church of Stockbridge at 4 Main St., to be followed by a reception at 5:30 at the Stockbridge Golf Club at 6A Main St.
There will be no calling hours, and burial will be private.
Memorial donations may be made in his honor to the Stockbridge Library, Monument Mountain High School girls' basketball team, Lee Regional Visiting Nurse Association or Berkshire Visiting Nurse Association. Send donations in care of Finnerty & Stevens Funeral Home, 426 Main St., Great Barrington, MA 01230. Remembrances, memories and reflections may be sent to the family through www.finnertyandstevens.com.
The family of Douglas Astion would like to thank the Berkshire Visiting Nurse Association, Hospice Care of the Berkshires, and the nurses at Berkshire Medical Center for their exceptional compassion and care.