South Yarmouth

Henry “Sonnie” Amster passed away on July 9, 2012 at Windsor Nursing Home after a long battle with Alzheimer’s Disease and what a battle it was. He was born in Worcester, MA., on February 22, 1924. Michael and Delia Amster, his parents met on a ship coming from Russia and Lithuania in 1906 and married at the young ages of 16 and 18.

Sonnie attended school in Worcester until the age of 14 then started working to help out his family as did his seven other brothers and sisters. He met his wife Dorothy Rose Beaudet in Worcester. Dorothy was from Rochdale but went there to roller skate and by chance they met at a local spa. They married in 1947 at St. Aloysius Church in Rochdale. He taught her how to drive in his 1940 Ford pickup truck, she smashed into her aunt’s stone wall, the wall won.

In 1949 he began working for Table Talk Pie Co. Everybody knew Sonnie in Table Talk. He was the go to guy. He enjoyed the city and was one of the boys. Sonnie worked part time at friend’s gas stations in the city, that’s where he met crazy Tom Looney and he was crazy, getting fired once for making a trailer truck into a convertible, and he wondered why. Sonnie also met Dave Dabb a local stock car driver and midget racer,Sonnie helped working on the cars with Dave and was one of his pit men at Westboro and Thompson raceways. Sonnie over the years vacationed Dottie and his2 sons up in Lake George, NY and Cape Cod , they liked Cape Cod so that’s where many more years of vacationing would be. He loved Dennis Port, and Old Wharf Rd, leaning on the fence in front of the Ocean Grove office talking to his summertime pals and playing horseshoes behind the office.

He moved to the Cape when he retired in 1983, his sons were already there and Bruce opened an auto restoration shop in Hyannis. Although he may have been retired from Table Talk, he went right to work at the shop keeping it clean and running errands. He was there every day no matter what , having both knees replaced didn’t slow him down much. He would be there at 5:30 turning on everything and making a pot of coffee that would strip the paint of a car, but the guys drank it and said thanks, cause they knew of the wrath of Sonnie. He was the tour guide for the shop for who ever would stop in, to see the old cars being worked on, the guys called it, the Sonnie Michelob Tour. Sonnie had a liking for nice cars in his years, he had a 1957 Fury 2dr hardtop, red and black, 1960 T-Bird skyblue, 1964T-Bird dark green, and then came the LTDs . While working at his sons shop he acquired a 1950 120 jaguar coupe that he would take to the golf course and a1956 Ford F-100 pickup that the guys at the shop restored for him.

He loved sports and watching his grandchildren play them. He played golf and had a 18handi- cap, he would curse at that ball all the way to the club house. He joined the Hyannis Raquetball Club in the late 80’s, he would ride the bike and work the machines to no end for a man of his age, He challenged all to match him at sit ups, 1400 in 3hrs, he was 64at that time, he was one tough S.O.B.. Sonnie’s red van was always open for the neighbors and others to take bread and pastries that he would get from the local Arnold’s bakery depot. Sonnie loved Murph’s Recession and few other bars, but he loved to help Nancy at Murph’s, if you called that help, it was Sonnie’s Cozy Corner Bar. Sonnie was one of a kind, once you met him you never forgot that hand shake, it hurt, you knew he was real. He was a good father and provider with work ethics that only his generation could have, he would shovel snow or argue a point till the cows came home, and then some.

He leaves behind Dottie his wife, sons Bruce and Gary, grandchildren Ben, Sara, Mike, Colton, Cooper, and Chelsea, Great grandchildren Kade and Juilet. So, Sonnie always said, don’t say good bye, say see ya later, So see ya later Dad,

There will be a funeral Mass for Sonnie 9:30 this Saturday at St Pius Tenth Church, Station Ave., in Yarmouth, Then a get together brunch and a beer for Sonnie at Doyles Restaurant Rt 28, South Yarmouth