For information on submitting an obituary, please contact Reading Eagle by phone at 610-371-5018, or email at obituaries@readingeagle.com or fax at 610-371-5193.
Most obituaries published in the Reading Eagle are submitted through funeral homes and cremation services, but we will accept submissions from families. Obituaries can be emailed to obituaries@readingeagle.com.
In addition to the text of the obituary, any photographs that you wish to include can be attached to this email. Please put the text of the obituary in a Word document, a Google document or in the body of the email. The Reading Eagle also requires a way to verify the death, so please include either the phone number of the funeral home or cremation service that is in charge of the deceased’s care or a photo of his/her death certificate. We also request that your full name, phone number and address are all included in this email.
All payments by families must be made with a credit card. We will send a proof of the completed obituary before we require payment. The obituary cannot run, however, until we receive payment in full.
Obituaries can be submitted for any future date, but they must be received no later than 3:00 p.m. the day prior to its running for it to be published.
Please call the obituary desk, at 610-371-5018, for information on pricing.
The CatWorks is partnering with Berks Community Cats to find homes for felines by opening a Cat Lounge in Stony Creek Mills, Lower Alsace Township.
The former B&D Upholstery shop at 1452 Friedensburg Road, next door to the new home of the Exeter Wellness Center in the former Bixler’s Lodge building, has been converted into an indoor playground for adult cats and kittens that welcomes potential adopters to meet the felines in a relaxed environment.
The new space has already had a soft opening, but a grand opening is set for Oct. 18 from 1 p.m. to 3 p.m. with food, baked goods and drinks to purchase.
“All the money raised here truly does go toward the animals,” said CatWorks co-founder Nicole Mengel, who noted the costs of rent and utilities are being underwritten by a business.
The lounge offers crafts, snacks and coffee for sale, with larger plans in the works.
“We’re going to have events here,” Mengel said. “We’re going to have one this coming Saturday.”
On Sept. 20, from noon to 3 p.m., CatWorks is holding a cookout birthday party for Squirtie, one of Mengel’s foster dogs. The animal had broken legs and a missing ear when she arrived at the rescue.
“For her birthday, she is asking for donations for the cats — Purina Kitten Chow, Purina Cat Show, Friskies wet pate and scoopable cat litter,” Mengel said.
The party features a cookout including hot dogs, chips, drinks, popcorn and baked goods for sale.
Photos with Santa also are being planned at the Cat Lounge.
The adoption fee for a cat of any age is $150 and covers vaccines, deworming, spay and neuter. A two-for-$250 option is available.
“It’s always better if you can get kittens out in pairs,” said Joe Salender Jr. of Berks Community Cats.
“So they can climb the curtains in pairs,” Mengel added with a smile.
Mengel’s organization operated a cat cafe at the former Exeter Wellness Center, and she said it had a good atmosphere.
“It worked well because people could just come in and sit,” Mengel said. “People came in and just sat and paid attention to the cats. It was just a good thing.”
Mengel said her organization gave up adoption spots at Petco in Spring Township last year. She said the lounge setup was much less stressful for the cats and gave people the chance to really interact with their prospective new pets.
Berks Community Cats is really a trap-neuter-vaccinate-return organization focused on controlling community or feral cat colonies and helping their caregivers that has turned into a rescue as well.
“We have become more of a rescue and I just handed that off to the volunteers,” Salender said. “I can’t handle the stress, I don’t need the extra work. It’s phenomenal. We’re doing about 50 a month — getting cats in (to be sterilized) and out (adopted).”
Many times cats that have been abandoned by owners become part of a colony but are socialized enough that they could happily live in a home.
All of the cats in the lounge have foster families that can remove them in the event of a forecast of inclement weather or if an upper respiratory illness breaks out, Mengel explained. She said about half the cats at the lounge come from her organization and half from Berks Community Cats.
Additional foster homes are always needed, as are volunteers willing to come in and keep the Cat Lounge open to the public.
“We have TV for everybody to watch, comfy couches and sometimes people that work remotely come here. We have Wi-Fi,” Mengel said.
Anyone interested can learn more by emailing thecatworks@gmail.com or sending a message to The CatWorks via its Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/cat.works.9/about .
In addition to the donations suggested above, checks can be made out to The Catworks and mailed to The CatWorks, c/o 711 Spring St., Wyomissing, PA 19610.