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Helen Pituch Jaworski, born in Union City, Pa, the daughter of the late John and Regina Mazur Pituch,

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Helen Pituch Jaworski, born in Union City, Pa, the daughter of the late John and Regina Mazur Pituch,

Posted: 15 Jun 2013 7:34PM GMT
Classification: Obituary
Surnames: Jaworski, Mazur , Pituch,

Helen Pituch Jaworski,
was welcomed home into the open arms of her Heavenly Father on June 9, 2013.
Helen was born on May 19, 1921 in Union City, the daughter of the late John and Regina Mazur Pituch, the first of their children to be born in the United States. Helen graduated from a one-room school house, where her last two years she assisted the teacher, earning five cents a week. She was a proud graduate of Union City High School in 1939. In 1979 Helen completed her studies and received a Diploma for Teaching Polish as a Second Language from Maria Sklodowska Curie University in Lublin Poland. Helen and her father had planned to visit Poland in the late fall of 1939, but World War II changed this dream. During the war, Helen worked on the family farm as well as at Aerio Supply in Corry where, with her talent for mathematics, she was responsible for setting up the machines. As the war ended, knowing that wartime jobs for women would be eliminated, she studied to become a beautician. After her marriage to Joseph Jaworski, she moved to Lincoln, Nebraska, then returned to Erie. When Helen and Joseph's three children were born, she helped educate them by working in a factory and the Boston Store. She encouraged her children, not only to follow their regular studies, but also to study music and learn their ancestral heritage. Years later Helen began to work with foreign-born adults, teaching them English. She threw her heart into helping them learn the American way. She volunteered for Catholic Social Services in their refugee resettlement program and later at the Villa Maria Center. As a community volunteer, Helen enjoyed the creativity of working on the Junior League fundraiser, Santa's Castle and assisted with the AAUW Holly Trail. She was also an usher for 16 years for the Erie Philharmonic concerts, then for the Erie Playhouse. As a believer in both self-education and community education, she worked on two major fundraisers to restore the former library on Perry Square. Helen was a dedicated volunteer in the Erie Polish community, working with children's dance groups, making costumes, and teaching the Polish language and songs, She also volunteered for Polish Day, the Polonaise Ball, and many ethnic celebrations and dinners. She was an officer and served on many committees for the Polish National Alliance (PNA) Council 72, PNA Lodge 2205, and East Side Federation. During the Tall Ships sail in 1994, Helen translated for the United States Customs official on board the Polish ship Pogoria. For several years she also housed and transported several children from Poland who were being treated at the Shriner's Hospital for Children in Erie. In the United States she taught Polish as a second language, and in Poland she taught English as a second language to grade school children. For the six years, her daughter performed with the Alliance Kujawiaki Dancers, Helen worked with costumes and wherever she was needed. Because of her years of service to the Polish American community, Helen received the Bronze Medal award from the Polish Army Vete rans Post 17 in 1984. As she was not a veteran, the award required the formal consent of the Polish Government in Exile, in London, England. Helen received many other awards for her service, including certificates of appreciation from the Erie School District, Catholic Social Services-Refugee resettlement, the International Institute, the elementary school in Wola Radziszowska, and the East Side Federation of Polish Societies. In 1976, Helen was one of the United States Department representatives to place a plaque near the tomb of Thaddeus Kosciuszko in Krakow Poland. In 1989 Helen was the guest of honor at Rt. Rev. Henryk Jankowski's 25th anniversary as a priest in Gdansk Poland, where she met Lech Walesa. Besides her parents, Helen was preceded in death by her husband Joseph, brothers, Walter, John and Ted Pituch, and a sister Mary Wilkosz. She is survived by her children, Regina Jaworski, J. Robert Jaworski, and James Jaworski, two grandchildren, and her beloved dog, Kasia. Helen will be missed by her family, students both in the United States and Poland, and by her colleagues and friends. The family would like to thank the VNA Hospice for the loving care given to their Mother. Friends may call at the Carl A. Slomski & Son Funeral Home Inc., 2101 Ash St. Friday from 5 p.m. to 8 p.m. and may attend a Funeral Mass at St. Stanislaus Church Saturday at 10 a.m. Private burial will be in St. Teresa Cemetery in Union City. In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions, may be made to St. Stanislaus Church, 516 East 13th St., Erie, PA 16503.
the Erie Times-News on June 14, 2013 .

St. Stanislaus Church,"

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