Obituary of Helen Marie Pradziad

Helen Marie (Hodakowski) Pradziad, 87, of Wilkes-Barre, entered into eternal rest on Friday, July 19, 2013 in the Partridge-Tippett Nursing Facility, Wesley Village, Pittston. Born in Wilkes-Barre, on December 11, 1925, she was a child to the late Adam and Helen (Pudafalski) Hodakowski. She grew up in Hudson and attended Plains area schools. She was a graduate of the Plains Memorial High School, class of 1943. After graduation, she found employment at Gort's Fashions, Hudson, as a seamstress for twenty years. She then married her husband Ferdynand (Fred) in 1963. Helen stayed at home after marriage to start a family and to raise her three sons. She returned to the workplace later in life working a number of years as a waitress at the Golden Palace Banquet facility, Parsons. Throughout her life, Helen enjoyed traveling. With her husband being in the U.S. Army, she lived in a number of different states of our country and also overseas in Germany. She fulfilled a lifelong dream by traveling to Hawaii with her son six years ago. Helen was an avid fan of playing bingo and visiting casinos both locally and in Atlantic City. She was very lucky at bingo and on the slot machines. She liked to crochet and very much enjoyed going to the senior center in Plains on Thursdays to crochet and socialize with her friends. She loved her family and enjoyed spending time with them during family reunions, holidays, and special events. She loved to laugh. Helen was a past member of St. Joseph Church, Hudson and the St. Joseph's Confraternity of Christian Mothers until the church's closure. She was presently a member at SS. Peter and Paul Church, Plains, and the Senior Citizens Group, Plains, until her illness. Helen is preceded in death by her husband of twenty two years, Ferdynand in 1986; son Joseph in 2012; brothers John, Joseph, Francis, and Stanley; and sisters Irene Stashik, Florence Tempalski and Josephine Kandrac. Helen is survived by her sons Francis, Wilkes-Barre, John and his wife Jen, Collegeville; brother Bernard, Pittston; three sisters-in-law; and many nieces and nephews. Helen's funeral services will be held on Wednesday, July 24, at 9:00 a.m. from the Yanaitis Funeral Home Inc., 55 Stark St, Plains. A Mass of Christian Burial will be celebrated at 9:30 a.m. in Ss. Peter and Paul Church, Plains. Interment will follow in St. Joseph Cemetery, Hudson. Friends and family may call at the funeral home on Tuesday, July 23, from 4:00p.m. to 7:00 p.m. Condolences to the family and directions to the funeral home can be accessed at www.yanaitisfuneralhome.com.