Though she was a member of the St. Stanislaus Kostka Holy Rosary Society, I met her in tai chi class before I ever found St. Stanislaus. Despite a bum knee, she gamely tried the form while subverting the imposed tranquility of the class with her high spirits. After 2 semesters she moved on to learn Spanish, an interest that did not make demands on her bad knee.
At St. Stanislaus Kostka she was noted for her generosity and warmth. She was a generous contributor to our Rosary Society and did not refuse to feed the woodland creatures that occasionally wandered into her kitchen to feed next to the cat. She fed us, too. Her kielbasi and sauerkraut were a popular mainstay of our Holiday Fair and Spring Thing lunches.
According to her funeral home obit, she was born in Poland on February 10, 1923. She loved hearing the Polish hymns sung at St. Stanislaus and would weep and later thank the choir whenever we sang "Pod Twa Obrone". When we said the rosary together she was right with us, in synch but not unison, praying in Polish.
Like many of the people I've met at these parishes, there was very much more to Vera than met the eye. When talking about movies she could offer insights to rival those of professional critics. It was a privilege to gradually get to know her over the years.
Without parishes like Our Lady of Vilnius and St. Stanislaus Kostka people like Vera and Jurgis Aleliunas would have been friendly faces seen at one of several Masses. These parishes allowed us to know them and love them. It allowed them to inspire and encourage us by merely being themselves.
CLICK HERE to view funeral arrangements.
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