Helen R. Ostrowsky Pietras

Helen R. (Ostrowsky) Pietras, 92, passed away February 8, 2016. She was the wife of the late Charles J. Pietras. Born in Providence, she was a daughter of the late John and Dorothy (Zoroska) Ostrowsky. She was the fourth in a family of five children.

She graduated from Hope High School then immediately went to work to help her mother because her father had died at the very young age of 41. This was during the Great Depression of the thirties.

Helen was employed in various office positions, she was very good at her work but she would have preferred to become a nurse. However, her family was financially unable to provide the necessary training. So, to satisfy her longing to be a nurse, she volunteered as a Red Cross Nurse’s Aide on Saturdays during World War II.

Helen met her future husband, a brother of her sister-in-law, and they dated for some time but then he was drafted into the U.S. Army. During his four and a half years in the service, she kept up correspondence with him. One year after his return they were married and raised two children, Charles J. Pietras (wife-Jane) and Linda A. Pietras (late companion-Pauline Santos). She was the sister of the late James, Edward, Stanley and Agnes Ostrowsky.

She always loved reading and she liked to stay close to home. With a smile, Helen remembers how her family liked potatoes and she often asked herself, “How can I fix the potatoes tonight?”. Her favorite dish recently was pasta.

Relatives and friends are invited to attend a memorial mass on Tuesday at 10:45 a.m. in the Jeanne Jugan Residence Chapel, 964 Main Street, Pawtucket. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made in her memory to Little Sisters of the Poor, c/o Jeanne Jugan Residence, 964 Main Street, Pawtucket, RI 02860.