Helen M. (Pless) Wilhelm of Aliquippa, formerly of Coraopolis, died Monday, December 3, 2012, at Heritage Valley Beaver in Brighton Township, after an earlier respiratory arrest that was the last in a series of medical problems over the past year. She was 79.
Born January 18, 1933, in Seawright, Fayette County, she was the youngest of eight children of the late Herminia and George Pless, a coal miner. A graduate of Redstone High School in Republic, Fayette County, she was a hard worker who was employed at the former Jones & Laughlin Steel in Aliquippa, as a waitress at the coffee shop at the old Pittsburgh International Airport terminal in Moon, and more than 20 years as a Postal Service mail carrier and clerk.
It was while working at the tin mill at J&L that she met James S. Wilhelm and the two married March 1, 1954, at St. Titus Roman Catholic Church in Aliquippa. They were married 47 years until his death on March 11, 2001.
She served as an officer with the Cornell High School Band Parents when her children were in school, then later helped with church festivals at St. Titus. She enjoyed crafting, shopping and trips to casinos in retirement.
In 2004, she survived lung cancer with extensive radiation and chemotherapy, but it left her vulnerable to repeated bouts with pneumonia in later years. The onset of Alzheimer's disease led to residence in a handful of personal care and nursing homes since June, the most recent the Villa of St. Joseph in Baden.
In addition to her parents and her husband, she was preceded in death by brothers, John, George and Joseph Pless, and sisters, Marie and Katy Pless.
She is survived by two sons, James R. (Tammy Walro) Wilhelm of Perrysburg, Ohio, and Thomas R. Wilhelm, who lived with and cared for her at home in Aliquippa for many years; granddaughters, Kathryn E. Wilhelm of Boston and Sarah M. Wilhelm of Perrysburg, Ohio; a sister, Catherine Barna of Leetsdale; a brother, Adam Pless of Ambridge, and several nieces and nephews.
Friends will be received Thursday from 2 to 4 and 6 to 8 p.m. in the TATALOVICH FUNERAL HOME AND CREMATION SERVICES, INC., 2205 McMinn St., Aliquippa, www.tatalovichfuneralhome.com, where a service will be held Friday at 9 a.m., followed by a Mass of Christian burial at 9:30 a.m. in St. Titus Catholic Church, with Father Paul Householder, her pastor, officiating.
In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions may be made to St. Titus Church, the American Cancer Society or the Alzheimer's Association of America
Born January 18, 1933, in Seawright, Fayette County, she was the youngest of eight children of the late Herminia and George Pless, a coal miner. A graduate of Redstone High School in Republic, Fayette County, she was a hard worker who was employed at the former Jones & Laughlin Steel in Aliquippa, as a waitress at the coffee shop at the old Pittsburgh International Airport terminal in Moon, and more than 20 years as a Postal Service mail carrier and clerk.
It was while working at the tin mill at J&L that she met James S. Wilhelm and the two married March 1, 1954, at St. Titus Roman Catholic Church in Aliquippa. They were married 47 years until his death on March 11, 2001.
She served as an officer with the Cornell High School Band Parents when her children were in school, then later helped with church festivals at St. Titus. She enjoyed crafting, shopping and trips to casinos in retirement.
In 2004, she survived lung cancer with extensive radiation and chemotherapy, but it left her vulnerable to repeated bouts with pneumonia in later years. The onset of Alzheimer's disease led to residence in a handful of personal care and nursing homes since June, the most recent the Villa of St. Joseph in Baden.
In addition to her parents and her husband, she was preceded in death by brothers, John, George and Joseph Pless, and sisters, Marie and Katy Pless.
She is survived by two sons, James R. (Tammy Walro) Wilhelm of Perrysburg, Ohio, and Thomas R. Wilhelm, who lived with and cared for her at home in Aliquippa for many years; granddaughters, Kathryn E. Wilhelm of Boston and Sarah M. Wilhelm of Perrysburg, Ohio; a sister, Catherine Barna of Leetsdale; a brother, Adam Pless of Ambridge, and several nieces and nephews.
Friends will be received Thursday from 2 to 4 and 6 to 8 p.m. in the TATALOVICH FUNERAL HOME AND CREMATION SERVICES, INC., 2205 McMinn St., Aliquippa, www.tatalovichfuneralhome.com, where a service will be held Friday at 9 a.m., followed by a Mass of Christian burial at 9:30 a.m. in St. Titus Catholic Church, with Father Paul Householder, her pastor, officiating.
In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions may be made to St. Titus Church, the American Cancer Society or the Alzheimer's Association of America
Helen M. (Pless) Wilhelm of Aliquippa, formerly of Coraopolis, died Monday, December 3, 2012, at Heritage Valley Beaver in Brighton Township, after an earlier respiratory arrest that was the last in a series of medical problems over the past year. She was 79.
Born January 18, 1933, in Seawright, Fayette County, she was the youngest of eight children of the late Herminia and George Pless, a coal miner. A graduate of Redstone High School in Republic, Fayette County, she was a hard worker who was employed at the former Jones & Laughlin Steel in Aliquippa, as a waitress at the coffee shop at the old Pittsburgh International Airport terminal in Moon, and more than 20 years as a Postal Service mail carrier and clerk.
It was while working at the tin mill at J&L that she met James S. Wilhelm and the two married March 1, 1954, at St. Titus Roman Catholic Church in Aliquippa. They were married 47 years until his death on March 11, 2001.
She served as an officer with the Cornell High School Band Parents when her children were in school, then later helped with church festivals at St. Titus. She enjoyed crafting, shopping and trips to casinos in retirement.
In 2004, she survived lung cancer with extensive radiation and chemotherapy, but it left her vulnerable to repeated bouts with pneumonia in later years. The onset of Alzheimer's disease led to residence in a handful of personal care and nursing homes since June, the most recent the Villa of St. Joseph in Baden.
In addition to her parents and her husband, she was preceded in death by brothers, John, George and Joseph Pless, and sisters, Marie and Katy Pless.
She is survived by two sons, James R. (Tammy Walro) Wilhelm of Perrysburg, Ohio, and Thomas R. Wilhelm, who lived with and cared for her at home in Aliquippa for many years; granddaughters, Kathryn E. Wilhelm of Boston and Sarah M. Wilhelm of Perrysburg, Ohio; a sister, Catherine Barna of Leetsdale; a brother, Adam Pless of Ambridge, and several nieces and nephews.
Friends will be received Thursday from 2 to 4 and 6 to 8 p.m. in the TATALOVICH FUNERAL HOME AND CREMATION SERVICES, INC., 2205 McMinn St., Aliquippa, www.tatalovichfuneralhome.com, where a service will be held Friday at 9 a.m., followed by a Mass of Christian burial at 9:30 a.m. in St. Titus Catholic Church, with Father Paul Householder, her pastor, officiating.
In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions may be made to St. Titus Church, the American Cancer Society or the Alzheimer's Association of America
Born January 18, 1933, in Seawright, Fayette County, she was the youngest of eight children of the late Herminia and George Pless, a coal miner. A graduate of Redstone High School in Republic, Fayette County, she was a hard worker who was employed at the former Jones & Laughlin Steel in Aliquippa, as a waitress at the coffee shop at the old Pittsburgh International Airport terminal in Moon, and more than 20 years as a Postal Service mail carrier and clerk.
It was while working at the tin mill at J&L that she met James S. Wilhelm and the two married March 1, 1954, at St. Titus Roman Catholic Church in Aliquippa. They were married 47 years until his death on March 11, 2001.
She served as an officer with the Cornell High School Band Parents when her children were in school, then later helped with church festivals at St. Titus. She enjoyed crafting, shopping and trips to casinos in retirement.
In 2004, she survived lung cancer with extensive radiation and chemotherapy, but it left her vulnerable to repeated bouts with pneumonia in later years. The onset of Alzheimer's disease led to residence in a handful of personal care and nursing homes since June, the most recent the Villa of St. Joseph in Baden.
In addition to her parents and her husband, she was preceded in death by brothers, John, George and Joseph Pless, and sisters, Marie and Katy Pless.
She is survived by two sons, James R. (Tammy Walro) Wilhelm of Perrysburg, Ohio, and Thomas R. Wilhelm, who lived with and cared for her at home in Aliquippa for many years; granddaughters, Kathryn E. Wilhelm of Boston and Sarah M. Wilhelm of Perrysburg, Ohio; a sister, Catherine Barna of Leetsdale; a brother, Adam Pless of Ambridge, and several nieces and nephews.
Friends will be received Thursday from 2 to 4 and 6 to 8 p.m. in the TATALOVICH FUNERAL HOME AND CREMATION SERVICES, INC., 2205 McMinn St., Aliquippa, www.tatalovichfuneralhome.com, where a service will be held Friday at 9 a.m., followed by a Mass of Christian burial at 9:30 a.m. in St. Titus Catholic Church, with Father Paul Householder, her pastor, officiating.
In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions may be made to St. Titus Church, the American Cancer Society or the Alzheimer's Association of America
Family Members
Sponsored by Ancestry
Advertisement
Records on Ancestry
Advertisement
