Wanda Litke

Wanda (Banas) Litke of Hartford and Old Saybrook, widow of Louis T. Litke, peacefully joined the Lord on Sunday, (July 7, 2002) in New Britain. She was born Feb. 22, 1918 in Hartford, the daughter of the late Joseph and Antonia (Horst) Banas and she lived in Old Saybrook and Hartford all her life. She was a Red Cross Volunteer during World War II, a member of Polish Legion of American Veterans Womens Auxiliary Post 51, the Hartford Federation of Teachers, the Parkville Senior Citizen's and Estuary Council of Old Saybrook and was a sponsor of several Catholic missionaries societies. She graduated Hartford Community College with an Associates Degree in Art, the University of Hartford with a B.A. in education, Central Conn. State Univ. with a M.A. in Library Science and Media. She retired June 2001 after 31 years in the Hartford School system as Library teacher and Media specialist and continued as a substitute teacher at Parkville Community School through December 2001. She was a member of SS. Cyril & Methodius Church in Hartford. She was a member of the Hartford Republican Party and served as a delegate to Connecticut State Republican Conventions and served as Chairwomen to the Republican State Central Committee. She functioned as a voting moderator Park St. Fire House and other localities through the 2001 election and campaigned for position of State Representative with Mayor Ann Ucello. She is survived by two daughters and their husbands, Louise and Chris Wilkinson of Middletown and Teddi and John Kopcha of Newington; her grandchildren, J.L. Kopcha of Saybrook, and Ted and Renee Kopcha in Phoenix, AZ; her adopted grandchildren, Keith Sullivan of East Hampton, and Lt. Vincent Chernesky U.S.N. in Hawaii. She leaves a sister, Catherine (Banas) Skiba of Hartford; and a brother, Fred and his wife, Helen Banas, of Wethersfield; a niece, Brenda and her husband, Raymond Dyson, of Marlborough; a niece and Godchild, Marsha Banas, of Hartford; a cousin, Stanley "Dan" Horst, of Hartford; and a special friend, Ruby Stewart, R.N. at the Medi-Plex of Newington. She was predeceased by a brother, Theodore and Vera Banas; and a brother-in-law, Frank X. Skiba. Funeral services will start Wednesday, 9:15 a.m. from the Talarski Maple Hill Chapels, 380 Maple Ave., Hartford followed by a Mass of Christian Burial, 10 a.m. in SS. Cyril & Methodius Church in Hartford. Burial will be in Mt. St. Benedict Cemetery in Bloomfield. The family will receive relatives and friends at the Chapels TODAY, 4-8 p.m. Memorial donations may be made to St. Jude Children's Research Hospital, P.O. Box 50, Memphis, TN 38101. Please visit the obituary section on ctnow.com.