Stella Frances Papcun

Stella
Frances Papcun, 93, of Shoreline, WA, beloved mother and grandmother, passed
away on June 10, 2025.
She was
born on July 20, 1931, the eldest of three children born to Stanley and
Catherine (Swietonowski) Pasciak in Utica, NY. She grew up in Clinton, NY on a
street with many cousins who enjoyed spending time together playing in nearby
fields and splashing in a nearby creek.
After
graduating from Clinton High School, Stella attended SUNY Morrisville where she
pursued a degree in Food Management, and met the love of her life, John Michael
Papcun. She got her first job in
New York City at Mount Sinai Hospital. She always sounded amazed when she told
the story of how that opportunity came about. In July 1951, she and John were
married. He was in the army and his duties and early career kept the couple
moving to various parts of the country including New York, Massachusetts,
Kansas, Virginia, Illinois, Wisconsin, and Delaware. Delaware had a special place in her heart
which is where they welcomed their daughters Catherine and Suzanne.
In 1966,
the family moved to Newark, NY where Stella balanced motherhood with a variety
of employment and volunteer activities. She volunteered at Newark-Wayne Community
Hospital and St. Michael's School for many years. Her career path took many
interesting turns throughout the years especially during the many moves the
couple experienced early in their marriage. After working in food management,
her employers included S & H Green Stamps, Spiegel Catalog, the Newark
Public Library, Howard Johnson, and BOCES as both an administrative aide and an
aide in special education classrooms. She had a generous heart and a special
fondness for children, especially those with special needs
Stella retired from BOCES in 2001 and moved to Shoreline, WA in 2011 to live
with her daughter Suzanne. She was an avid reader, active at the Shoreline
Senior Center, and enjoyed going to the many festivals the Seattle area hosts
annually, especially the Polish festival where she would enjoy the food and
polka music of her heritage. She was a life-long music lover who sang in her
high school chorus and loved to dance. Family and friends looked forward to
receiving jars of her strawberry "Gram jam" every summer. Every
gathering with family and friends was a "party" - a celebration of
love, life and being together. She was always happy to play hostess and make
certain that those she loved were taken care of.
Stella was predeceased by her beloved husband John, and her sister Leona
Capito. She is survived by her daughters Catherine (Thomas) Tiedemann and
Suzanne Papcun, her grandchildren Thomas Tiedemann Jr and Emily Tiedemann, her
brother Stanley Pasciak Jr. and cousin Anna Lewis as well as many nieces and
nephews, and grandnieces and grandnephews.
She will
be laid to rest in Newark, NY.
In lieu of
flowers, donations in her memory may be made to the Alzheimer's Association,
225 N. Michigan Ave., Floor 17, Chicago, IL 60601 or Reading Is Fundamental,
750 First Street, NE, Suite 920, Washington, DC 20002.