Obituaries

Stella Frances Papcun

Obituary

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.