Stella Pudzuvelis

STELLA PUDZUVELIS

Cedar Rapids

Stella Pudzuvelis, 94, of Cedar Rapids, died peacefully Thursday, May 19, 2016, at Mercy Hospice House. A funeral Mass will be held at 10:30 a.m. Wednesday, May 25, in the All Saints chapel followed by a reception. There will be a private burial at St. John's Cemetery.

Stella was born Aug. 18, 1921, to her Lithuanian immigrant parents, Peter and Marcella Prunskunas.

In her teens, Stella served ice cream at an Ellis Boulevard establishment, taught the "Hawaiian" (slide) guitar and attended Cedar Rapids Bunnies baseball games when free tickets were available. In 1939, she became a National Honor Society graduate of Roosevelt High School and went on to complete a secretarial program at Mount Mercy College.

Stella met William Pudzuvelis (also Lithuanian) at a Lithuanian wedding prior to World War II, and upon his return from his duties as a copilot in the USAF, they were wed at Immaculate Conception Church on Oct. 31, 1945, a marriage that lasted 61 years until Bill's death.

While Bill worked at Iowa Manufacturing Company first as a machinist, then foreman, and finally superintendent, Stella worked intermittently while raising her two boys until they were in high school. She then found her perfect job as secretary and passport assistant for three postmasters at the Cedar Rapids post office from 1966 to 1983. There she could exercise her array of skills, serve the public and enjoy the office camaraderie.

Stella was a devoted parishioner of All Saints Church, and with her husband and two sisters, for years bedecked the church for the Christmas season. She also was member of a loose-knit women's social club they called "The Sewing Circle." Stella was grounded in the church and family, but she also represented the new generation of women who went out into the world to seek validation through a career as well.

Stella was preceded in death by her parents, Peter and Marcella Prunskunas; her husband, William Pudzuvelis; and her sisters, Bernice and Carol Prunskunas, also of Cedar Rapids, to whom she was remarkably close.

She is survived by her two sons, Peter and John Pudzuvelis.

The family wishes to thank the staffs of Homewatch Caregivers, All Saints Homebound ministers, Mercy Medical Center and Mercy Hospice House for their compassionate and professional care.

In lieu of flowers, please send donations to the Madge Phillips Center or Metro Catholic Outreach.

Please leave a message or tribute to the Pudzuvelis family on the website, www.cedarmemorial.com under Obituaries.