Helen M. Pasterick
October 1, 1927 - January 4, 2026 (Age 98)
Helen M. Pasterick, 98, a lifelong resident of Donora, passed away on Sunday, January 4, 2026, at Country Care Manor, Fayette City.
She was born in Donora on October 1, 1927, a daughter of the late Walter and Mary (Bialowski) Mizwa, who immigrated in the early 1900s from Poland.
She was Catholic by faith and a longtime member of St. Andrew the Apostle Parish. She worked as a seamstress for many years, loved playing bingo at the Donora Senior Center with her friends and always looked forward to her trips at the Meadows Casino. Helen loved doing crafts and working with her hands and was exceptionally skilled at molding, painting, and glazing ceramics as well as making lamps out of vases.
She married her late husband, Michael Pasterick, on June 8, 1947. Surviving to cherish her memory is her daughter, Helen Jean (Tim) McDowell of Oklahoma, her grandson, Ric (Sally) Kotarsky; a great-granddaughter, Allyson (Alan); and numerous nieces and nephews. Helen was the last surviving member of her immediate family. In addition to her parents and husband, she was preceded in death by her sister, Sophie, and her brothers, John, Joseph, Stephen, and Tony.
Arrangements have been entrusted to the ANTHONY L. MASSAFRA FUNERAL HOME AND CREMATION SERVICE INC., 40 Second St. Ext., Carroll Township/Donora, PA 15033, (724) 379-6900, where the family will receive friends from 5 to 7 p.m. on Thursday, January 15, 2026. Prayers will be recited in the funeral home on Friday, January 16, 2026, at 10 a.m., followed by a 10:30 a.m. Mass of Christian Burial at St. Andrew the Apostle Parish, Donora site.
Interment will follow at Mon Valley Memorial Park. In lieu of flowers, the family suggests memorial contributions be made to St. Andrew the Apostle Parish, 1 Park Manor Road, Donora, PA 15033, in Helen’s name.