Gloria DeStefano

Gloria ( Hundi c h ) DeStefano , 87 , of Scranton died Monday in Allied Services Hospice Center . Gloria was the wife of the late Gene R. DeStefano.

Born May 27, 1931 in Olyphant , she was the daughter of the late Andrew and Tillie ( Waschy sak ) Klemish . Gloria was a 1949 graduate of Olyphant High School. She worked as a secretary at the Scranton School of the Deaf and was a bookkeeper for the Dallas Finance Company.

Gloria was a past-president of the Altar and Rosary at St. Francis of Assisi Church in South Side. She enjoyed reading, gardening, cooking, and sewing.  Although she wasn’t born Italian, she embraced Italian cooking.  She was always there for her family to provide a helping hand, advice, and an excellent meal. Her family was always first in her heart.

Gloria was able to sew a Halloween costume in a few hours, organize cookies for the Girl Scouts and type a term paper in no time.  She was a wonderful wife, mother, daughter, sister and friend.

The family would like to extend their gratitude to the staff at the Jewish Home of Scranton, Allied Services Hospice Center, and the M oses Taylor ER and ICU for the care and compassion shown towards Gloria.

Surviving are four daughters: Diane Trama and husband Robert of Clarks Summit , Denise Se a rfoss and husband Jonathan of Jefferson Twp, Donna Heilman and husband Josh of Newport News, VA and Dolores Hoham and husband Gates of St. Augustine , FL; grandchildren: Adrian Vlasenko and husband Vitaliy, Robert Trama and wife Sarah, Glen n and Christopher Pierce, Jonathan G. Searfoss, Daniel and Marie Heilman, and Harrison Hoham ; and a great-grandson: Aiden Vlasenko.

In addition to her husband, she was preceded in death by a da ughter, Debra Pierce and brother, Theodore Andrew Klemish.

The funeral will be Monday at 10am from St. James -St. George Episcopal Church , 398 Washington Ave. , Jermyn , with services by Father Dan Jones .  Interment at a later date : Cathedral Cemetery , Scranton . The family will receive relatives and friends Sunday from 3-6 pm at the Jennings-Calvey Funeral and Cremation Service, Inc., 111 Colburn Avenue, Clarks Summit, PA 18411.

In lieu of flowers, m emorial c ontributions may be made to the HealthyUNow Foundation for families living with autism .  Donations may be made at HeathyUNow Foundation, 3800 Joe Ashton Road, St. Augustine, FL 32092 , or at their website at healthyunow.org .