(03/06/15) Pawtucket – Tula (Panichas) Kattke, 96, of Pawtucket, died Thursday, March 5, at the Miriam Hospital, Providence. She was the beloved wife of the late Robert C. Kattke.
Born in Pawtucket, a daughter of the late Thomas and Daspena (Kanolas) Panichas, she had lived in Pawtucket for most of her life, and resided for fifteen years in Florida.
Mrs. Kattke was the owner of the former Tula’s Gift Shop in Central Falls. She had also worked at MetLife, where she was the first woman hired in the State of Rhode Island. For fifteen years, she had worked in surveillance at the former Fernandes Supermarket and Big G Stores, at their headquarters in Norton, Mass.
She was an original WAC in 1943 serving in the U.S. Army Women’s Auxillary Corps, before being transferred to the Army Air Corps’ Eastern Flying Training Command at Maxwell Field, Alabama.
A member of the Assumption of the Virgin Mary Greek Orthodox Church, she was active in the church’s St. Barbara’s Philoptochos Society.
She is survived by her daughter, Maria Palmieri of Greenville; her daughter-in-law, Joan Kattke of Florida; one brother, Anthony T. Panichas of Providence; and many nieces and nephews. She was the mother of the late Philip R. Kattke, the sister of the late James T. Panichas and George T. Panichas, and the mother-in-law of the late Joseph Palmieri.
Her funeral will be held Monday, March 9 at 11:00 a.m. in the Assumption of the Virgin Mary Greek Orthodox Church, 97 Walcott Street, Pawtucket. Burial will be private. Relatives and friends are invited, and may call prior to the service from 10:00 -11:00 a.m. at the church.
In lieu of flowers, contributions in her memory to the St. Barbara’s Philoptochos Society, c/o Assumption Greek Orthodox Church, 97 Walcott Street, Pawtucket, R.I. 02860 would be appreciated. For directions and guestbook, please visit www.bellowsfuneralchapel.com. Arrangements entrusted to Bellows Funeral Chapel, 160 River Road, Lincoln.
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