Stefania Gret

Stefania Podoluk Gret

Stefania Podoluk Gret was the daughter of Wasyl and Justina (Wosolchanski). She was born in Kudyryavtsi, Lviv Oblast, Ukraine, on May 4, 1926, one of five children. Her father died when she was 15 and she took care of her younger siblings while also working on her family’s farm. When Stefania was 16, she was taken by the Nazis from her home in Ukraine and brought to Germany where she was forced into slave labor at a factory. She never saw her mother or siblings again.

After the war, while living in a displaced persons camp in Germany, Stefania met a man she loved and gave birth to their only son, Bohdan Pytlowany. In June 1950, together with her son, she was sponsored and came to America on the USNS General R. M. Blatchford through Ellis Island. She resided in the Frankford section of Philadelphia and proudly became a U.S. citizen.

Stefania was a long-standing member of St. Josaphat Ukrainian Catholic Church where she first met and then in 1960 married Michael Gret (deceased). From 1953 she worked in the packing department of the Keebler Company in Northeast Philadelphia until the plant closed in 1984. She loved gardening, baking, and cooking, all of which she did well into retirement. She was well-known for her Ukrainian walnut tort, strawberry shortcake, cookies, and varenyky. More than anything, though, she loved spending time with her grandchildren and great-grandchildren.

Stefania died peacefully at home according to her wishes on June 15, 2022, at the age of 96. She will be greatly missed by her family and friends. Stefania is survived by her daughter-in-law Sophie Pytlowany (predeceased by her husband Bohdan), granddaughters Christine James and Halina Fels (Matt), and great-grandchildren Bohdan, Lucas, and Liana.

Relatives and friends are invited to her viewing on Friday, June 24 at 9:30 a.m. at St. Anne Ukrainian Catholic Church in Warrington, PA. Requiem liturgy will be celebrated at 10:30 a.m. Burial will follow at St. Mary’s Ukrainian Cemetery in Elkins Park, PA.  

In lieu of flowers, donations can be made to St. Anne Ukrainian Catholic Church,1545 Easton Road, Warrington, PA 18976.

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