Obituary of Helen Petras

Helen. Petras, retired Town of Burlington employee passed away after an extended illness on Tuesday, November 1, 2022.  She was 95 years old.  She was born in Somerville.  The daughter of Greek immigrants, James and Christine Theophile.    She met her future husband, Demetrios, a Greek immigrant himself through a relative.  He said she was the one he was going to marry on their first meeting and six months later they were husband and wife.  She worked for 30 years as a clerk for the Town of Burlington Department of Public Works.  She enjoyed her job, her coworkers, and working with the residents of Burlington. 

Helen‘s life revolved around her family.  She was a loving and supportive wife, a caring and encouraging mother, and a fun and doting grandmother and great grandmother.  She was a very active member of the Annunciation of the Virgin Mary Greek Orthodox Church.  She loved to travel all over the world as well as regularly visiting Greece to visit with Demetrios’s family and old friends.  She had resided in Burlington from 1963 to 1997.  Her retirement years were split between winters in Naples, Florida and the remainder of the year living next door to her son, daughter-in-law, and grandchildren in Medford. 

Helen was the beloved wife of 62 years of the late Demetrios Petras who passed in 2019. She was the loving mother of Billy Petras and his wife Karin of Medford. She was the proud Yia Yia of Helena Petras of Billerica, Joanna, Paulina, and Jimmy Petras of Medford. She was the great grandmother of Mason.  She was the sister of Christ Theophile of Bedford.  She was also survived by many nieces, nephews, and friends.

A visiting hour will be held at the Annunciation of the Virgin Mary Greek Orthodox Church, 70 Montvale Ave, Woburn on Friday, November 4 from 10 to 11 a.m. Funeral services will begin at 11 a.m. at the church.  Services will conclude with a burial in Chestnut Hill Cemetery, Burlington. In lieu of flowers, memorials in Helen’s name may be made to the Annunciation of the Virgin Mary Greek Orthodox Church, 20 Montvale Ave, Woburn, MA 01801. For directions and online guestbook see www.annunciationwoburn.com or www.sullivanfuneralhome.net