Second Concordia at the Orchards resident dies of COVID-19
The coronavirus has claimed it's latest victim in Butler County and a strong one at that.
Wilhelmina Peluso, a resident of Concordia at the Orchard in Butler, died just before 9 p.m. Friday at Butler Memorial Hospital.
“She did not mince words ever. She was totally honest, and she was just so accepting,” said Wilhelmina's daughter Pauline Peluso.
While her death brings the county's total to four, those numbers were not reflected in Saturday's noon update by the Pennsylvania Department of Health. The 96-year-old woman was the second resident of the Center Township senior facility to die in as many days.
Concordia spokesman Frank Skrip confirmed Willy Peluso was the second resident of the Orchard to die from COVID-19. Skrip also confirmed two other residents at the facility tested positive for the virus.
“It's a tragedy when something like that happens. We see a lot of that in this industry, and it's never easy,” Skrip said. “We're very sad for the family.”
Still reeling from the loss, Pauline Peluso reminisced about her beloved mother and the family's matriarch with the Butler Eagle on Saturday.
Born in 1923 in Holland, Willy - as she was known to many - survived five years under German occupation during World War II before meeting “a cute little GI” during the liberation in 1944. She moved to America with her husband and became a naturalized citizen.
“She raised five kids in the days of cloth diapers and wringer washing machines,” Pauline Peluso said of her mother. “She was very proud. She had dutch pride.”
This is an excerpt from a larger article that will appear in Monday's Butler Eagle. Subscribe online or in print to read the full article.
