Helen C. (Chapla) Lusi

Helen Mary (Chapla) Lusi, 98, died on July 21, 2026. She was the beloved wife of the late Armando F. “Gus” Lusi. She is survived by her children- Armand T. Lusi and his wife Leslie of Warwick, RI;  Susan H. Lusi of Washington, DC;  John F. Lusi of Providence, RI;  Joseph M. Lusi of Chepachet, RI;  Michael A. Lusi of Johnston, RI;  four granddaughters- Annie, Madeline, Amelia, and Lilly; and one great-grandson, Armando.

She was pre-deceased by her parents, Leopold Chapla and Helena (Markiewicz) Kendra Chapla, and her brothers Joseph Kendra, Edward Kendra, and Leo Chapla.

Helen was born and grew up in Latrobe, PA, the youngest of four children, all first-generation Americans. Her parents emigrated from Poland to the United States as teenagers in 1912.  Helen’s Uncle John had a farm in the rolling hills outside Latrobe, a place she treasured and fondly remembered. Helen attended Latrobe public schools, and graduated from Seton Hill College in 1950 with a Bachelor of Music in Music Education.

From 1946 Helen spent ten summers staffing the Tally-Ho Hotel and ushering at the opera at the Chautauqua Institution, a music and arts colony in western New York.  In 1955  Helen and a friend flew on a prop plane from Miami to then-glittering Havana, Cuba, with a sense of adventure she never lost and always encouraged in others.

Helen graduated from the University of Pittsburgh in 1956 with a Master’s Degree in Education. She went east for opportunity, teaching primary school in Abington, MA. Between teaching jobs Helen worked as a floral designer at the Hollywood Beach Hotel in Florida.

In 1957 at the Cape Codder Resort in Falmouth, MA, Helen met Armando “Gus” Lusi, a civil engineer and general contractor from Rhode Island.  The two hit it off, and a year later they were married in Latrobe, PA.  Helen relocated to Gus’s hometown of Johnston, RI, where she would raise a family and reside for the rest of her life.

In the 1970s, while raising five children born in seven years, Helen remained civically active.  She served on the first board of Johnston’s Marian Mohr Library, and assisted the Johnston Historical Society in the State’s purchase and preservation of Dame Farm at Snake Den State Park.  She also created a neighborhood Ranger Rick Club for children – her own and those nearby -to learn about animals and nature.  In 1987 Helen co-founded the Rhode Island Wild Plant Society, which thrives to this day.

Like many transplants to New England, Helen had an abiding love for the region, especially its countryside, forests, and mushrooms. She treasured the woods, streams, and trails along stone walls through sassafrass, trilliums, spicebush, marsh marigolds, and red-winged blackbirds. She passed her love of nature on to countless others along the way. As a member of the Boston Mycological Club, Helen enjoyed many forays and gatherings, and even dragged Gus along on a few.  In later years she could be found exploring with the Wild Folk, an informal group of naturalists, or at Bioblitz with the RI Natural History Survey. 

Helen prized and embraced her Polish heritage.  She visited Poland four times with friends and relatives.  When shopping she was likely to purchase anything stamped ‘Made in Poland.’  Like many others of Polish heritage, her connection to the land and its creatures ran deep.

In 1961 Helen and Gus designed and built their home in a wooded dell in Johnston. Over decades it became a gathering place for family and friends. Many happy occasions culminated in sing-alongs with Gus on guitar and Helen on piano.

Helen loved life, and left the world better than she found it. Her college’s motto was ‘Hazard Yet Forward.’  She did, with joy.  And so shall we, in her memory.

Our thanks to the dedicated caregivers who looked after Helen in her final years, from Home Instead to The Village at Waterman Lake.

Flowers are welcome if so inclined. Or, donations may be made in her name to the RI Wild Plant Society (www.riwps.org), or the RI Natural History Survey (www.rinhs.org), or Seton Hill University in Greensburg, PA (www.setonhill.edu).

Visiting hours will be TUESDAY, July 28 from 4:00-7:00 pm at the PRATA-GALLOGLY Funeral Home, 78 Providence St, West Warwick, RI.

Services are at 10:00 am on THURSDAY, July 30 at St. David’s On-The-Hill Episcopal Church at 200 Meshanticut Valley Parkway, Cranston, RI.

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