Tale of Two Sisters

Splintered but unbroken and bearing the scars of where the vehicle came to rest, the tree stands on Main Street in the village of Greenwich, a half-mile from the Church Street home the two sisters who were killed in last month’s crash shared for the past 24 years.
"My grandmother was the type of person who would do anything for anybody," Lori Perillo said.
"Whether it was money, or groceries, or needing a ride somewhere, there were no questions asked. She was always giving of herself. And that is her legacy. Her giving and nurturing way is what we hold onto in her memory," said Perillo, whose 85-year old grandmother, Nora Biercuk, was killed along with Biercuk’s 90-year-old sister, Florence Wawskiewicz, when their car struck a tree in the village last month.

The sisters did everything together, Perillo recalled of their activities, which included trotting around town to visit friends, making regular stops at the post office and the supermarket, or sharing lunch at area restaurants.

"Side-by-side, they were inseparable," she said.Nora graduated from Saratoga Springs High School shortly before World War II.
Her husband, Edward, served in the 45th Infantry Division of the U.S. Army from 1943 to 1945 and saw action in Italy, Germany and France. A service with military honors was delivered at the Gerald B.H. Solomon Saratoga National Cemetery after his passing several years ago.

The sisters shared a fondness for the village that was reciprocated by the people who lived there, and they could often be found sitting on their front porch on Church Street, watching the goings on at the gazebo in Mowry Park across the road.

"They would sit out there and watch all the people coming and going, the wedding ceremonies, the concerts," Perillo said. "They loved to sit out there listening to the music and tapping their toes."

Family members have begun a fundraising effort to honor the sisters by placing a memorial bench and landscaping inside the parkwhere the two sisters spent so much of their time, Perillo said.

The Post-Star, July 24, 2009
by Saratoga Bureau writer Thomas Dimopoulos