Sonja Pritoluck Pavlakis

Sonja Pritoluck Pavlakis (birth name Soja Peterlovla Prytoluk) of Nokesville, VA, passed away on May 11, 2022, at the age of 102-years old. She was born on January 21, 1920, in Kamenetz-Podolsk, Ukraine, to Evanovich (Peter) Prytoluk (later changed spelling to Pritoluck), and Maria Dreksler.



In the mid-1930s, Sonja met and married Leo Antonovich Bartaschewsky (also recorded in family records as Bartaschevsky - different spelling). On August 21, 1938, Sonja and Leo welcomed their only child, Arkady Leo Bartaschevsky. Years later, Arcady Americanized his name to Edward Leo Bart.



During WWII, her husband Leo served as a Linotype Operator, which is an early printing technology used to print entire lines of text for newspapers. During the war, Leo lost his life, leaving Sonja and their young son Arcady (Edward). During that time, it was common for women to take over the roles of their husband when they were lost to the war, meaning that Sonja assumed Leo's role as a professional Linotype Operator. During the war, when Germans were starting to invade Ukraine to capture and convert Ukrainian citizens to work in camps, Sonja took her son Arkady (Edward), her nephew Alex, and her mother Maria to Germany by way of Poland, where they were intercepted at a detention camp. Sonja wrote to her sister Elisabeth in Germany to request assistance in proving their original German descent from two-generations prior (Sonja & Elisabeth's Grandfather was from the Bavarian region of Germany). Elisabeth and her husband successfully proved Sonja's German descent in early 1944, which enabled Sonja, Edward, Alex, and Maria to move to Germany and escape war-time persecution.



After the war, while still in Germany, Sonja married James Pavlakis, a Greek American serving in the US Merchant Marines, and prior in the US Army. On Thanksgiving Day in 1952, at the age of 32, Sonja immigrated to the United States of America, while her then 14-year-old son finished the last of the school year under the care of her mother while Sonja established their new home in New York. Arcady (Edward) joined Sonja and James in the US at age 15, and was immediately followed by Sonja's nephew Alex, and finally her mother Maria. This was the beginning of a new life in America for the family.



Sonja was a very proud American Citizen. In New York, she worked as a translator being that she was fluent in multiple language, to include Ukrainian, Russian, German, French, and English among others. She also worked in the beauty departments of a few major stores in the fashion industry. She later moved to DC where she worked at the Pentagon in the boutique shops. She and her family loved to travel and she was an amazing storyteller who always enjoyed sharing her memories with all who surrounded her. She was deeply loved and will be greatly missed.



Sonja was preceded in death by her husband James, her son Edward (wife Linda), her sister Elisabeth, her nephew Alex, and her Grandson Todd. Surviving members of the family include her daughter-in-law Linda Acosta (husband Dan), Grandson Yuri Bart (wife Rachel), Grandson Raeford Bart (wife Leigh Ann), Great Nephew Jay Lutschkin (wife Shari), along with countless friends, neighbors, and loved ones whom she treasured.



Funeral services will be held Saturday, May 21, 2022. The visitation is from 11:00am - 12:00pm at Nicholson Funerals and Cremations Thomasville Chapel, 1528 National Hwy, Thomasville, NC 27360.

The graveside service will be at 1:00pm the same date at Holly Hill Memorial Park Cemetery 401 W Holly Hill Rd, Thomasville, NC 27360. Cemetery Details





Holly Hill Memorial Park Cemetery







401 W Holly Hill Road

Thomasville, NC 27360



Loading map

Previous Events





Visitation





MAY 21. 11:00 AM - 12:00 PM (ET)



Nicholson Funerals and Cremations - Thomasville Chapel

1528 National Highway

Thomasville, NC 27360



Loading map





Service





MAY 21. 1:00 PM (ET)



Holly Hill Memorial Park Cemetery

401 W Holly Hill Road

Thomasville, NC 27360



Loading map