From a young age, Bernice Sikora, 86, of Des Plaines learned how to care for others. Mrs. Sikora was 10 when her mother died, leaving her with the responsibility of looking after five siblings. “Anyone who met her found she had a motherly and caring feeling toward people,” said her daughter Sue O’Hehir. “She was always willing to help out.” Mrs. Sikora died Saturday, Feb. 9, in the Abington of Glenview after suffering from Alzheimer’s disease for a year. During the 1930s, she worked at Case-Moody Pie Co. in Chicago before she married and quit work to raise her family in Leyden Township. In the 1950s she worked on the assembly line at Knowles Electronics Inc. in Franklin Park. For nearly 20 years, she worked as a procurement officer for the U.S. Postal Service in Chicago. She retired in 1982. “She was always making things,” said her daughter, who added that her mother enjoyed baking and gardening. Mrs. Sikora is also survived by two sons, Ken and Greg; a brother, Floyd Skawski; two sisters, Jo Olinski and Anne Kriss; two grandchildren; and a great-grandchild. A mass will be said at 10 a.m. Tuesday in St. Stephen Catholic Church, 1267 Everett Ave., Des Plaines.
