CHICOPEE – Lena L. (Lizza) Southerland Gordon, 100, a longtime resident of the Fairview section of Chicopee, was Called Safely Home on Sunday, February 2, 2014. She passed into Eternal Life at the Soldiers Home in Holyoke surrounded by the care and comfort of her loving family and her wonderful caregivers. She was born at home in West Springfield on March 19, 1913, a beloved daughter of the late Peter and Maria Rose (Raucci) Lizza. She was raised in the Willimansett Heights and Willimansett sections of Chicopee, graduated from Chicopee High School, and moved to the Fairview section of Chicopee in 1949. She furthered her education and received her Degree in Nursing from the former Holyoke Hospital School of Nursing. In 1937, Lena enlisted in the United States Army Nurse Corps and served her country during World War II with the rank of Second Lieutenant. She was stationed at Pearl Harbor during the attack on December 7, 1941. Following her military service, she returned to Chicopee and was employed for many years as an Industrial Nurse at the former General Electric Plant in Holyoke and at the former Springfield Armory until its closing in 1968. She was a member of the Holyoke Hospital School of Nursing Alumni and a communicant of Saint Anne Church in Chicopee where she was a founding member of the Saint Anne Sodality Guild. Lena was a wonderful homemaker to her family and showered them with her love and affection which was returned to her a thousand fold. She was predeceased by her beloved husbands, United States Army Air Corps Major Bill Southerland who was Killed in Action on December 9, 1943 and Normand P. Gordon who was Called Home on February 27, 2003. She leaves her loving son, William B. Southerland of Chicopee; her three cherished grandchildren, Lori A. Dauphin and her husband, Gary, of Somers, CT, Michael C. Southerland and his wife, Elizabeth, of Longmeadow, and Karen M. Southerland Fairchild and her husband, Eric Fairchild, of East Longmeadow; her six cherished great-grandchildren whom she adored, Trent and Talia Dauphin, Liam and Thomas Southerland, and Braden and Olivia Fairchild; her dear sister, Philida Brodalski and her husband, Ted, of Atwater, CA; her dear brother, Frank Lizza and his wife, Nina, of Londonderry, NH; and her many dear nephews, nieces, cousins, and extended members of the Gordon, Lizza and Southerland families. Besides her parents and husbands, she was also predeceased by her dear sister, Margaret Blais and her husband, Adrian; and her dear brother, Albert Lizza and his wife, Scottie. Her funeral will be held on Friday morning, February 7, 2014 beginning at the St. Pierre – Phaneuf Fairview Chapels, (413-533-3307), 506 Britton Street, Chicopee, MA 01020, (funeral home will open at 8:30 a.m.), followed by a Mass of Christian Burial at 10 a.m. in Saint Anne Church, 30 College Street, Chicopee, MA 01020. Her burial with United States Army Military Honors will be held in the spring at Sainte Rose Cemetery, 49 Olsen Street, Chicopee, MA 01020. Her family will receive friends at the funeral home on Thursday, February 6, 2014 from 4 p.m. to 7 p.m. The parking lot is located in the rear of the funeral home. Because of the wonderful care Lena received for the last 12 years at the Soldiers Home, her family has requested that memorial donations be made in her memory to the Soldiers Home in Holyoke, 110 Cherry Street, Holyoke, MA 01040. For more details, please visit: www.stpierrephaneuf.com