Aina L. Cerlins

Aina L. (Lapa) Cerlins, 79, of Wilimantic, wife of the late Eriks R. Cerlins, died Sunday December 18, 2005 in Mansfield. She was born March 24, 1926 in Riga, Latvia, the daughter of Eduards and Olga (Berenfelds) Lapa and came to the United States in 1949 after spending 5 years in the Displaced Persons camps in Germany. She received a Bachelor of Arts Degree from Hunter College in New York and worked as a Medical Technologist. She spent 13 years at Lenox Hill Hospital in New York City and 18 years at Manchester Memorial Hospital prior to her retirement in1994. She was a member of the Latvian Lutheran Church in Willimantic, the American Latvian Association, the Connecticut Latvian Association and the Latvian Sorority Imeria . She is survived by a daughter, Lauma Cerlins and her husband James Smith and their children, Cameron and Benjamin, all of Natick, MA. Her family will receive friends at the Latvian Lutheran Church in Willimantic on Friday from 10:00 to 11:00 a.m. Funeral services will begin at 11:00 a.m. Cremation will follow with spring burial in Latvian Memorial Park, Elka Park, NY. In lieu of flowers, memorial donations may be made to the Latvian Occupation Museum Fund. Please make checks payable to the Latvian Lutheran Church of Willimantic, 76 Windham Rd., Willimantic, CT 06226. Arrangements are through the Potter Funeral Home, Willimantic. Please visit www.potterfh.com for online memorial guestbook.