Jean Metz Kubiet passes away



Jean and Leo Kubiet

Mary Jean Metz Kubiet, wife of Leo Lawrence Kubiet, Class of 1942, passed away Monday, March 19 in Florida. Jean was a 1945 Fairmont East graduate.

They were married in 1946 in St. Stanislaus Church in Monongah. Their children are Lawrence Michael Kubiet and Dr. Martin Alan Kubiet.

Leo’s parents were Joe Kubiet and Laura Agnes Bucy Kubiet. His siblings included the only other survivor, Marjorie Kubiet Whitehair, widow of Monongah High grad Cecil Whitehair, who lives in Dayton; and Francis Eugene “Sonny” Kubiet, who married Elma Teets Kubiet, William “Buddy” Kubiet and Joe Kubiet, Jr.

Leo retired as vice president at the St. Petersburg Times.

His college education included Fairmont State (Journalism and English), and universities of Virginia, Michigan, Wayne State (in Detroit) and the University of Detroit.

Leo’s long and impressive career:

Detroit News, 1950-1968; at the St. Petersburg Times, retail advertising manager, advertising manager, advertising director, corporation director, vice president advertising, senior vice president; and Florida Trend Magazines modern graphic arts director.

The Kubiets grew up on Willow Road, not far from where St. Barbara’s Nursing Home was built decades later. So did the Greco, Tony Domico, Lawrence Kasper, Walter and Helen Shipco families, the Joe and Laura Kubiet and Layne families, the Walter and Ivy Nichols family.

Grandma Ursula Shipco had six lots which she gave or sold to others. Her children were John, Joe, George, Walter, Blanche and Mrs. Lawrence Kasper, whose daughter, Evelyn Kasper Boggess, still lives in the Willow Road home of her childhood with husband Okey Boggess.

Evelyn’s brother, Bob Kasper, Class of 1950, has homes in South Lyon and Presque Isle (Grand Lake), Michigan. Bob and John Olesky, Class of 1950, have been best friends since they met in first grade at Sts. Peter and Paul Catholic School on Church Street in Monongah.

Jean’s obituary:

KUBIET, Mary (Metz) “Jean” 91, on March 19, 2018, succumbed quietly from this life and returned to God, her creator, following a lengthy struggle with Alzheimer’s disease in the Memory Care Unit.

She is survived by her husband, Leo L. Kubiet; son, Dr. Martin A. Kubiet and daughter-in-law, Dr. Leslee of Palm Coast, FL; daughter-in-law, Ann Mahone Kubiet of Zephyrhills, FL; and sister-in-law, Doris Layne Kubiet of Fairmont, WV.

Other surviving family members are grandsons, Kurt Kubiet of Elgin, IL; Christopher Kubiet of Dover, NH; Alexander and Nicholas Kubiet of Palm Coast, FL; great-grandson, Charlie of Dover, NH; nephew and niece, Bradley C. and Alyene Burnett of Suwanee, GA.

Her eldest son, Larry Kubiet, passed in 2009 at age 62.

Jean was born September 12, 1926 in Fairmont, WV, the youngest of three daughters, to Dr. Clifford H. and Mary Joanna Metz. Her two sisters, Wanda Metz Thompson and Juanita Metz Burnett, also preceded her in death.

Jean and Leo were married in 1946 at St. Stanislaus Church in Monongah, WV. Following graduation, they moved to the Detroit suburbs when Leo pursued graduate studies at University of Michigan.

A former resident of Roseville, MI, Jean moved to Tierra Verde in May of 1968, joining her husband who became an Advertising Executive with the St. Petersburg Times/Evening Independent.

In Detroit, she was employed by J. L. Hudson Department Store and Chrysler Corporation.

She graduated from East Fairmont High School in May of 1945 where her activities included the “Yellow Jackets” championship basketball team and being a member of the well-noted Marching Band. She attended Fairmont State University where she was one of very few women in the Engineering program.

After moving to Florida, she was a Tax Consultant at H & R Block and later, a Sales Agent at Jack Tourtelot Real Estate on St. Pete Beach.

With her husband, Jean enjoyed traveling, often serving as tour guides for numerous travel groups. Together, they toured all 48 contiguous US states as well as Alaska and Hawaii. Other destinations included Canada, Mexico, the Caribbean Islands, England, Ireland, and many other countries in Asia, Europe, and Scandinavia.

Residing at Bay Point Britany Condominiums in St. Petersburg, she was active in the Red Hat Society, Steering Committee, Women’s Club, and Rutland House Social Committee.

For more than 44 years, Jean was an active parishioner at St. John Vianney Catholic Church in St. Pete Beach and was also a member of several committees at the parish parochial school.

At St. Pete Country Club (formerly Lakewood), she was active with the Lakettes, which traveled to Mexico and numerous Caribbean Islands, including Puerto Rico, Jamaica, Nevis, and Kitts, for tennis vacations.

The Kubiets were members of St. Petersburg Yacht Club in St. Pete and Pass-A-Grille in St. Pete Beach for over 44 years.

Following a move to Pinecrest Place Independent Living in Largo, Jean was a member of St. Patrick Catholic Church.

A Memorial Funeral Mass will be held at St. Patrick’s in Largo on a later date to be announced. Burial of cremains will take place at the Florida National Cemetery in Bushnell.