Friday, August 28, 2020

Steve Mikulski 40th wedding anniversary


 

 

 

 

 

 

Steve Mikulski, Class of 1964, and Holly White Mikulski, celebrated their 40th wedding anniversary.

 

They live in Hanover, Pennsylvania, after 28 years in Germantown, Pennsylvania. Steve grew up in Carolina.

 

Steve is a whiz with computer programming, once including a 115-mile round trip daily to teach it at Quince Orchard High School in Gaithersburg, Maryland.

 

He was “retired” for 3 days from teaching engineering design in Montgomery County public schools in Maryland.

 

He has about a half-century of teaching computer programming.

 

Fairmont State grad Steve’s wife Holly retired  in 2017 after 22 years of teaching in the Montgomery County school system.

 

Daughter Linda Marie Mikulski was there for their retirements.

 

Another daughter, Kristen Mikulski Mitchell, who lives in Istanbul, Turkey, is married to Nick Mitchell and is a 2004 WVU grad.

Steve’s siblings are Tom Mikulski, Class of 1966, who grew up in Carolina and lives in Henderson, Nevada; David Higinbotham, of Greensburg, Pennsylvania; Catherine Rogers, of Fairmont; and Susan Morgan Perrotto of Cupertino, California.  

Steve was born in his grandparents’ house on First Street in Carolina in the same neighborhood as Harold Dean Kniceley.

Steve’s mother was the late Violet Morris Higinbotham Mikulski, Class of 1944, who was married to Eugene Higinbotham and then Stephen “Charlie” Mikulski. Violet’s parents were Courtie “Jack” and Eunice Louise (Belt) Morris. 

Violet lived in Carolina, where she worked in the U.S. Post Office from 1936 until 1968, when she moved to Monongah. She was a Certified Registered Nurse Anesthetist at Fairmont General Hospital for 30 years.

Tom’s son, Tom B. Mikulski II, is a 1986 North Marion High grad who lives in Denver, Colorado.

Sunday, August 23, 2020

Jonetta Palmer Collins health report

 

 

 

GoFundMe for Jonetta Palmer Collins

Johnboy Palmer set up GoFundMe for his sister, Jonetta Palmer Collins, daughter of John Ed Palmer. June is their other sibling.

Jonetta is a North Marion High grad who graduated from Fairmont State in Elementary Education.

Jonetta is battling stage 3 Triple Negative Breast Cancer. In September she will begin a series of surgeries to attack the cancer.

Her daughters are Angelina and Lydia. They live in Monongah.

If you want to donate to Jonetta’s cancer treatment, click on

https://www.gofundme.com/f/jonetta039s-breast-cancer-support-fund?utm_source=customer&utm_medium=copy_link&utm_campaign=p_cf+share-flow-1&fbclid=IwAR2LzDHLtif7qOPfoIVOIexNVGor3vOOeY5FmFbENmAvKpjFPKHYKjiuwos

Saturday, August 22, 2020

Gary Myers, Class of 1964, passes away

 

 

 

 

Gary Sherman Myers, Class of 1964, passed away Thursday, August 20. He lived in Fairmont with his wife for 49 years, Dina Jan Myers.

Their children are Tracy Preston Myers and the late Trent Sherman Myers.

sHHHis twin brother, Larry John Myers, also Class of 1964, operates Larry Myers Hyundai in Bridgeport, where Larry lives. They have a sister, Sherry Myers Colanero, Class of 1965, who is married to Bob Colanero.

Gary was a football, basketball and golf coach at Clarksburg Notre Dame High School, a coach in Little League Baseball and a coach on the Fraternal Order of Police Pee Wee football team that won the championship in a Raleigh, North Carolina bowl game. Gary also coached basketball at Sts. Peter and Paul Catholic School in Monongah.

When not coaching for teaching he was an insurance agent for Henry and Hardesty and later Chamber and Flowers of Clarksburg and Accordia/Wells-Fargo in Clarksburg.

They attended the 2014 Monongah High Alumni Reunion in Fairmont.

Domico Funeral Home in Fairmont is handling Gary’s arrangements.

Gary’s obituary:

Gary Sherman Myers

July 18, 1946 - August 20, 2020

 

Gary Sherman Myers, 74, of Fairmont passed away on August 20, 2020. He was born July 18, 1946 at Fairmont General Hospital, a son of the late Kenneth Sherman and Goldie Jean Myers. His widow is Dina Jan Myers.

 

He graduated from Monongah High School and Fairmont State College. He obtained his Bachelor’s Degree and teaching certificate.

 

He taught high school in Lorain, Ohio, then returned to West Virginia to teach at Notre Dame High School in Clarksburg. While at Notre Dame, he was the head football coach and assistant basketball coach, as well as coaching golf.

 

He decided to pursue another career and left to work as an insurance agent. He began at Henry and Hardesty from which he moved on to Chamber and Flowers of Clarksburg. After 22 years, he went to work for Accordia/Wells-Fargo in Clarksburg from where he retired.

 

Through all this, he remained a sports fan and also coached Little League Baseball and F.O.P. football which he went to a bowl game at Raleigh, North Carolina where they became Pee Wee champions. He also coached basketball at Sts. Peter and Paul Catholic School in Monongah. Gary was a member of the Monongah Baptist Church.

 

Gary is survived by his wife, Dina Jan Myers, of 49 years; a son, Preston Tracy Myers; a daughter-in-law, Sharon Lynn Myers; and three grandchildren, Kelsie, Autumn, and Shadon; and a great grandson, Vincent Ganon Sauro. He is also survived by his twin brother, Larry with his wife Rickie Myers and his sister, Sherry with her husband, Bob Colanero; his nieces, Michelle and husband Bill, Missy and husband Scott, Marcy and husband Mike, and Mindy and husband Shawn; one brother-in-law, Harrison Tracy Thompson with wife Kim and children: Blake, Megan, Brooks, and Mary Katherine. Gary has 10 nieces and nephews; cousins; and others he also cared about.

 

Gary was preceded in death by Trent Sherman Myers, our loving son; Sue Livingston and her son, Eddy.

 

Dina wishes to acknowledge and thank her cousin Virginia for all the things that she has done.

 

Due to COVID-19 concerns, the services will be private. In lieu of flowers, the family requests that memorial donations be made to Monongah Baptist Church, 256 Lyndon Avenue, Monongah, WV 26554. Online condolences may be sent to the family at www.domicofh.com . Arrangements are under the care of Domico Funeral Home in Fairmont.

Thursday, August 20, 2020

60th wedding anniversary for Delmas Hartley and Peggy Workman Hartley

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Delmas Hartley and Peggy Lou Workman are celebrating their 60th wedding anniversary!

Delmas posted:

Today I am proud to say I have been married to my best friend and the love of my life Peggy Workman 60 years. Many said with Peg's Cherokee temper and myred head temper it would never last. Well, it’s been a great 60 years with 4 great children.”

Delmas, who started at Monongah with the Class of 1961 but left MHS in the winter of 1959, married Peggy, Class of 1959, in 1960. They lived in Elyria, Ohio. Peggy was in the legendary MHS band and Glee Club at Monongah High.

Delmas is one of three Hartley brothers who went to Monongah High from Worthington. Another is Gerald Nelson Hartley, Class of 1955, who moved to Orrville, Ohio. The third Hartley brother, David Hartley, Class of 1963, moved to Circleville, Ohio.

The Hartley brothers’ mother, Velma Hartley, who passed away in 2001, worked in Worthington’s Hertzog Drug Store run by Virgil Hertzog, father of Marylee Hertzog Gwinn, Class of 1948, who lives in Rockville, Maryland, and Dick Hertzog, Class of 1942, a WVU chemical engineering grad who lived in the Philadelphia/New Jersey area till his 2005 death. Their father was Gilbert H. Hartley, who passed away in 1999.

Gerry  Hartley --  who went by Nelson at Monongah High -- remarried after his first wife, Connie Robinson, passed away. Connie grew up in Worthington but graduated from Fairmont West after her family moved to Fairmont.

 

Connie's father and the father of Nancy Robinson Saunders, Class of 1950, were brothers. Connie's mother, Leona, and Nancy's mother, Hazel, were sisters. So sisters married brothers. Nancy was the prom date of John Olesky, Class of 1950, at Monongah High. Nancy's father and Jerry's father also were good friends, and visited each other often. Nancy passed away in 2008.

 

Gerry remarried Harry Parker’s widow, born Kathryn Smith on the Ohio side of the Ohio River near Wheeling. The two families had been friends for years. Gerry’s daughter, Kathy Hartley Purcell, lives in Richmond, Kentucky. He had another daughter, Sarah Moore, who passed away in 2013.

Trudy Hartley Plaugher provided this information:

“Delmas Gene Hartley is the oldest. He graduated from Monongah High. Trudy Ann Hartley Plaugher, Carla Jo Hartley and Rocky Hartley graduated from North Marion. I almost made it through Monongah High.”

Delmas’ son, Delmas Gene Hartley, is Class of 1979, and Delmas’ daughter, Trudy Hartley Plaugher, is a 1982 North Marion graduate. 

Gerry didn’t meet Bobby Knight, Orrville’s famous basketball coach (Indiana and Texas Tech), but he did visit Bobby’s mother, Margaret Knight, at her Orrville home before she passed away.

Carla Hartley Vonfossen is a 1986 North Marion graduate. Rocky Hartley is a 1988 North Marion grad.

Tuesday, August 18, 2020

Louis Testa's daughter passes away

Louis Testa’s daughter, Luci Riggi, passes away

Luci Riggi, daughter of Louis Testa who built the President Roosevelt Lodge in Marion County, passed away Sunday, August 16.

Lucy’s obituary:

Lucy Riggi of Fairmont, passed away Sunday, August 16, 2020. She was born December 5, 1934 in Fairmont to the late Louis and Mary Testa.

Lucy was a graduate of West Fairmont High School class of 1952. She owned and operated Eighth Street Confectionery with her husband, Johnny, and retired in the early 1990s.

She is survived by her husband, Johnny Riggi, they were married February 16, 1953; one daughter, Jo-Marie Howard; one son, Michael Riggi and wife Kathy; a sister-in-law, Ruth Testa; and several nieces and nephews.

In addition to her parents, she was preceded in death by her brothers, Anthony, Benny, Julius, and Vincent; and sisters, Minnie Patricelli, Ellen Serge, and Eva Kiger.

The family would like to give special thanks to Lucy’s special niece Vicky Turner and her husband Tom of Sussex, NJ.

The funeral service will be at Domico Funeral Home, 414 Gaston Avenue in Fairmont, on Wednesday, August 19, 2020 at 1:00 p.m. with Father Joseph Konikattil officiating. Entombment will follow at Holy Cross Cemetery Mausoleum in Fairmont. Online condolences may be sent to the funeral home at www.domicofh.com .

Ronald Vernon passes away

Barb & Alicia’s brother Ron passes away  

1967 Shinnston High graduate Ronald Vernon, brother of Barbara Morris of Monongah and Alicia Buchanan of Hutchison, passed away Saturday, August 15 in Bridgeport.

Ron’s obituary:

Obituary of Ronald Curtis Vernon

Ronald Curtis Vernon, 71 years of age of Bridgeport, WV passed away on Saturday, August 15, 2020 surrounded by his family. He was born April 6, 1949 in Clarksburg, WV the son of the late of Robert and Joan Wilson Vernon.

 

He is survived by a daughter Caitlyn Vernon of Bridgeport, WV a son Ryan Vernon of Bridgeport, WV and their mother Sherrie Tennant of Bridgeport, WV. He is also survived by six brothers Randall Vernon of Clarksburg, WV, Richard Vernon and wife Tena of North Myrtle Beach, Bruce Vernon and wife Janice of Shinnston, WV, Roger Vernon of Morgantown, WV, Phil Vernon of Clarksburg, WV and Scott Vernon of Denver, PA; three sisters Barbara Morris and husband Carl of Monongah, WV, Alicia Buchanan of Hutchison, WV and Heather Stalvey and husband Greg of North Myrtle Beach, SC and many nieces and nephews.

 

Ron was a 1967 graduate of Shinnston High School and Fairmont State College with a bachelors degree in business. He served his country proud during the Vietnam War in the United States Navy. He worked many years for the Marion County Tax Office as a chief tax deputy. He enjoyed supporting his children’s activities as a youth sports coach and band chaperone. He was a true Bridgeport Indian fan and was instrumental in forming the Field for Tomorrow Committee to raise monies for the new turf at Wayne Jamison Field.

 

He will be missed by his family, his morning gathering of friends at Sheetz and the many fans at Indian games. Ron was a faithful member of All Saints Catholic Church and the Knights of Columbus, Council 872. A Service of Remembrance will be celebrated at a later date at All Saints Catholic Church. Condolences may be extended to the family at www.fordfuneralhomes.com . The Vernon family has entrusted the care and arrangements to the Ford Funeral Home, 215 East Main Street, Bridgeport, WV.

Monday, August 17, 2020

Lucille Herron Anderson passes away

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Juanita Lucille Herron Anderson, Class of 1950, passed away July 9.

 

Her daughter, Emily Anderson Davidson of Owings Mills, Maryland, phoned me with the sad news today.

 

Lucille and I got together at the 2015 and 2005 Monongah High Alumni Banquets in Fairmont. We were born 7 months apart in 1932 during the Great Depression.

 

Lucille’s parents were Emma Lowe Herron and Dewey Herron. Lucille was the last survivor of the five Herron children, four sisters and one brother.

 

Brother Jimmie Lemoin Herron, Class of 1946, widower of Dortha Jean Fleming, Class of 1948, passed away in 2015. He lived in Barrackville. Dortha died in 2007. Jimmie survived the 1968 Farmington No. 9 mine explosion that killed 78 miners.

 

Other siblings were June Herron Slovekosky,  Mildred Herron McNece and Louise HerronerrHH Miller.

 

 

Lucille graduated from Fairmont State, where she also got her master’s degree. She was a teacher at Glen Burnie High School and Bates Junior High in Annapolis, Maryland till her 1992 retirement. She spent 26 years in the classrooms of Anne Arundel County.

 

 

Lucille was a six-time Worthy Matron of the Annapolis chapter of the Order of the Eastern Star and Deputy Grand Lecturer of the Grand Chapter of Maryland for many years.

 

During 1995-1996, her husband Sam Anderson was Worthy Grand Patron for the State of Maryland.

 

Lucille was married to Sam for 63 years. They traveled together throughout Europe, where Sam spend a lot of time while he worked for IBM, and the Americas.

 

They also spent a lot of time in casinos and at concerts, including those by Kenny Rogers and the Vienna Boys Choir in Austria and enjoyed the Passion Play in Oberammergau, Germany.

 

Besides Emily their children were Samuel W. Anderson, III of Easton, Maryland and Jennifer L. Blose of Winchester, Kentucky.

 

Lucille and Sam have nine grandchildren, eight great-grandchildren and one great-great-grandchild.

29 of our Class of 1950, which had 45 members, have passed away that I know of. So 16 others apparently still are alive.

 

Barbara Jean Bazuk Franklin

Barbara passed away in 2001. She grew up in Carolina. We shared an uncle from different directions, Steve Kerekes, who married Helen Olesky Kerekes, sister of my father, John W. Olesky, Sr. She married William Bunner, then Harold Franklin. She moved to Bluefield to Illinois to Pennsylvania to Fairmont. She had 2 sons and 8 grandchildren. She graduated from Fairmont State School of Nursing.

 

Mary Bienkoski Domico

She was 1 of 8 children of Matthew and Stella Bienkoski. She married Louie “Scoogum” Domico and had 5 children, 3 grandchildren and 4 great-grandchildren. Mary passed away in 2014. Scoogum also is deceased.

 

William Birdsell

Bill passed away in 1998 in Ocala. He gained fame in Florida as a golf course superintendent. His son ran the University of Florida golf course in Gainesville. Bill married Barbara Spencer Birdsell, daughter of Fairmont Field Club pro Reggie Spencer of Canada. Barbara also is deceased.

 

Kathleen Blagg Goldstein

Kathleen passed away in 2009. She was married to David Goldstein. They lived in Michigan. Kathleen lived in Farmington when she graduated from Monongah High.

 

Waldemar “Walter” Brzuzy

Class vice president Walter passed away in 1986 in Beaver, Pennsylvania. He was a star baseball and basketball player for Monongah High. He ran his father’s poker games at the PNA Tavern across from Thoburn School. He married Ruth Ann Butcher Brzuzy. They had 3 children and a granddaughter. Walter had 4 brothers and 2 sisters.

 

Deloris Butcher

Deloris was on the MHS newspaper staff and played in class tournaments.

 

Iris Martin Carpenter

Iris married Bill Carpenter. Iris and Bill had 3 children. Iris grew up in Monongah. Bill’s siblings were Lonnie Carpenter, James Carpenter and Nancy Carpenter Tharp, Clinton “Buck” Tharp’s wife.

 

Martha Jean Carpenter

Martha was on the Black Diamond yearbook staff.

 

Jim Commodore

Jim passed away in 2014 in Morgantown after living there for decades. His grandson, Shane Commodore, played football for WVU. Jim played football, basketball and baseball at Monongah High and was class treasurer.

 

Anthony DeMary, Jr.

Plumber passed away in 1989. He was part of the facietiously named Gang That Terrorized Marion County that included me. His siblings are Ann DeMary Eates, married to Joe Eates, both Class of 1945, and Jimmy DeMary, another MHS grad.

 

Theresa Demus

Theresa passed away in 2005. She worked for the federal Food and Drug Administration for 32 years.  She was known for her healing powers.

 

Geraldine Fullen Ross

Geraldine married Detroit firefighter Don Ross. They had 2 children, 4 grandchildren and 2 great-grandchildren. She was 1 of 13 children of Delbert Fullen and Rose Glover Fullen. She passed away in Harbor Beach, Michigan in 2017.

 

Richard Garrett

Richard, from Carolina, was on the Monongah High Student Council. His nickname was “Tin Ear.” He was MHS friends with the late Jim Commodore.

 

Lawrence Godby, Jr.

Sonny was Monongah High student body president and a Marine fighter pilot who served in Vietnam. His parents were Lawrence and Regina Godby. His sister, Jackie Godby, also is deceased. Sonny married Carol Yost Godby, also deceased. They had 2 sons.

 

Juniata Lucille Herron Anderson

Lucille lived in Maryland and Europe, where her husband Sam Anderson worked for IBM, before passing away in 2020. They had three children, nine grandchildren, eight great-grandchildren and one great-great-grandchild.

 

Agnes Jean Larry DiLaura

Agnes lived in Michigan and Henderson, Nevada in the shadow of Las Vegas before she passed away in 2015. She was Power model and owned a cleaning business in Michigan. She lived in Carolina when she was a Monongah High majorette. She had 3 children and 4 grandchildren.

 

Joe Manzo

Joe served his country in Korea. He was on the Monongah High student council and part of the faceitiously named Gang That Terrorized Marion County that included me. We roamed the county having fun.

 

Ann Manuel Richardson

Ann married Air Force veteran George Richardson and moved to Colorado. She passed away in 2011. They met in Washington while Ann was working for the government. They had 2 sons.

 

Virginia Manuel Eddy

Virginia was a Michigan teacher with two children. She predeceased her sister, Ann Manuel Richardson.

 

Iris Deloris Martin Carpenter

Iris married Bill Carpenter, brother of Monongah High’s Lonnie Carpenter, James Carpenter and Nancy Carpenter Tharp, Clinton “Buck” Tharp’s wife. Bill and Iris’s children are Will Carpenter, Class of 1975, who lives in Fairmont; Doris Carpenter Rogers, who lives in Charleston; and Amy Carpenter. Iris predeceased Bill.

 

Tom Orsini

Navy veteran Tom passed away in 2005 in Titusville, Florida. He widow is Monongah High grad Peggy Rauer Orsini, Class of 1959. They had 2 children. Tom played football for Monongah High and taught in Florida schools for more than 30 years.

 

Bill Pringle

Bill and 1950 grad Arnold Morgan went through Army basic training together before being stationed in Germany. Bill married Lucille Minton, the blind date that Duane Harbert, Class of 1951, set up for him. Bill and Lucille had 4 daughters, 8 grandchildren and 4 great-grandchildren and lived in Ohio.

 

Paul Rankin

Paul passed away in 1997. He married Sue Stepp of Logan, who predeceased him. They had 3 sons. Paul lived in Carolina during his MHS days.

 

Nancy Robinson Saunders

Nancy passed away in 2008. She was an Air Force veteran, Marion County Board of Education secretary and John Olesky’s Monongah High prom date. She married Ralph Saunders, also deceased. They had 2 daughters.

 

Hellen Snider Carpenter

Widow of Paige Carpenter, who passed away in 2002. She lived in Cottageville, West Virginia. They had 3 children, 3 grandchildren and 3 great-grandchildren. Hellen was 1 of 5 children.

 

Harold Spragg

Widow Karen Eddy of Fairmont. They lived in Winchester, Virginia.

 

Jim “Judge” Starcher

Jim played basketball for Monongah High.

 

Lyman Wadsworth

Lyman was the son of a preacher man. He was in the junior class play. He passed away in 1986.

 

Jim Wimer

Jim’s wife, Carolyn, predeceased him. He cared for his MS victim wife for 5 years before she passed away. Jim ran a furniture store in Fairmont.

 

Lucille’s obituary:

 

Annapolis – Juanita Lucille Anderson died suddenly on July 9, 2020. Born April 12, 1932, Lucille, as she was known to most, was 88 years old.

Lucille was born in Monongah, West Virginia to Emma and Dewey S. Herron. She attended Fairmont State Teacher’s College and obtained a bachelor’s degree and eventually earned her master’s degree. In 1954, she obtained a teaching position at Glen Burnie High School. Lucille taught home economics at Bates Junior High School in Annapolis for most of her teaching career. Lucille retired from teaching in 1992.

Lucille was a member of Calvery United Methodist Church. In addition, Lucille was a member and Past President of the Ladies of the Elks, Annapolis Lodge #622. Lucille was a highly active member of the Annapolis Chapter #46, Order of the Eastern Star, where she served as Worthy Matron on six occasions. She also served as the Deputy Grand Lecturer of the Grand Chapter of Maryland for many years. She enjoyed and treasured the many friendships and experiences as a result of her service.

Lucille married Samuel W. Anderson, Jr. on May 30, 1957 and they spent 63 wonderful years together. Subsequent to her retirement, Lucille and Sam became frequent travelers, both in the United States and abroad. She especially enjoyed the unscripted car trips throughout all of Continental Europe, England and Scotland. These trips allowed for spur of the moment changes and chance encounters that often led to amazing experiences. One of Lucille’s favorite and most memorable was a Christmas Day flight to Iceland, then on to Luxembourg and a sixteen day driving tour that included New Year’s Eve in Vienna, dining in a small French restaurant and walking the streets of Vienna with their new found Viennese friends. This was followed by attending the Boys’ Choir Mass and Vienna Philharmonic Symphony on New Year’s Day. This particular trip included a visit to the Chapel where “Silent Night” was written and a walk around the top of the city walls of Rothenberg, Germany. Lucille and Sam also enjoyed many cruises including the Caribbean and Hawaiian Islands. Other favorites included Mexico and cruising on the Mississippi River from New Orleans.
Lucille and Sam also enjoyed visiting casinos and often visited Atlantic City, Reno, and Las Vegas. In recent years, most of their casino time was spent at Harrington Raceway and Casino in Harrington, Delaware. As a frequent “flyer” Lucille and Sam were well known to all the casino’s staff and enjoyed seeing all of them. They often received “complimentary” trips to the Bahamas, Florida and Las Vegas and enjoyed attending concerts performed by entertainers such as Kenny Rogers, Jeff Foxworthy, and others.

Most of all, Lucille enjoyed and loved her family above all else. As a home economics teacher, Lucille enjoyed and was an amazing cook. Her fudge and homemade bread are legendary and these recipes will be passed down for generations to come. She especially enjoyed spending Holidays with the family (except when she abandoned her children to go to Europe), family dinners and in the later years, dining out with her family. Lucille was also an avid reader and Ravens fan.

Lucille is survived by her husband, Samuel W. Anderson, Jr., who will miss her beyond the expression of words, and her three children, whom she loved dearly, Emily A. Davidson, Owings Mills, MD, Samuel W. Anderson, III, Easton, MD and Jennifer L. Blose (Robert), Winchester, KY.

Lucille is survived by nine grandchildren and she loved them all: L. Michael Davidson, Jr. (Jean), Victoria L. Davidson, Jessica L. Anderson, VA, Jordan S. Anderson (Taylor), Jenna S. Anderson (Casey Joseph – FiancĂ©), LCDR Joseph S. Huck, USN (Alana), HI, Katherine J. Escobosa (Josue), CA, Allison M. Huck, Washington D.C. and Christopher H. Huck, VA.

Lucille was rarely photographed without an infant in her arms as she is also survived by eight great-grandchildren and one great-great grandchild. Her great-grandchildren include Kaitlyn Andercyk, Colton Anderson, Anthony Malloy, Taylor and Kevin Griffith, Reagan, Samuel, and Lucy Escobosa.

Lucille is also survived by her sister-in-law, Margaret Mary (Peggy) Caldwell and numerous nieces and nephews.

Lucille was preceded in death by her parents and her three sisters and brother.

Visitation will be held on Wednesday, July 15, 2020 from 2-4 pm and 6-8 pm at the Kalas Funeral Home & Crematory, 2973 Solomons Island Road, Edgewater, MD 21037. There will be a funeral service at the Funeral Home on Thursday, July 16, 2020 at 1 pm followed by a 2:30 interment at the Maryland Veteran’s Cemetery –Crownsville, 1080 Sunrise Beach Road, Crownsville, MD 21032.

In lieu of flowers, memorial donations may be made to the American Heart Association, the Wounded Warriors Project, or the charity of your choice.

351 years of service on Monongah Fire Department

 

 

 

 

The Monongah Volunteer Fire Department has been honored by West Virginia Fire Marshal for its 351 combined years of service!

Monongah Fire Chief Harless McCombs, Class of 1976, has been with the department for 45 years.

Josh Slagle is the department’s Fire Captain and has 19 years of service.  

All the members received Life of Service awards.

Harless is married to Monongah Middle School language arts teacher and children's book author Lisa Myers McCombs, Class of 1977. His brothers are Kevin McCombs, married to Vicky McCombs, and Bill McCombs, former Monongah Fire Department assistant chief and Monongah Water Plant chief operator forever till his retirement who is married to Monongah Town Recorder Patty Steele McCombs.

Lisa’s mother, Pat Myers, taught at Monongah Elementary and her father, John Myers, was the Golf Pro at Green Hills Golf Club for many years.

 

Because his dad also was named Harless, Lisa’s husband goes by “Mutt.” Mutt’s mom is Loretta June Fox McCombs.

Harless attended more than 200 consecutive football games in Mountaineer Field. That’s even better than my 30 years of season tickets to Mountaineer Field. Harless had an advantage: His mother started taking him to Mountaineer Field when he was 7 years old.

Bill’s wife is Monongah Town Recorder Patty Steele McCombs, a Fairmont East graduate deeply involved in promoting the annual Monongahfest Festival. They’ve been married 42 years. She moved to Monongah in her 20s, around the time she married Bill. Patty has been Town Recorder for 16 years. Bill has served on Monongah’s Town Council, off and on, for more than 20 years. And put in 23 years making sure Monongah’s water was safe to drink.

Bill and Patty owned for five years the Dairy Kone built and operated by Amelia Shenasky Zentz and her late husband Bruce Zentz.

Patty’s mother, Helen Lousie Stacy, passed away in 2017.

Saturday, August 15, 2020

90th birthday for Carl Vandetta

90th birthday for Carl Vandetta

·   

·         Carl Vandetta, Class of 1948, will celebrate his 90th birthday on Tuesday, August 18. Carl married Martha Robinson Vandetta, Class of 1952, from Worthington.

Carl’s parents were Felix and Agnes Vandetta.

Carl’s siblings were Shirley Vandetta DeMoss, who married legendary Monongah High baseball pitcher Frank DeMoss who led  the Lions to their only state baseball title in 1955; Jim Vandetta; and Betty Vandetta Dempsey.

I went to Monongah High with Carl and passed his family home many times on my way to my Uncle Frank Loss and Aunt Gezala Futten Loss’ home in Mill Fall. After leaving Pike Extension and the Vandetta home I crossed 2 bridges to get to the 100-acre Loss farm.

Gezala left Italy for America, stepping off onto Ellis Island in 1920 with her mother, Maria Fedrigon Futten, and my mother, Lena Futten Olesky, and their brother, long-time late Fairmont barber Si Futten.

Their father waiting for them in America was Severino Futten.