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1925
2017
Catherine Anna Svetahor died Saturday, Feb. 4, 2017, at 5:45 a.m. in Brandon, Fla., of dementia, at age 91. Catherine, the daughter of Joseph and Anna Kozlesky, was born Nov. 28, 1925, in Dorothy, Pa. She was the youngest and last surviving of Joseph and Anna's 10 children, who were (in order of birth) Anna, Mary, Stanley, Joseph, Julia, John, Anthony, Frank, Albert and Catherine. She graduated from Latrobe High School in 1943. Catherine survived the Great Depression as a child helping to raise crops and tend the family animals necessary for small village survival. She also frequented the nearest railroad tracks gathering fallen coal from off of the trains. Her fondest memories during this time were of Ducking Days and ice skating at St. Vincent College. During World War II, she supported the war effort by writing to servicemen serving overseas and also worked at the Kennametal plant in Latrobe on war production. Catherine was married to Paul P. Svetahor on June 26, 1948. Paul died Jan. 23, 2011, after 62 years of marriage. She is survived by their four children, Nicholas Svetahor and his wife, Lillian, Nancy Fenton and her husband, Steve, Emil Svetahor and his wife, Dody-Jane, and Janice McElroy and her husband, Kevin. Catherine and Paul were blessed with 12 grandchildren, Paul, Ivan, Ilya, Jessica, Jared, Lindsay, Markus, Jenna, Emily, Caitlin, Nicholas and Andrea; and 12 great-grandchildren. Catherine has been a member of St. John the Evangelist Church since birth. For the church, Catherine served for 17 years as a member of the parent/teachers guild for its school. She was a lifelong member of the Rosary Society and prayed the rosary daily throughout her life. For the past three years she has lived with her eldest son, Nicholas, and his family in Gloucester, Va., and most recently in Valrico, Fla. She will be missed as "Mom," "Grandma," "Great Grandma," "Aunt Kusha," and to many, "Kush."
Family and friends will be received from 3 to 5 and 7 to 9 p.m. Thursday at the JOHN J. LOPATICH FUNERAL HOME INC., 601 Weldon St., Latrobe. Members of the St. John Rosary Altar Christian Mothers will recite the Rosary at 2:30 p.m. Thursday in the funeral home. A funeral Mass will be celebrated at 10 a.m. Friday in St. John the Evangelist Church, Latrobe. Interment will follow at St. Mary's Cemetery, Latrobe.
To sign online guestbook, send condolences or to view detailed obituary information, please visit www.lopatich.com.
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