Mary Angela (Stolar) Charney

Mary Angela (Stolar) Charney, 89, a first-generation American and lifelong resident of Ford City, passed into eternity on Sunday, October 23, at the Armstrong County Health Center. She was born in Ford City on September 28, 1922, the sixth child and only daughter of Joseph F. and Mary E. (Chvila) Stolar. The defining elements of her life--commitment to family, religious faith, Slovak heritage and language, music, patriotism and community pride--were forged and interwoven by the profound influences of her family's immigrant experience and the Great Depression.Mary's parents had known each other in Soložnice, a small village in western Slovakia (then Austria-Hungary), where they planned to marry. They came to the U.S. separately through different ports of entry when her father was recruited as an hourly laborer for Pittsburgh Plate Glass Company; they re-united in Ford City years later; and were married in the original Holy Trinity Parish Church he had helped to build. Their home on Sixth Avenue, built by her father and brothers with what they earned as musicians at weddings and other Slovak events in four counties to supplement the family's income from the glass factory, was lost for taxes in the mid-1930's. Financial assistance for college was non-existent when she graduated from Ford City High School; tenth in the FCHS Class of 1940, she almost certainly would have qualified for scholarships that became available in later years. She dreamed of joining the U.S. Navy but, when she was 18 and single, the only women accepted into military service were nurses; by the time World War II created demand for non-medical women in the military, she was no longer eligible, because she was already married and expecting her first child.On August 4, 1941, Mary married Michael J. 'Kaiser' Charney, a naturalized citizen who had emi-grated with his mother Mary E. 'Chabrak' (MarcinÄak) and brother John P. 'Sutty' Charney, from Veľke Zalužice in eastern Slovakia the year before she was born; his father, John A. 'Kolesar' Char-ney, had been in Ford City for almost nine years at the time, and his brother George 'Djury' Charney was born late in that year. Her husband died in 1984, three months shy of their 43rd anniversary. She often joked that they had had two chaperones on their honeymoon because, on their way to New York City, they took her mother and a brother to Gloversville, NY, so her mother could visit a sister she had not seen for more than 30 years. Her husband's parents lived in the same block and visited her home several times a day; they and his brother John relied on her to explain and assist with all their official, financial, and medical affairs. Despite economic hardships on a PPG hourly employee income, she was determined that their children would be equipped to pursue education opportunities and interests she missed; toward that end, she filled their home with reference books, music, and other support ma-terials. She was justifiably proud that each of their seven children attended Holy Trinity Parochial School and graduated from either FCHS or Lenape Vo-Tech School; six went on to college; four earned postgraduate degrees; all had personally satisfying, meaningful, and rewarding careers: two taught in New Jersey secondary schools and colleges; two were union plumbers on major building projects in the Washington, D.C. area; one held various positions in three federal-level government departments; one became self-employed in the flooring trade after a tour in the U.S. Air Force; and one was a career military officer.Religious observances were major events in the immigrant neighborhoods of Ford City, and Mary was a devout Roman Catholic all her life. She was an active parishioner of the former Holy Trinity Parish and later Christ, Prince of Peace Parish into which it was consolidated in 2002. She had attended daily Mass while at Holy Trinity Parochial School and resumed doing so when her husband took his pension from PPG in 1983. Together they attended the late afternoon Mass at St. Paul Monastery (Kittanning) after she finished work at the Ford City PPG Federal Credit Union. Following his death and her retirement, she continued the practice at the monastery, mornings in both of her parishes, or wherever possible when traveling until she was no longer physically able to do so. She was a Lay Eucharistic Minister at Mass, a Eucharistic Minister to the Homebound, and a choir member in both parishes, and she helped gather Catholic residents for the Pauline Fathers' weekly Mass at the Armstrong County Health Center for almost ten years. At Christ, Prince of Peace, she belonged to the St. Vincent de Paul Society, helping at its Ford City food bank and representing it on the working group that established the SVdP Thrift Store in Kittanning; she was also an auxiliary member of the Legion of Mary. At Holy Trinity, she was the first Eucharistic Minister to take Communion to non-relative homebound parishioners. Initially asked to serve only two individuals within a block of church once each month, she soon learned of other Catholics at home in Ford City and in nursing homes or personal care facili-ties near town who had no regular contact with their churches; so she expanded her ministry and even-tually spent more than two hours every Sunday, holy day, and First Friday each month traveling more than fifteen miles to take Communion to 30+ Holy Trinity parishioners and Catholics from other re-gional parishes. Her list of people unable to participate in in-church liturgy was the basis of Eucharistic Ministry to the Homebound during the Partner Parish-phase of the consolidation of Ford City's Roman Catholic parishes (Holy Trinity, St. Francis of Paola, St. Mary) and the home support element of the subsequent Health Ministries at Christ, Prince of Peace Parish. She continued to serve in this capacity until just shy of age 85, when mobility issues and declining health forced her to stop. She served on Holy Trinity Parish Council for two terms and was a lector at Mass and other liturgies for more than 20 years. She was a charter member of the Christian Mothers & Ladies Guild, serving as its first treasurer and second president; she participated in its annual bus trip to a Rosary Rally at the cathedral in Greensburg and continued to attend it alone after the bus was discontinued; she prayed the Rosary daily throughout her life, either alone or sharing it with her passengers enroute to bingo games out of town. Although she professed to detest baking and cooking, she helped to prepare traditional Slovak pastries for semi-annual bake sales and cabbage-and-noodles for its booth at Ford City Heritage Days each year.Preservation of her ethnic heritage was important in Mary's life. Her parents had observed traditional Slovak holiday and liturgical rituals in her childhood home (her middle name was chosen to honor the archangels whose feast day is celebrated the day after her birthday); she continued them in her own home and passed them to her children. During Holy Week, she wove the traditional crosses and cones from palms distributed in church on Palm Sunday and provided packets of these items to each indivi-dual and facility she visited as a Eucharistic Minister; she also taught annual classes at the Divine Redeemer School and the Ford City Public Library, passing this tradition to others. She had grown up bilingual, speaking Slovak at home, with neighbors and children of other Slovak immigrants in town, and at the Sokol Club, a fraternal organization where she and her family participated in theatrical pro-ductions. Though she had a little formal instruction in the language initially at Holy Trinity Parochial School, she could not explain Slovak grammar or usage rules as she exposed her children to it in daily conversations with her family and in-laws. Her fluency remained so good, however, that on the first of her three visits to Slovakia in the mid-1980's, people questioned when she had emigrated to America. She was especially pleased that her skill in Slovak enabled her to travel across the country to see where her husband had been born and to meet and communicate directly with more than 100 of her own and 50 of his relatives. She was frequently asked to translate formal Slovak documents or personal correspondence that people of the Ford City area discovered among deceased relatives' possessions, a service she continued to provide even through her last years of ill health. Having witnessed firsthand as a child how non-English speakers were often exploited in official and financial matters, as an adult she was determined to mitigate their disadvantages whenever possible. Elected Ford City's tax assessor in the 1954, she visited all Slavic (Slovak, Polish, Ukrainian) families in town to explain the significant differences between tax roll designations 'retired' and 'pensioned.' She personally ensured that their status was accurately reflected and that they were taxed accordingly, saving many families substantial amounts of money from inappropriate classification. In 1964, she began working at the Credit Union as a clerk; she was there for 23 years, their first employee to retire, and provided personalized attention and advice as an assistant treasurer and loan officer to help members, many of whom were Slavs for whom she explained matters in Slovak, maximize their financial circumstances and quality of life. She was a member of the National Slovak Society and the First Catholic Slovak Union (Jednota) Branch 200 in Ford City, for which she was a delegate to the FCSU quadrennial international convention three times. She was on the Slovak C.U. Club Board of Directors and belonged to its C.U. Ladies Auxiliary. She contribu-ted memorabilia for displays during Ford City's Centennial celebration and holiday light-up events at the Armstrong Historical Museum and attended and participated in annual regional events that highlight the many, diverse cultures and nationalities of Western Pennsylvania, sharing Slovak foods, history, folk dances, and music at the University of Pittsburgh Slovak Day and Pittsburgh Folk Festival. Mary loved to sing and contributed a solid alto to a number of choirs in the local area. A charter member of the Ford City Heritage Choir, for more than 28 years she never missed a scheduled annual performance--Ford City Heritage Days, the Ford City Lion's Club Memorial Eve Candlelight Service and American Legion/VFW Memorial Day services in town and at local cemeteries, Armstrong Firemen's Association Memorial, and hymn sings in various churches--or any of its special appearances (Arm-strong Folk Festival, Dayton Fair, Armstrong Historical Museum events, Ford City Area Hall of Fame induction ceremonies, dedications of Sugarcreek Recreation Park and Ford City Veterans' Bridge, and events throughout the year as part of Ford City's Centennial Celebration in 1987, when she wore a traditional Slovak costume and provided pronunciation guidance and translations for Slovak songs). She was also a member the short-lived Armstrong Community Choir that performed at Ford City/Kittan-ning Ministerium-sponsored events throughout Armstrong County and the Guardian Angel Choir organized to sing for two special services at St. Mary, Our Lady of Guadalupe Church in Kittanning. For ten Christmas seasons, she coordinated transportation for carolers to visit and sing in both English and Slovak for Holy Trinity parishioners confined to their homes or nursing facilities. She participated in every regional songfest of Catholic parish choirs for 12 years, even when she had to 'go it alone,' and she represented Holy Trinity Parish in all choirs formed over an 18-year period in Armstrong, Indiana, Fayette, and Westmoreland counties to sing at special events honoring Diocese of Greensburg priests. Noting how much it meant to bereaved families at Holy Trinity to have the choir present for funerals, she advocated and led cooperation among all Catholic parish choirs of the area--St Mary, Kittanning; St. Lawrence, Cadogan; all three Roman Catholic and St Mary Ukrainian (Byzantine Catholic) parishes in Ford City--to provide choral music at every church funeral. Sometimes that meant she was at funerals six days in a row, occasionally singing for two or more funerals on the same day. She requested that a Ford City funeral director allow choir members at a cemetery committal service to sing a concluding hymn; other funeral directors quickly adopted the practice and used it as part of services by all denominations. This new 'tradition' routinely included songs specifically requested by family members, usually in Slovak or Polish. Mary was proud to be an American, and she made time to be part of annual patriotic and community events in Ford City as often as possible; she attended events elsewhere in Armstrong County and surrounding counties regularly as well, frequently taking a full carload of others with her. She belonged to the American Legion Auxiliary of posts in Kittanning and Worthington and attended meetings of the Armstrong/Indiana County Council for many years. She was a Cub Scout den mother and a Brownie troop leader, supporting her sons and daughters as they went to camping events and earned merit bad-ges and religious awards at all levels of Boy/Girl Scouting. She enjoyed her travels around America and Europe, but she was happiest at home in Ford City, commenting frequently that she preferred her half-a-double-house in town to larger, more elegant homes anywhere else. She had always been good with figures and finances, and she served as treasurer of her Class of 1940 reunion committee and sev-eral bowling leagues. She actively supported fundraising efforts of churches, schools, libraries, fire companies, service organizations, and other non-profit groups, purchasing tickets for their raffles and dinners and both playing and taking up to five others at a time with her to bingos in a 50-mile radius of Ford City.Mary was a good athlete, and she enjoyed almost all sports: she had played softball and basketball in her youth and participated in Sokol gymnastics tournaments for many years. For more than 63 years, she bowled in four local leagues and competed in 33 annual Jednota international tournaments, placing first or second in team and individual events six times. She participated in local Senior Games 14 times. She followed and cheered for Ford City Little League and FCHS football, basketball, track, volleyball, and hockey teams; enjoyed watching Freeport's international baseball tournament: and was a lifelong fan of the Pittsburgh Pirates. In later life, she developed an intense interest in the Steelers and Penguins, even though she didn't understand the rules of professional football and hockey, and when confined to personal care and nursing facilities in her last years, she became interested in golf and soc-cer as well. She was an avid reader and a skillful Scrabble player, liked to work crossword and jigsaw puzzles, played cards with several clubs, and took occasional trips to casinos to play the slots. She cherished time spent with her family at summer or holiday get-togethers and for their milestone events. Mary was preceded in death by her parents; her husband; sons Joseph J. Charney of Upper Marlboro MD and Andrew M. Charney of Fairfax VA; a stillborn daughter; brothers Stephen and Paul Stolar, whom she never knew because they had died in infancy before she was born, and John P. Stolar of Ford City; Joseph M, 'Posey' and his wife Mary (Kondrc) Stolar, and Andrew M. 'Ishky' Stolar, all of Ford Cliff; her parents-in-law; and brothers-in-law and their wives John and Anna (Ondo) Charney of Ford City and George and Eleanor (Crytzer) Charney of Melvindale MI.Mary is survived and will be sorely missed by sons Zigmund F. (Marcia Heurich) Charney of Fairfax VA; Raymond P. Charney of Parker AZ, who was with her in Ford City since 2008, and William J. Charney of Hackettstown NJ; daughters Elizabeth L. (Charney) Cieri of Morris Plains NJ (known to local friends as 'Betty Lou') and Grace M. Charney of Ford City; daughters-in-law Elaine (Gates) Charney of Apex NC and Susan (Biel) Charney of Fairfax VA; nine grandchildren and seven great-grandchildren: Carrie Beth (Lewis--Richard) Crawford and two daughters of Fairfax VA; Joseph J. 'Jay' (Hayley) Charney, Jr., two sons, and daughter of Bath MI; Michael W. (Jennifer) Charney, daughter, and son of Cary NC; Troy M. (Heather) Charney of Raleigh NC; Jill D. (Cieri--Anthony) Aquino of Newton NJ; Todd D. Cieri of Morris Plains NJ; Thomas M., Stephanie A. and Lisa E. Charney of Fairfax VA; eight nieces and nephews and their families: Marlene (Stolar--Richard) Easley of Kittanning; Esther (Charney) Rogulsky of Apollo; Joanne (Charney) Reed of Worthington; Melissa (Charney--John) Austin of Adrian MI; John A. (Patty) and James Charney of Kittanning; George J. (Pam) Charney of Grosse Ile MI; and Richard (Mary Ann) Charney of Allen Park MI; and cousins and extended family in New York, Ohio, Canada, France, and Slovakia.The family requests that donations be made to either Divine Redeemer School or the Ford City Area Public Library/Community Center in lieu of floral tributes. Friends will be welcomed by her family from 2 to 4 and 6 to 8 p.m., on Friday, October 28, 2011. A prayer service will take place at the funeral home at 10 a.m., Saturday, October 29, followed by Mass of Christian Burial at Christ, Prince of Peace Church, 736 Fourth Avenue, at 10:30 AM. Committal will be at Holy Trinity Cemetery, Manor Township, with a luncheon to follow at the Slovak C.U. Club, 912 Sixth Avenue, Ford City.

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