Schlicht

Tracey Jo Schlicht, 53, died July 2 at Good Samaritan Hospice, Cabot, after a two-year battle against advanced ovarian cancer.

Born in Butler on Dec. 29, 1954, she was the daughter of Wilbur and Margaret "Peg" Morris Dumbaugh of Renfrew.

She was a 1973 graduate of Butler High School and a 1980 graduate of Mercy Hospital School of Nursing, Pittsburgh. Before deciding to become a nurse, she attended the University of Cincinnati Conservatory of Music on a voice scholarship and later transferred to Carnegie-Mellon University, where she auditioned successfully for the drama department.

A talented musician, she studied voice as a teenager with the late Lorenzo Malfatti of Pittsburgh and flute with Virginia Netchi of Gibsonia. While still in high school, she sang with the Shadyside Presbyterian Church choir of Pittsburgh and played flute with the Butler County Symphony. She also was vocal soloist at the First Church of Christ Scientist in Butler.

Tracey spent her high school summer vacations at Chautauqua Institution in Chautauqua, N.Y., where she auditioned for and won scholarships in flute and voice. She spent a third summer following high school graduation at the New York center studying with the Cleveland Playhouse.

But she decided against a career in the arts and chose to become a nurse. It was a decision she never regretted.

Her career began as charge nurse in the acute agitated psychiatric unit at the former St. Francis Hospital in Pittsburgh. Psychiatric nursing was her favorite assignment. She also worked at St. John's Lutheran Care Center in Mars, where she was head nurse in the skilled care unit, the Veteran's Administration Center in Butler, and Hillcrest Nursing Center in Grove City. She was working at Evergreen Nursing Home in Harmony, when she was diagnosed with advanced ovarian cancer in August 2006.

A woman of compassion with an incredible sense of humor that surfaced even during the most difficult days of her illness, Tracey's life centered on her family, her home, her patients, and a variety of pets, ranging over the years from guinea pigs to stray cats and a chocolate lab. From childhood she loved every living creature. In one of her last acts at Good Samaritan, Tracey was bundled into a wheelchair and taken to the garden courtyard where she could feed the koi in the fish pond.

She was a member of St. Peter's Episcopal Church in Butler. Her daughters described her as "quietly Christian" with a deep faith. An avid NASCAR fan, she enjoyed watching Sunday afternoon races. Her favorite driver was Tony Stewart.

She is survived by her husband, C. Andrew "Andy" Schlicht, whom she married June 20, 1981; two daughters, Audrey Jo Schlicht of Pittsburgh and Kerry Beth Schlicht of Butler; her parents; a sister, Kerry Dumbaugh of Springfield, Va.; her in-laws, Charles and Jeanne Schlicht of Butler; a brother-in-law, Peter Schlicht and his wife, Anne, of Sewickley; a sister, Dr. Lisa McPeak and her husband, Bart, of Seattle, Wash.; two nieces, Celena and Chloe McPeak; and numerous cousins, aunts and uncles.

<B>SCHLICHT </B>— Visitation for Tracey Jo Schlicht, who died Wednesday, July 2, 2008, will be from 7 to 9 p.m. Saturday and from 2 to 4 and 7 to 9 p.m. Sunday at the <B>Thompson-Miller Funeral home</B>, 124 E. North St. Services will be at 10 a.m. Monday at St. Peter's Episcopal Church, 218 E. Jefferson St., with the Rev. Bruce Geary officiating. Burial will be at Butler County Memorial Park.Memorial donations may be made to Special Olympics of Butler County, 129 Highfield Road, Butler 16001 or the Make-A-Wish Foundation, The Gulf Tower, 707 Grant St., 37th floor, Pittsburgh, PA 15219-1916.Information and a private guest book are available at www.thompson-miller.com.