Waterbec

Elizabeth “Bessie” Kutch Waterbec, 98, passed away at the VNA Inpatient Hospice Care Center in Butler on Tuesday.

She was born on April 27, 1913, to Frank and Rose (Chernetski) Kutch in Lyndora. She grew up in Red Row just off Hansen Avenue. She graduated from eighth grade from Homeacre School and worked for the Kirkpatrick family on Pearl Street in Butler housecleaning and taking care of their children.

A large part of her lifetime was spent as a meat clerk at the R.J. Ferguson Grocery on Locust Street, Friedman's on Monroe Street and Dillon's Meat Market on Jefferson Street, all in Butler.

She was the oldest living member of the Saints Peter and Paul Ukrainian Orthodox Church in Lyndora and recalled watching it being built when she was a young girl. She actively supported her church by working at Ukrainian Hall making and selling pirohi, nut rolls and breads for many, many years. She was an excellent cook and took great pride in meal preparation. Stuffed cabbage and homemade brownies were two of her sought-after specialties.

She was married to John Waterbec from Nov. 6, 1939, until his death on Dec. 17, 1996.

She is survived by two children, Lynn (Kenneth) Andres and John (Joan) Waterbec, both of Butler; five grandchildren, Laura (Gregory) Gray of Norfolk, Va., Michael (Michelle) Andres of Butler, David (Donna) Andres of Olathe, Kan., Rebecca (Paul) Miller of Butler and Mark (Sandra) Waterbec of Butler; seven great- grandchildren, Craig, Logan, and Alyssa Andres, Zachary and Kendal Miller, and Bailey and Dalayne Waterbec; and two half-sisters, Ann Minton of Butler and Rose Marie (Michael) Ostwinch of Prospect. She also is survived by a niece, Joann Snodgrass of Butler and a nephew, Robert Rapier, of Woodsboro, Md.

Her siblings, John Kutch, Pauline Silk, Mary Rapier, Katherine Korab, Helen McCourt and Joseph Oluschak predeceased her.

<B>WATERBEC</B> — Friends of Elizabeth “Bessie” Kutch Waterbec, who passed away on Tuesday, Jan. 17, 2012, will be received at the <B>Geibel Funeral Home</B>, 201 E. Cunningham St., Butler, from 4 to 8 p.m. Thursday. Funeral services will be at 10 a.m. Friday at SS. Peter and Paul Ukrainian Orthodox Church, 21 Evergreen Road, Lyndora. The Rev. Paisius McGrath, pastor, will officiate. Interment will follow in the Rose Hill Cemetery, Butler.Parastas services will be at 8 p.m. Thursday at the funeral home.The family requests that memorial donations be made to SS. Peter and Paul Ukrainian Orthodox Church.Information also is available at www.geibelfuneralhome.com.