Rachel M. Deigan Kotula
Rachel M. Deigan Kotula, 97, of New Eagle, passed away peacefully Monday, March 18, 2013, while lovingly surrounded by her family.
She was born February 22, 1916, in New Eagle, a daughter of Thomas and Rachel Cerzeo Deigan.
Mrs. Kotula was a lifelong New Eagle resident and always enjoyed the traffic noise from Main Street.
She graduated from Monongahela High School and was one of three remaining members of her class.
A lifelong member of St. Damien of Molokai Parish, Transfiguration Church in Monongahela, she served her church in many ways. She was a smiling donut lady, “the boss,” and she diligently scrubbed pots and pans for the church festival and often cleaned the church. Mrs. Kotula also was a member of the Altar and Rosary Society, in which she enjoyed the friendship of all the other lovely ladies.
She married Andrew Kotula February 20, 1939, in a simple ceremony held on a Monday.
Mrs. Kotula was a woman of tradition and a very hard worker. She washed clothes Mondays, scrubbed the floors on her hands and knees and swept the coal dust from the sidewalks. She baked on Saturdays, made a roast every Sunday and planted and tended to her garden. She was a simple unassuming soul, never one for attention but she loved deeply and unconditionally. She was a role model to her family and to the world as a whole. Never one to seek acknowledgement, she served like Jesus, quietly and with a joyful heart.
She enjoyed being surrounded by her children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren. She loved the joyous noise of a busy get-together. She was a kind and caring person, always concerned with others. The most important thing to know about Mrs. Kotula was that she was deeply and truly loved by her family and will be terribly missed.
Surviving are her children, Donna Jo Wood and husband Thomas of Harrisburg, Brother Joseph Kotula, Order of Friar Minor of West Clarksville, N.Y., and Andrea Hruby and husband John, with whom she made her home the last few years; five grandchildren, Joe Harrison of Monongahela, Amy Hinton and husband Jack of Harrisburg, Jennifer Brower and husband Todd of Grand Rapids, Mich., Jeff Hruby and wife Melissa of Nottingham Township and Elizabeth Hruby McCabe and husband Justin of Pittsburgh; and 10 great-grandchildren, Matthew and Michael Harrison, Anneliese, Eliana and Benjamin Brower, Austin, Aliza, and Madison Hruby, and Kyle and Ryan Hinton.
In addition to her parents and 11 siblings, deceased are her husband, Andrew Paul Kotula, who died February 20, 1993, and a daughter, Patty Ann Kotula, who died September 28, 1946.
Friends will be received from 2 to 4 and 7 to 9 p.m. Thursday in Frye Funeral Home Inc., 427 West Main Street, Monongahela. A Mass of Christian Burial will be celebrated at 10 a.m. Friday, March 22, in St. Damien of Molokai Parish, Transfiguration Church, Monongahela, with the Rev. William Terza and the Rev. Daniel Riley, OFM, con-celebrating. Committal services and interment will follow in Monongahela Cemetery.
The family requests memorial donations be made to Mt. Irenaeus – Franciscan Mountain Retreat, P.O. Box 100, West Clarksville, NY 14786. Condolences to the family may be made by visiting www.fryefuneralhome.com.