Jun 12, 2023 11 min read

Lue Ann Pawlick had a long list of best friends.

A group of her family members, colleagues and close friends gathered Thursday at Alta Vista Business Park to unveil a bench in her memory, which is fitting as the park is one of the many parts of her legacy.

Pawlick, 60, formerly of McMurray and Carmichaels, passed away April 19, 2021, after a short but courageous battle with cancer.

Pawlick was diagnosed with a terminal form of cancer in December 2020, about a week after her 60th birthday. Like she did with almost any challenge in her life, she faced it head on in stride, with a smile and grace.

Though she didn’t live in the Mon Valley, Pawlick’s dedication and advocacy for small towns along the Monongahela River produced big results — with projects that will preserve her memory for years to come. After graduating from California University of Pennsylvania, Pawlick spent her life making sure businesses thrived in the Mon Valley, largely in her role with the Middle Monongahela Industrial Development Association, which consolidated with the Mon Valley Progress Council in April 2016 to form the Mon Valley Alliance.

Formed in 1966, MIDA developed successful business parks in Donora, Speers and Fallowfield Township with Pawlick at the helm.

The Alta Vista Business Park,

PAWLICK • A2 FROM A1 which is almost fully developed, was Pawlick’s vision nearly 20 years ago, so it was fitting for her friends to gather at the park, which is now booming with commerce, to admire a bench near the entrance that bears her name.

Guests heard from some of Pawlick’s closest friends and colleagues, though they were more like family to her. Nearly everyone was.

Kelly Jo Ellin, office manager of the Mon Valley Alliance, called Pawlick a sister and inspiration.

“We are here to celebrate her vision in what was one 250 acres of vast land, and co-founding of what has become and transformed in this beautiful and thriving industrial park known as Alta Vista,” Ellin said. “I have to say this is surreal to be standing here under this circumstance. “I remember back on July 3, 1993, when she was hired (as executive officer of MIDA). Throughout 25-plus years working side by side with Pawlick, she overcame every obstacle ever thrown at her and never took no for an answer.

“We weren’t only co-workers, but developed a sister-ship where we could confide in each other and our families,” Ellin continued. “She was a big sister I never had and I am so grateful our paths crossed. We learned, lived, laughed, loved and cried together. She was the glue that formed so many friendships for which I am forever grateful.

“She taught me to live life at its fullest. I am still devastated by her early departure at such a young age. She had so much more life to live, but she was a fighter and fought a good fight all of the way until the end. I miss her, but my memories of her will live on because she was such an inspiration to her and all of us.”

Diana Irey Vaughan, chairwoman of the Washington County Commissioners, was also a close friend of Pawlick. Their friendship created a domino effect of partnerships, projects and collaboration between their friend circles and colleagues over the years.

“She did not have the gift of a long life, but she did enjoy a very full life and she lived it with great heart,” Irey Vaughan said. “The most important aspect of her life, was relational, and if you were fortunate enough to be part of her work life, you would become her friend. She was an extraordinary woman who when going through her own storms always gave a smile and encouragement to others. She was one of the most genuine individuals I have ever had the privilege of calling my friend.”

Irey Vaughan said she watched Pawlick from a distance for many years in various aspects of her work. She admired Pawlick’s passion, dedication and tenacity in all that she did.

“I was always impressed and inspired,” she said. “Then one fateful night in 2007 at a California University gala, I was seated next to Lue Ann. When I shared with her that I had been kept from getting to know her better, she replied, ‘Then we need to be friends.’ From that night on, we collaborated on her work with MIDA, Alta Vista and our meetings usually ended with a glass of wine.”

She recalled attending a Fallowfield Township supervisors meeting along with Keith Bassi and Pawlick to plead with the township to extend a tax abatement program at the business park.

“She was successful, not surprising, because she was relentless in advocating for this park,” Irey Vaughan said. “The meetings we had, success we enjoyed, and probably the wine, blossomed a beautiful friendship. Respect and admiration developed the sisterly bond we shared.”

Irey Vaughan said one of her best traits was the bond she shared with her friends and the friendships she created.

“She was all about sharing, and sharing with her friends,” she said. “She was exceptionally good at bringing people together. She was expanding her network and her circle and when you were with her, she expanded yours.”

Irey Vaughan said Pawlick was responsible for creating the friendship she now has with John LaCarte, an important person in Pawlick’s circle for many years.

“I recently admitted to John that at first, I was intimidated by him, but Lue Ann brought us together and we became friends,” she said. “John’s friendship has been a gift from Lue Ann to me. Lue Ann gave so much to me I was happy to introduce her to my friends, and of course they hit it off. “That connection, the LIFT girls were born. Our LIFT group got together every month for dinner to share our faith. That is why we know we will see Lue Ann someday again in heaven.

“From the MIDA events to the groundbreakings and ribbon cuttings here, the pool parties, the chamber events, the happy hours, the formals and evenings of dancing, everywhere she went she lit up the room. She gave her whole heart to her family, her friends and her work. This park was her professional heart and it is so fitting she is remembered by this bench here today. Thank you for making sure the work and sacrifices of our colleague and friend are celebrated and memorialized. As Lue Ann lives on in our hearts, her legacy will live on in this park.”

LaCarte said Alta Vista is tangible evidence of the work she did and the legacy she left. The two had been friends for decades, meeting in 1992, when they realized they had something in common — the laundry business.

“That started a 30-year friendship, and we had a lot of common strengths and weaknesses,” LaCarte said.

He remembers working with Pawlick to find the perfect place for what is now Alta Vista.

“We walked through different parcels, woods and fields,” he said. “It became very evident, very quickly that I was terrified of snakes. I would walk around thinking I don’t want to go there and here would be Lue Ann, she would see a snake and she would just pick it up. She took care of the snakes.

“Her weakness was technology, so at least once a week she would call me up to see what was going on with her computer. So really, she took care of the snakes and I took care of the technology. So we made a good team in that regard.”

LaCarte said he always admired her tenacity for getting things done.

“When you do something like what you see here, you need someone like Lue Ann, who is going to get it done, never take no for an answer. I will tell you the entrance to the park here, is because she decided to put it on a township road.”

LaCarte explained that if the entrance to the park were placed on the Interstate 70, it would have cost millions of dollars for a traffic study, highway occupancy permit and changes to the interstate. That’s in addition to permits and years of additional work. “She was told she could not put it on the state road; they said it would take a traffic study and $80 million for a new interchange, so she asked if she could put it on the township road and there wasn’t a problem,” he said. “That was our solution. The road gets moved to Kennedy Drive, we need no traffic study, no occupancy permit, no $80 million interchange. It’s a perfect example of how she worked around problems and how we have come to have success here.

“This is a tangible legacy to Lue Ann. The noise going by is commerce happening. When we first walked this property together in the late ’90s, there was none of that. We named the park Alta Vista because it means high view. On a clear day you can see the top of the U.S. Steel Building. “Now there are all these buildings here, but what you don’t see is that there are 700 families supported by jobs in this park. Hundreds of thousands of dollars of tax revenue being generated by this park. That’s a long-lasting legacy of her vision and what was accomplished here and it will stand the test of time.”

LaCarte said one of her greatest joys and strengths was her ability to bring people together.

“My friends are her friends, and her friends are my friends, and that has truly changed my life,” he said.

He recalled nights of karaoke and the last time her saw Pawlick before she died, when her puppy Prince bit his lip as he was hugging her goodbye and she called him the next day to check in, see how he was doing and reminded him that he would always have a scar to remember her by.

Many in attendance Thursday have stories of long nights full of laughs, projects and hurdles — but the common thread of nearly all of them was Pawlick, who served as the glue to so many bonds.

“I think about her today. She is not here with us physically, but I am sure us being together, celebrating her and what has happened here, not only that but all of us connecting again, I know it is bringing her a lot of joy,” LaCarte said. “This would mean so much to her.”

After remarks, family, friends and colleagues headed to Kodiax Bar & Grill in Speers to enjoy, food, drinks and share stories, many of which her only son, Peter, may not have heard.

Friends say Peter was the love, light and joy of her life. His friends now tell him, as well as others who knew his mom well, that he has similar qualities to his mother.

“I think her legacy will live on through the relationships she built, from all of the people here today, not just this park and everything she accomplished,” Peter said. “It’s funny because my friends tell me I am the planner and the coordinator of the group, and it’s special for me to meet and see so many people who knew her say that about her, too.

“I’m also the one with all of the crazy ideas, the next business venture. I think I get that from her, too. Seeing her start with an idea and see what this has become is something truly invaluable to me. She’s an inspiration and she is still my inspiration.”

Several other family members attended Thursday, including Pawlick’s mother, Luella A. Galatic; brothers, John V. Galatic (Sandy) and Alexander Galatic (Colleen); and sisters, Valerie Mihota (John), Julie D. Thistlewaite and Madelynne K. Galatic (Mike Karafa).

The bench and garden can be seen at the entrance to Alta Vista. It will used be an area to relax, remember and look to the future with Pawlick’s legacy in mind for friends and family for years to come.