Obituaries

Virginia M. Comcowich, 94, of Beaver, PA passed away Saturday, July 22, 2023, while under the care of Good Samaritan Hospice Beaver. Born December 17, 1928 in West Haven, CT, she was the daughter of the late Carmen Thomas and Alice Jasmin Thomas. Virginia lived most of her life in West Haven, CT until 2017 when she moved to Beaver, PA to be closer to her daughter and her family. She worked for many years as a bookbinder at Herlin Press and then worked at Pez until her retirement. Virginia always looked “put together” with her matching outfits, hair done,…

Jodi Lynn Piper-Minteer, 62, of Ellwood City passed away the afternoon of July 23, 2023, at UPMC Presbyterian Hospital, Pittsburgh, Pa. with her loving family at her side. Born March 1, 1961 in Ellwood City, she was the daughter of the late George O. and Catherine (Hamilton) Piper. Jodi married Jonathan Andrew Minteer on May 6, 1994. She was a1980 graduate of Riverside High School and received associate degrees in Accounting and Business Management from Beaver County Community College. Following graduation she worked at Mario’s Giant Eagle, several banks in the New Castle and Wexford areas and ultimately at Foodland…

Mrs. Grace Ciccozzi, 91, of Ellwood City passed away on Friday, July 21st, 2023 at the Good Samaritan Hospice House in Beaver. Grace was born on July 15th, 1932 in Ellwood City to the late Lugo and Mary (Maio) Ottavio. She graduated from Lincoln High School with the class of 1950, where she was in the “top ten” of her class. Grace worked at Blocher Jewelers as a bookkeeper and later for the Ellwood City Ledger as a press assistant. She is a member of the Divine Grace Parish, Holy Redeemer Church. She had volunteered for many years at Holy…

Mrs. Susan L. “Sue” Westlund, 78, of Ellwood City, passed away at 9:40 am at the UPMC Passavant in McCandless Twp., after a short, but hard battle with cancer. Sue was born on March 13th, 1945 in New Castle, to the late Joseph and Lillian (Ferrante) Evans. She was a 1963 graduate of Lincoln High School and was truly looking forward to their upcoming 60th class reunion. Sue had numerous jobs over the years besides being a loving wife and mother. She worked at the Ellwood City Knitting Mill, The Park Pharmacy and Keller’s Department Store. She and her husband,…

Mr. James R. Smilak, 74, of North Sewickley Twp. passed away on Wednesday, July 19th, 2023 at the Heritage Valley Medical Center. Mr. Smilak was born in New Brighton on September 11th, 1948 to the late Alex and Rose (Simko) Smilak. He is a member of the Beaver Falls High School class of 1966. James enlisted with the U.S. Army during the Vietnam War on November 28th, 1967 and served until his honorable discharge on July 11th, 1969 with the rank of SP 4. He was awarded the National Defense Service Medal, Vietnam Service Medal, and Vietnam Campaign Medal. Following…

Patricia Ann (Myers) Pyles, of Zelienople, formerly Darlington passed away peacefully on July 18, 2023 at the Lutheran Passavant Senior Living Community. She was beloved wife Of Robert Thomas Pyles, who passed away May 16, 2021 at the same facility. She struggled with his absence the rest of her life, having been side by side for 70 years (married November 13, 1950). She was born April 2, 1933 to Elfreida J (Merz) Myers and Corbett Vance Myers. Her father was an engineer on the Pittsburgh Lake Erie Railroad until his retirement as well as a farmer in Darlington PA. Patricia…

Gloria Ann Scheller, 93, formerly of Ellwood City passed away Tuesday, July 18, 2023 at Rochester Manor. Born August 20, 1929 in Everett, PA, she was the daughter of the late Porter and Faye Bottomfield DuVall. She was first married to the late Maynard Sheffield, then to the late Frank Scheller. Gloria had graduated from McConnellsburg High School. She was a member of the 1st Baptist Church in Ellwood City. She was an accomplished seamstress and loved music and traveling. She was a loving mother, grandmother, and aunt. Survivors include three sons, Terry (Sandra) Sheffield of Phoenix, Eric (Marge) Sheffield…

Randy A. Barkey, 55, of Ellwood City, PA passed away on July 18th, 2023 at UPMC Jameson following an extended illness. Randy was born the youngest of four children to the late Randolph and Evelyn Partington Barkey of Beaver Falls, PA on October 3, 1967. Randy, known to many as Butch, graduated from Beaver Falls High School in 1986. He was the owner of Barkey Construction for over 30 years. He was a member of the Beaver Valley USBC and participated in numerous leagues at Sims Bowling Lanes his entire life. He was an avid hunter and fisherman. His love…

Phyllis Jean LeViere, 95, of Perry Township passed away Monday, July 17, 2023 at Quality Life Services in Grove City. Born July 12, 1928 in Cedarville, OH, she was the daughter of the late Donald P. and Mabel C. Strobridge Snarr. She married David L. “Big Pa” LeViere on July 11, 1953. He passed away on April 22, 2006. Jean went to elementary school in Yonkers New York and had graduated from Arsenal Tech High School in Indianapolis IN. She then attended Indiana University in IN for 1 year before attending Anderson College in IN where she earned her bachelor’s…