Obituaries

Charles (Chuck) Gregory Essey, 65, of New Galilee, passed away Tuesday, June 6, 2023 at UPMC – Jameson Hospital. Born October 3, 1957 in Lancaster, PA, he was the son of the late Charles Essey and Betty (Campbell-Essey) Kennedy. Chuck was an avid outdoorsman who spent much of his time in nature. His favorite places included the McKenzie River and the Santiam River areas in Oregon. He loved fishing, camping, and target shooting with his various guns and rifles. He also loved animals, especially his dogs, Toby and Buddy. Chuck was a wonderful artist and he found joy in creating…

Esther M. DeCaro Phillips Carosi, 94, of Palm Bay, Fla., passed away June 3, 2023, in Florida. Born in Elwood City on Nov. 6, 1928, she was a daughter of the late Luigi and Ciara Bilott DeCaro. She was employed as a government administrative specialist. She was a member of Saint Joseph Roman Catholic Church, Palm Bay, Fla., and All Saints Parish, Saint Paul Roman Catholic Church in Butler. She was also a member of the Sons of Italy, of Palm Bay, the Greater Palm Bay Senior Center, Senior Resource Association in Vero Beach, and the Alzheimer & Parkinson Association…

Ronald J. Geddes, 72, of Ellwood City passed away Sunday, June 4, 2023 at UPMC Mercy Hospital after a long hard battle. Born October 9, 1950 in New York City, NY, he was the son of the late William L. and Virginia Ann Allen Geddes. Ron and his family lived in Mannheim, Germany until 1960. He then lived in Florida where he graduated from T.R. Robinson High School in 1969. He studied at Butler County Community College and Penn State. Ron had retired from Lark Enterprises where he worked as a supervisor from 1984 until 1999. After retiring, he worked…

Linda Menold Bates, 83, of New Castle passed away Saturday, June 3, 2023, at Quality Life Services. She was born January 28, 1940, to Howard and Louetta (Nicholson) Menold, in Ellwood City. She was survived by her husband of 13 years, Donald “Don”  Bates of New Castle. Linda grew up in Ewing Park and was a 1958  graduate of Lincoln High School.  She then went on to nursing school and became an Operating Room Technician. Her career started in Pittsburgh, where she had worked on one of the first Kidney Transplant teams in the US.  In 1965, Linda moved to…

Carolyn J. Keane, 81, of Ellwood City passed away Thursday, June 1, 2023 at The Grove At New Wilmington. Although in ill health, death was unexpected. Born April 5, 1942 in Ellwood City, she was the daughter of the late William and Lavada (Welsh) Sobeski. She was married for 55 years to Thomas W. Keane Sr. as they were married August 12, 1967. Carolyn was a member of the Divine Grace Parish and their Christian Mothers Association. She also was a member of their Banner Group and enjoyed making pierogies for the annual St. Agatha Bazaar. Carolyn graduated from Lincoln…

David L. Michels Jr., 64 of Ellwood City passed away on Friday, June 2nd, 2023 at the Butler Memorial Hospital. David was born on September 17th, 1958 in New Castle to the late David L. and Norma (Shaffer) Michels Sr.. He attended Laurel High School and Vo-Tech of Lawrence County. He worked for Burrelli’s in New Castle, and then for McElwain Motors in Ellwood City as an auto mechanic. David most recently was the owner and operator of Dave Michels’ Garage where he did major and minor car repairs. He enjoyed motorcycles, especially Harley Davidsons. He is survived by his…

Carol J. Johnson, 76, of Ellwood City passed away on Tuesday, May 30, 2023 at Crescent Place in Ellwood City. She was the daughter of the late William and Elda (Booher) Ewing and was born July 27, 1946 in Ellwood City. She is survived by her children; Jeffrey Steffler and his wife Paula of Fort Ashby, WV, her daughter; Darci Wheat and her husband Freddy of Chesapeake, Va, her grandchildren; Dean Steffler, her siblings; Connie Ferrante and her husband James of Neshannock and Robert Ewing and his wife Lenore of Ellwood City, and Terri Lynn Ferguson and her husband Paul…

Robert D. “Bob” Anderson, 64, of Edinburg passed away Sunday, May 28, 2023 at his residence following a lengthy courageous battle with brain cancer. Born June 27, 1958 in New Castle, he was the son of the late Alan L. Sr. and Doris McConnell Anderson. Bob had graduated from Vo-Tech in 1976. He worked as a field service technician for Burns Industrial Equipment and was the former owner of Anderson’s Lawn Service. He was a current member of the First Assembly of God Church in New Castle. Bob always kept busy and enjoyed working. Family vacations to Ocean City MD…

Our dear Verna Lee Cortes, 85 of Ellwood City passed away on Thursday, May 25th, 2023 at the UPMC Passavant Hospital in McCandless Township. Verna Lee was born on January 13th, 1938 in Ellwood City to the late Violet M. (Matheny) Chapman. She was a member of the Divine Grace Parish, Holy Redeemer Church, where she was a Christian Mother and Bazaar Volunteer for many years. Verna Lee worked in sales at Airway Industries and then as a beauty consultant for Elizabeth Arden at Kaufmann’s and Lancome at Horne’s. She will be always loved, never forgotten, and forever missed. She…