Julia (Rohulich) Wozniak

Julia liked to tell the story of how she was the first baby born in the newly minted coal patch of Bobtown, in 1926, and how the town grew up around her. Technically, she was born in the family living quarters above the Rohulich Store, which stood just outside the town limits and the jurisdiction of the local coal baron, J&L Steel. Another, darker, memory was of her being put to work as a small child, hauling cases of canned goods out of the basement and into the store, which led to a myriad of orthopedic problems later in life. Like many Bobtowners of the era, she was a graduate of Point Marion High School and, during the war years she worked in the paint shop of Almar Metal Arts, which existed where the Point Marion VFD stands today. In 1952, she was married to Frank Wozniak in the former St. Nicholas Byzantine Catholic Church of Newtown, PA. They enjoyed many interesting years together until his death in 2008. In later years, Julia attended Holy Assumption of St Mary Byzantine Church in New Salem, PA. Julia was a homemaker, which in her specific case involved skills in bookkeeping, accounting, money management, parenting, and education. She actually had her daughter reading at a college level by the time she reached first grade, and installed a lifelong love of reading and learning. Julia loved Elvis, and The Beatles, and cello music. While she liked dogs, and had fond memories of Sergeant, the German shepherd she had as a child, she positively adored cats. And babies. And enjoyed birdwatching, gardening, and walks in the family woodlot where she could name the plants that grew there. She was a treehugger, decades before such a thing became fashionable; indeed, the many trees she planted around the family home thrive today. Julia’s daughter the many people at Mapleshire who cared for Julia during her long illness, especially Rose and Kerry, and Bettina, or Bethesda, as Julia renamed her. A lot of these wonderful people actually became a surrogate family. Julia Rohulich Wozniak is survived by her daughter Julieann, who regarded her mom as her best friend, her sisters-in-law Elizabeth Rohulich of Bobtown, Margaret Wozniak Williamson of Greensboro, Vern Wozniak Cullen and Rose Wozniak Novacich of Point Marion, Dorothy Wozniak Dmochowsky of Eugene, Oregon, and Agnes Puckett of Hillsville, Virginia; not to forget numerous nieces and nephews; and special friends, Amy Basnage and Ruth Bilonick. In addition to her husband, she was preceded in death by her brothers Johnny, who was killed at St. Lo in WWII, and Charlie, and her sisters Susan and Olga. Friends, and anyone who loved Julia, are invited to attend a Memorial Mass on Saturday, March 16, 2013 at 10:00 A.M. in St. Ignatius R.C. Church, Bobtown, with Rev. Fr. Lawrence V. Holpp officiating. In lieu of flowers, friends and family can make a donation to Catnip Acres of Greene County (www.catnip-acres.org).

Julia (Rohulich) Wozniak

January 1, 1753 - March 16, 2013