Matthew and Anna second child was my Aunt Kate. This is bound to be a short post, because I don't know very much about her. She married John Zedar sometime after 1930 and had two children, a boy and a girl. They were around the same age as my brothers and sister, but since I am 10 years younger I did not spend much time with them. John Zedar was my godfather, but I have no real memories of him. I believe he was diabetic and lost his legs. I remember visiting their house and he would be on a couch on the front porch. Aunt Kate was in a wheelchair when I knew her, but I have pictures of her standing earlier than that. She suffered from Muscular Dystrophy, a disease that is normally not hereditary, but which is hereditary in my family. You will see this condition mentioned for several family members as I continue this blog.
I remember Kate's son bringing her to the family farm to visit sometimes when we were there on the weekends. John didn't come. Sometimes a woman named Goldie came with them. I believe she was John's sister. Goldie had Downs Syndrome. She seemed lonely, not fitting in with the adult conversation or with us kids. I remember taking to her a few times, but don't know what happened to her.
Kate and John lived in Forest City, PA until John died in 1986. Kate then spent her last year in Florida with her daughter and died there. Kate is buried at St Tikhons in South Canaan, PA, but John is buried in Union Dale, PA.
Can anyone tell me any more about Kate & John?
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Email from Janet:
ReplyDelete"I remember Aunt Kate as "very proper" if that is the phrase. She always had that regal air about her. She gained my respect and attention when she came to visit at the farm. Her children were brought up prim and proper. Almost you would say "elegant". They were always dressed to a "T". When I spent a week at their house one summer I was surprised to see how meager their household was. I expected them to live in a fancier place. But it was a warm happy place. That weekend stands out more than any other visit with them. It was an enjoyable time. As I know we went there several times to visit. I remember most her potato pie she made. It still brings memories to me at odd times. It was shredded potatoes just fried as a big pancake in a frying pan. She must have added onions and eggs or something to it. It was sliced in the pan to serve. Makes my mouth water to think about it.
If I remember correctly I am not sure if Goldie was a relative or not. I do know from my week that she lived a few blocks away (as JoAnn and I walked there several times) Helping Aunt Kate was a job that she could do. And she was proud of herself for working there. She would come every day to help her with the household chores. I don't remember Uncle Jack either as he didn't visit us at the farm very often. I know his name was John but I am quite sure he went by Jack instead. It used to be confusing having 2 Uncle Jacks that I barely knew."