Obituary of Mary Theresa Pascavage

Mary T. Pascavage January 27, 2007 Mary Theresa Pascavage, 81, entered immortality Saturday, at approximately 3:10 pm, during her stay at the Compassionate Care Hospice of Dover in Saint Clares while surrounded by close family members. In character with her resolute nature, Mary left this world on her own time clock and did not linger idly for the arrival of several other family members and friends en route to bid their last farewells. She anxiously and joyously joined her previously departed immediate family members her angelic daughter, Kathleen A. Banta (January, 2005) and her doting husband, Eugene F. Pascavage (June, 1975) in eternal peace. Mary Theresa was the steadfast matriarch of a family. She was born on April 20, 1925 the first of three children to Frank and Maria Sylvia Veltri (nee Barone). Her innate independence and determination are not surprising, considering her status as the eldest daughter of two Italian immigrants from Lago (Calabria), Italy, who braved the rough Atlantic in search of a better life in Throop, PA, via Ellis Island. Not surprisingly, she displayed the same sense of hope demonstrated through her desire to look deep beyond the surface and find the goodness in others. A child reared during the Great Depression, she knew neither vanity nor greed for material goods but, instead, always preached the need to make do and be satisfied with what one had, not gawking over the fence in search of greener grasses. She married Eugene F. Pascavage, an aerial gunner in the United States Army Airforce, who served during the Second World War, on August 17, 1946, in Throop, PA. After giving birth to their only daughter, shortly after on April 13, 1948, the three of them relocated to a new development entitled Birchwood Village in Dover, N.J. Eugene went to work with the Lackawanna Railroad and Mary set to work transforming their new house into a warm and inviting home. Mary will always be remembered as a woman firmly devout to the values of loyalty and family. Those close to her always took comfort in her dedication to their woes. Although she suffered through quite severe bouts of depression following the deaths of both her father and daughter and enduring the pain of several medical procedures related to her heart, kidney, and cancer-associated afflictions, she never wanted to burden others with her problems. Even during her final days, her primary concern was not placing any unnecessary stress of grief on her immediate family members and friends. As such, even her immediate family was ignorant to the details of the criticality of her demising health and many were taken by surprise when she so quickly transformed from her rambunctious self into a heavenly body in the world to come. While the ones she left behind take solace in the short-duration of her final days, she will be sorely missed by the several occupants and frequent visitors of her home on Daniel Street where she resided as the original owner for the past 50 years.