Cecilia (Kunie) Tkacz was born on November 9, 1919 in Yugoslavia. Leaving home to work in Austria, she met and married Peter Tkacz and with their three children they immigrated to the United States in 1951 and settled in Monaca, PA.
Cecilia was very active in her church, St. John the Baptist of Monaca, who sponsored the family when they came to the community. Cecilia always wanted to give back to the church for the kindnesses shown over the years. She spent many Saturdays making home made donuts with her own special recipe to benefit the Christian Mothers Organization. She loved to bake and shared the blessings of her abilities with so many others.
Cecilia was employed in housekeeping services at the Monaca High School and later at the Fourth Ward School in Monaca. She was known by many of the students as “the milk lady” because she dispensed the milk at lunch and break times. She loved to work with the children at the school and took a great deal of pride in the meticulous way she cared for the school property. Anyone who visited the school or worked there could attest to her diligence. There was rarely a job she undertook that she could not accomplish. She loved to walk with a friend or alone and enjoyed tending her gardens.1
She is buried at Sylvania Hills Memorial Park, Rochester.