Catherine "Kay" (LaPatka) Migut

On Wednesday, July 21, 1920, Mary (Brinczko) LaPatka gave birth to a baby girl soon named as Catherine “Kay” LaPatka. Kay, baptized at St. Nicholas Orthodox Greek Catholic Church in New Castle, was the twelfth child born to Mary and her husband John LaPatka, who resided on a sixteen-acre farm on the outskirts of Chewton in Wayne Township, Lawrence County, Pennsylvania. John and Mary had both immigrated to the United States in the 1890’s from the Hungarian portion of the Austro-Hungarian Empire (an area now in modern-day Slovakia), met in the big city of Pittsburgh, had their first child in that city in 1901, and then settled up north in Chewton soon after.

The family name had traditionally been LoPatka, but sometime after 1914, the Reverend Frances A. Maloney, the pastor of St. Monica’s Catholic Church in nearby Wampum, apparently convinced patriarch John LoPatka to change the spelling to the more Americanized form of “LaPatka.” This was probably suggested as a way to distance the family from their native Austro-Hungarian homeland, which was aligned with Imperial Germany during the Great War (World War I). The more traditional LoPatka spelling could still be seen on occasion in the years to come.

When Kay was born the LaPatka family was living out on a farm on Tony Dytko Road, where they had relocated back in the summer of 1917 after having lived in the center of the small village of Chewton for many years. After Kay was born the LaPatka’s had four more children: Josephine was born in 1922, Irene in 1923, and twins Pauline and Paul were born in 1926 (though Paul died soon after). The LaPatka family, with thirteen children (of a total of sixteen) that survived infancy, ended up being the largest family in Chewton.

Kay and her siblings attended the Chewton Independent School District, comprised of three wooden schoolhouses located where the Chewton playground stands today. During the 1927-1928 school term Kay was in the second grade and had Helen Liddell as her teacher. She was in a combined second and third grade class and among her fellow students were Esther Sbarro, Paul Houk, Joseph Yarzibinsky, Victor Fidell, and Josephine Scala.

In the spring of 1934 she completed the eighth grade in Chewton and decided to attend high school in Wampum. Kay walked to Wampum to attend classes for the next four years. She also was a star on the girls’ basketball team for three years (there was no team her senior year) and was coached by John “J.D.” Shelatree. The girls played their home games in a small gym on the upper floor of the old Opera House (aka Butler Store) on Main Street. She graduated in May 1938 as one of the most popular students at the school. Her yearbook indicates Kay was voted “best female athlete.”

She soon met a young man from Ellport named George H. Migut. Kay had met him at various social dances around the area and they soon started dating. George was the son of Frank and Agnes (Jungfrau) Migut, who had both immigrated to this county from Poland at the turn of century and were married in about 1904. At the time of George’s birth in August 1914 the Migut family was living in Brady’s Bend Township in Armstrong County, Pennsylvania. George’s father was working as a miner in the extensive coal mines in Kaylor. I believe the Migut’s eventually had nine total children, although the 1910 Census reveals that two died young (I am guessing sometime between 1904-1909). Sometime in the mid-1920’s the Migut’s and their children moved west to Ellport and as father Frank found employment at the U.S. Steel Tube Mill in Ellwood City. George continued his education in Ellwood City and graduated from Lincoln High School in May 1933.

After dating a while Kay and George were married at S.S. Philip & James Catholic Church in New Castle on Saturday, June 8, 1940. George wanted to get married in that church and Kay had to take her Holy Communion before the service. The Reverend Father Vincente V. Stancelewski, the longtime pastor of the church, presided over the ceremony. Kay was just shy of her twentieth birthday and George was twenty-five. After the late morning service a reception with family and friends was held at the LaPatka farm in Chewton.

Kay and George took up residence with his parents on 1st Street in Ellport. George, an avid golfer and skilled softball player, had trouble finding decent employment in the local area. For a while he even went up to New York to live with a brother to see if he could secure employment up there. Before too long he returned home. In March 1941 their first child, a daughter named Shirley Ann, was born. Kay was a stay at home mom while George continued to look for a steady job. In 1946 he found it at the U.S. Steel Tube Mill, where his father Frank retiring was retiring at about the same time. George worked in the foundry at the “Tube Mill” and poured hot steel every day. This was a job most people dreaded, but George actually seemed to enjoy it. George got involved in local politics and later served on the Ellport Borough Council in the 1950’s and 1960’s.

With his new job George and Kay were able to buy their own home in Ellport. On October 8, 1948, they moved just up the road from his parents to #109 Hazen Avenue. This would be their longtime home.

Kay and George soon went through a period where the suffered quite a bit of personal loss. They had two more girls within the next few years, Diana Louise born in February 1949 and Sheila Marie in July 1950, but unfortunately both girls died young. At about this time Kay also lost both of her parents as her father John passed away in July 1949 and her mother Mary died in February 1952. George’s mother Agnes also died in March 1951, while his father lived on until he passed away in November 1957. Their sadness was tempered by the wonderful news that Kay gave birth to another daughter named Mary Catherine (“Mary Kaye”) in June 1954.

Both of their girls, born thirteen years apart, attended primary school at the Ellport Public School and then attended Lincoln High School. After high school they both settled in Ellwood City. Shirley graduated in May 1959, was married to Michael “Mike” Perry in November 1962, had two children born in 1963 and 1966, and helped manage the family business of Michael’s furniture store. Mary Kaye graduated in June 1972, continued her education at Mercyhurst College, eventually became a substitute school teacher, married James “Jim” Alfera in February 1983, a became a step-mom to Jim’s two children.

George continued to work at the Tube Mill for many years until it closed down in January 1975. The closing of the mill by U.S. Steel was an economic downturn for Ellwood City as the mill’s 1,100 employees were forced out of work. George, then age sixty and shy of full retirement, went to work for Ellwood Casting Company for another two years before retiring for good.

Kay and George settled into retirement at their home in Ellport. They took time to travel, George golfed and tended to his garden, Kay played lots of bingo, together they attended service at St. Agatha’s Catholic Church in Ellwood City, and they took lots of time to enjoy the company of their children, grandchildren, and great grandchildren.

In the early 1990’s George began to suffer from the effects of Alzheimer’s Disease. He slowly deteriorated and passed away at home on Friday, September 20, 1996. He was eighty-two years old. A viewing was held at the Joseph A. Tomon Jr. Funeral Home in Ellwood City on Saturday from 7-9:00pm and Sunday from 2-4:00pm and 7-9:00pm. A Mass of Christian Burial service, presided over by the Reverend Paul Henne, was held at St. Agatha’s Catholic Church on Monday at 10:00am. Afterwards he was interred in St. Agatha’s Cemetery (now Holy Redeemer Cemetery) just south of Ellwood City.

Kay stayed close with her sister Josephine “Jay” (LaPatka) Teck, until Jay passed away in September 2009. Katherine “Kay” Migut, who with her sister Pauline make up the last of the original LaPatka clan from Chewton, continues to live in her home on Hazen Avenue and celebrated her ninetieth birthday on July 21, 2010. Happy Ninetieth Kay! We Love You!!