The Derrick, January 9, 2009: Josephine P. Bleakley, Hanover, N.H., longtime Venango County resident Margaret Evanek Colyvas, Walker Farm Road, Huey Martha Opal Whiting Comet, 11 Woodside Ave., Oil City Debra S. Hoban Wescoat, 13650 Newton Town Road, Titusville Getting it right - Edna M. Elder Josephine P. Bleakley, 96, a longtime Venango County resident, died Saturday, Jan. 3, 2009, in Hanover, N.H., following a very brief illness. Born in August 1912, in Bridgewater, Nova Scotia, she was the daughter of the Rev. George and Alice Pifer. The family returned to her parents' native Pennsylvania in the 1920s. She received a bachelor of arts in music from Susquehanna University and became a public school music teacher and then a caseworker for the Dept. of Public Assistance. Subsequently she received an M.S.W. from the University of Pittsburgh and worked for Travellers Aid Society in Pittsburgh. She was married in 1945 to Gale H. Walker, M.D., and they moved to Polk where Mrs. Bleakley lived until his death in 1958. She then worked at Children's Aid Society in Oil City. She was married in 1961 to R.R. Bleakley Jr. and the couple resided in Franklin until Mr. Bleakley's death in 1983. Mrs. Bleakley moved to Hanover, N.H., in 1989 to be close to her daughter and grandson. Mrs. Bleakley sat on the boards of the Franklin Hospital and the Venango County Mental Health Center. She was a member of Wednesday Club, the Venango County Historical Society and the Franklin Club. Her activities at St. John's Episcopal Church, her church home for 44 years, included the choir and St. Hilda's, St. Monica's, and Altar guilds. She also loved participating in the long-running Tuesday afternoon ecumenical Bible study group. After moving to Hanover, Mrs. Bleakley joined St. Thomas Episcopal Church and became active in its parish life. Mrs. Bleakley was an organist in her earlier years. She enjoyed attending organ recitals and savored the efforts of church organists and choirs. For many years, she filled her homes with piano music, often with her daughter stretched out on the floor under the piano. She was a skilled needleworker and shared both the results of her work and her time in teaching beginners. Mrs. Bleakley is survived by her daughter, Mary Crittendon; four stepsons, W. Scott Walker and Peter, Robert, and Steven Bleakley; and 11 grandchildren, Rollin Crittendon; Tyler, Morgan, and Brandon Walker; Jennifer, Sarah, Gregory, Steven Jr., and Aaron Bleakley; Kimberley Graham; and Jocelyn Gandhi, as well as great- and great-great grandchildren. Mrs. Bleakley is also survived by two sisters, Madeline Feist and Mary Littlefield. In addition to her husbands, Mrs. Bleakley was predeceased by her brother, George Pifer, her sisters, Mildred Synder, Ruth Boettger and Henrietta Van Vorst, and stepsons, Theodore Walker and R. R. Bleakley III. A funeral service will be held at 10 a.m. on Monday, Jan. 26, at St. Thomas Episcopal Church in Hanover, N.H. Interment will be in Franklin in the spring. In lieu of flowers, memorial donations may be made to St. John's Episcopal Church, 513 12th St., Franklin or Franklin Public Library, 421 12th St., Franklin or St. Thomas Episcopal Church, 9 W. Wheelock St., Hanover, N.H., 03755. Rand-Wilson Funeral Home in Hanover is in charge of the arrangements. Margaret Evanek Colyvas, 92, of Walker Farm Road, Huey, formerly of Washington, DC., passed away at 5 p.m. Wednesday, Jan. 7, 2009, at the Clarion Hospital following a short illness. There will be no viewing and a private family funeral service will be held Saturday at the Richard D. Hillis Funeral Home in Rimersburg. A complete obituary notice will appear in Saturday's Derrick. Martha Opal Whiting Comet, 100, of 11 Woodside Ave., Oil City, died at 12:27 p.m. Wednesday, Jan. 7, 2009, at UPMC Northwest in Seneca. Born Oct. 18, 1908, in Cherrytree Township, she was a daughter of James Henry and Martha Anne Haun Whiting. Mrs. Comet was a graduate of Titusville High School. She worked after graduation at the John Barber Insurance Agency prior to working for United Natural Gas in Oil City. She was married Sept. 10, 1941, to John A. Comet, who survives. Mrs. Comet was a member of Grace United Methodist Church in Oil City. She also belonged to the Monday Club, the Venango Chapters of the Daughters of the American Revolution and the Daughters of the American Colonists, the Belles Lettres Club, Wanango Country Club and the Franklin Club. She was a board member of the Girl Scouts of America and was responsible for naming Camp Singing Hills. In addition to her husband, Mrs. Comet is survived by two daughters, Susan Jane Friedman and her husband, Ronald, of Boalsburg and Linda Anne Koretz and her husband, Kenneth, of Oakland, Calif.; five grandchildren, Alison, Jonathan and Andrea Friedman and Andrew and Peter Koretz; a brother-in-law, Robert Eric Comet and his wife, Karen, of Suffolk, Va.; and numerous nieces and nephews. In addition to her parents, Mrs. Comet was preceded in death by five brothers, Forest Whiting, Herbert Whiting, Lawrence Whiting, Glenn Whiting and Ralph Whiting, and two sisters, Edith Baily and Mildred Nelson. Friends may call from 2 to 4 and 7 to 9 p.m. today at the Morrison Funeral Home. Funeral services will be held at 11 a.m. Saturday in the funeral home with the Rev. Byron K. Myers, pastor of Grace United Methodist Church, officiating. Interment will be in Breedtown Cemetery. In lieu of flowers, memorials are suggested for Grace United Methodist Church, 100 Central Ave, Oil City, 16301, or for a charity of one's choice. Debra S. Hoban Wescoat, 52, of 13650 Newton Town Road, Titusville, died at 12:41 p.m. Wednesday, Jan. 7, 2009, at her home. She had fought a courageous battle against cancer for the past two and a half years. Born July 16, 1956, in Oil City, she was the daughter of Rose Marie Butryn Hoban and the late Edward J. Hoban. She was married June 10, 1978, in St. Walburga Church in Titusville, to Robert Wescoat. She was a 1974 graduate of Townville High School and a 1978 graduate of Edinboro University, earning a bachelor of arts degree in elementary education. Mrs. Wescoat was last employed as a pharmacy tech with Wal-Mart. She was a former volunteer with the Lake Erie Regiment Drum and Bugle Corp., Girl Scouts and Boy Scouts. She was gifted in many areas; she played trombone with the group Shades of Time in Townville. She was also a seamstress who enjoyed making wedding gowns, bride's maid dresses and clothes and wedding cakes. Mrs. Wescoat especially loved being a grandmother to her two grandsons. In addition to her mother and her husband, Mrs. Wescoat is survived by two children, Jennifer L. McCord of Titusville and Jeremy L. Wescoat and his wife, Amanda, of Pittsburgh; two grandsons, Trystan James McCord and Aiden Nicholas McCord of Titusville; four brothers, Mark Hoban and his wife, Helen, of Guys Mills, Mike Hoban and his wife, Sandy, of Pleasantville, Greg Hoban and his wife, Sherri, of Meadville and Dan Hoban of Union City; two sisters, Kathy Hoban and Diane Price and her husband, Mike, all of Titusville; and numerous nieces and nephews. Friends may call from 2 to 4 and 7 to 9 p.m. Sunday at the Gordon B. Garrett Funeral Home, 303 N. Washington Street, Titusville. Funeral services will be conducted on Monday at the funeral home. Interment will be in Diamond Cemetery. Memorial contributions may be made to Hospice of Crawford County, 310 N. Monroe St., Titusville, 16354, or to the Titusville Area Food Bank, 134 W. Central Ave., Titusville, 16354. Getting it right - Edna M. Elder Edna M. Elder, 98, 522 Elder Road, Sligo, died at 3 a.m. Wednesday, Jan. 7, 2009, in the Clarview Nursing and Rehabilitation Center where she had resided for the past two years. Mrs. Elder was the last surviving member of her immediate family. She was preceded in death by five sisters, Ada Murray, Ila Carberry, Mildred Miley, Myrna Myers and Mary Shontz, and five brothers, John Eshbaugh, Gerald Eshbaugh, Harry Eshbaugh, Gilbert Eshbaugh and Leslie Eshbaugh.