Betty A. Bugajski made her last curtain call on Monday, Feb. 28, at the age of 96 in her Palm Harbor home.
Born the seventh child to Anthony and Anna (Gawronska) Buckosky in Carnegie, Pennsylvania, Betty graduated from Oakmont High School, where she was part of the dramatic club.
Betty traveled by rail to join her soon-to-be husband Joseph Gasparich in San Diego ahead of his deployment during World War II to the South Pacific. She worked in a munitions plant there, ‘Rosie the Riveter’.
After the war, they returned to Oakmont, Pennsylvania, to raise their family, which included two girls and three boys. She worked as a bookkeeper, cook and waitress in the family business Four Tap Tavern.
Betty never stopped learning or working. She moved to Michigan before settling in Illinois.
She retired as a loaned executive from Centel to the United Way, retiring to Florida in the early 90’s.
Retirement didn’t stop her and husband Chester Bugajski as they enjoyed many activities available to them at Highland Lakes, including bowling, square dancing and pottery classes.
She especially enjoyed her time in Little Theater, both costume-making and on stage.
She was president of the travel club, which was perfect for her. She traveled to the four corners of the earth on cruises and land travel. Betty was a devout Catholic. She held a particular devotion to Our Lady of Czestochowa and visited the Shrine in Poland along with many other Marian sites.
Betty is survived by fiancé, Robert Rodgers; her children, Donna (Clarence), Kathleen and John (Margaret); 11 grandchildren; 16 great-grandchildren with one on the way and 5 great-great grandchildren.
In addition to her parents, she was predeceased by her husband, Chester Bugajski; her sons, Joseph and David; her siblings, Joanne, Ellen, Lillian, Chester, Jane and Renee; 2 grandsons and 2 great grandsons.
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