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Married:
- http://newsfeed.rootsweb.com/th/read/MATTESON/2001-11/1004657715
From: "Carol M. Wilkerson"
Subject: Leona Matteson Tasillo
Date: Thu, 1 Nov 2001 15:35:15 -0800
Hi,Mattesons,
Just wanted to post my great aunt's obituary.
Carol Metzger Wilkerson
Portland, OR
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Coudersport, Potter, PA
Leona M. Tasillo, 93, of 108 W. Chestnut Street died Sunday, October 28, 2001 at Charles Cole Memorial Hospital.
She was born at the family home on Fishing Creek Road, Hebron Township on February 7, 1908, the daughter of Arthur and Dawn Thompson Matteson.
Mrs. Tasillo's life was closely tied to the history of the Hebron-Crandall
Hill Community. Her father was a woodcutter who became one of Potter
County's early potato growers on Crandall Hill. She was active in
organizations and events of the community from the time of her childhood until her death.
A sharp memory which went back to her early childhood made Mrs. Tasillo an important link with the past. She takes with her a credible oral history
which extended, thanks to conversations with relatives as a child, back before the time of the American Civil War. Her first-hand recollections
spanned most of the 20th century. Her memory, keen up until the time of her
death, was an important historical and genealogical resource.
Leona Matteson Tasillo attended the Hydorn School in Hebron for the first
eight years of her education before moving to the "new" Coudersport High
School (now the Adelphia Old Elementary School Building). After graduation in 1926 she attended the Mansfield Normal School for 11 summers while teaching throughout the school years.
On November 24, 1936, she married Joseph N. Tasillo. He was a fireman and engineer for the Coudersport and Port Allegany Railroad. Joseph died Jan 17, 1970.
Her long career as a teacher began at the Hebron Summit School near South
Branch Road in Hebron Township. In 1927 she taught for one-year at the
Greenman Hill School, moving the next year to the two-room schoolhouse at
Coneville. She was at Coneville for several years before moving to the
two-room Oswayo Borough School. She also spent one year at the Kenyon School near Oswayo.
Mrs. Tasillo later returned to Coneville and then moved to the Sweden Valley
School where she taught for many years before the school was closed in 1961 and was consolidated into the "new" Coudersport Joint Elementary School. She taught mostly in second grade classrooms at Coudersport Elementary School and, following her retirement after 37 1/2 years, she continued as a substitute teacher for many years.
Her life of service extended well beyond her years as a teacher. Able to
drive until the summer of her 93rd year Mrs. Tasillo helped provide
entertainment, dignity and support for many friends and relatives.
She was a member of the Potter-Tioga County School Retirees Association.
She was also a member of the Park United Methodist Church and was active in the monthly Ladies' Prayer Breakfasts.
Surviving are her nieces, Mrs. Everett (Marjorie) Gooch and Mrs. Kirk (Dawn)
Newton, both of Coudersport, and Wanda Metzger of Lemoyne (the widow of her nephew, Arthur Metzger) and their families.
In addition to her parents and husband, she is preceded in death by a sister, Thelma Metzger.
Friends may call from 2:00 to 4:00 and 7:00 to 9:00 p.m. on Wednesday at the
Fickinger Funeral Home. Friends may also call at Park United Methodist
Church on Thursday from 10:00 to 11:00 a.m. at which time funeral services will be held with her pastor, the Rev. Daniel H. Jordan, officiating. Burial will follow in St. Eulalia Cemetery.
In lieu of flowers, the family requests memorial donations may be made to
Potter County Hospice, 1001 E. Second Street, Coudersport; the Coudersport Public Library, Park Avenue, Coudersport or Park United Methodist Church, 15 E. Third Street, Coudersport.
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