ROWE ELEANOR SUSAN KRAZESKI Died February 22, 2016, at age 89, leaving a legacy of volunteer service, unwavering devotion to her family and a bright smile that she wore often. Eleanor was revered by her five children, nine grandchildren and two great- grandchildren. She made friends easily and treasured their company. Eleanor's husband, Frank, died in 1988 of Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis. He was, she would say, "a good man" and his picture looked out from her bed stand for the past 28 years. Eleanor was born on June 7, 1926, in Newark, New Jersey to Susana and Anthony Krazeski. Susana died of cancer when Eleanor was just three and that lack of a mother or siblings gave Eleanor a rugged independence that defined her life. As a teenager, a friend introduced her to her brother, Frank, a fellow student at Barringer High School in Newark. A few years later, Eleanor and Frank married at St. Rose of Lima Church and within a few years had settled in Baltimore, Maryland, where their five children were born. In 1967, Frank's rising career as an industrial paint specialist with PPG Industries took them back to Northern New Jersey and then in 1970 to Pittsburgh. Eleanor and Frank loved Pittsburgh and immersed themselves in the city's arts, culture and sports. It was a good place for the woman known in high school as the "duchess," because she always was well dressed, a practice she maintained throughout life. Eleanor loved watching MASH reruns, hated insects and wilted in the heat. She was a good swimmer, excellent dancer, piercing singer, accomplished seamstress and gourmet cook. She greatly enjoyed playing bridge with several groups and traveled extensively in Europe, Asia, Australia and most of the United States. As a parent, Eleanor could be drill-sergeant tough. When her children did wrong, Eleanor's narrowed, laser-beam gaze reduced them to wondering if they had but moments left to live. Later in life, she became an even more prolific volunteer than she had been as a younger woman. She spent several years installing lifeline electronic devices in the houses of elderly people. She was an officer in the Oakmont Women's Club and earned citations for thousands of hours volunteering at St. Mary Margaret Medical Center. Most recently she volunteered at Sherwood Oaks in Cranberry, where she lived for the last four years of her life. She staffed the gift shop and pushed the wheelchair bound to church services. All, she would say, were worthy causes. Eleanor was a cheerful soul and deployed a basket of sayings she either had created or repurposed. One that perhaps influenced her children the most: "Most people are about as happy as they make up their minds to be." Arrangements entrusted to the ANTHONY M. MUSMANNO FUNERAL HOME, INC. Send condolences post-gazette.com/gb
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