Teacher a fine influence in all that she did

Kathryn Whetzel delivered meals for Meals-On-Wheels and liked to play cards, but her lasting legacy was that of being a fine English teacher.

In the early 1940s, Mrs. Whetzel was assigned to the Shaw Avenue School in Clairton where her teaching methods still were being praised years later by many of her former sixth-graders.

"I can still remember men and women coming up to my mother and telling her how much she influenced their young lives when she was their teacher," said her daughter, Charlotte Sprites.

Kathryn Whetzel, of Jefferson Hills, died Friday, Jan. 14, 2005, at Mt. Vernon of South Park, a personal care home in South Park Township. She was 98.

Born and raised in Clairton, Kathryn Tullius was one of seven children in the family of James and Charlotte Weber Tullius. Her father, who emigrated from Germany, was the paymaster at the Clairton Works of U.S. Steel.

In 1924, following graduation from Clairton High School, Miss Tullius enrolled in the two-year teacher course at California State Teachers College (California University of Pennsylvania) in California, Pa.

She taught for a year until she married Lawrence Whetzel, a man she had known since high school.

"My father, who died in 1974, was employed at the Clairton Works, and by the time he retired, he was the superintendent," said Sprites.

Once her sons graduated from high school and her daughter was old enough to go to school, Mrs. Whetzel returned to the classroom and was assigned to the Shaw Avenue School.

"Mom was in her 50s when she was told that she would have to go back to school and earn credits for a teaching degree," said her daughter. "Mom opted to be a substitute teacher at the St. Clare School, which was also in Clairton."

Mrs. Whetzel also became a volunteer at the Clairton Library. "My mother also had administrative abilities, and for a number of years, she served as both secretary and treasurer for the Clairton Library."

Two years before his death, Lawrence Whetzel decided it was time for his wife to learn to drive and get her license.

"As soon as Mom received her license, she joined the Meals-On-Wheels group at the Methodist Church and became one of the drivers. She delivered all over the area," Sprites said.

Sprites also recalled her mother's enthusiasm and expertise in playing cards.

"After she moved in with us in 1985, I introduced her to one of the card groups at St. Thomas a Becket Church (Jefferson Hills).

"I could tell by the looks on the card players' faces that this little old lady was going to be a drag on their game," said Sprites. "Mom beat the pants off of them."

Sprites said she and her mother, as members of the Ladies of Charity at St. Clare of Assisi Catholic Church, would visit area nursing homes.

"The residents enjoyed having my mother visit. She knew many of them, and they had a lot to talk about."

Mrs. Whetzel is survived by a daughter, Charlotte "Ceci" Sprites and her husband, Raymond, of Jefferson Hills; sons, Robert Whetzel and his wife, Barbara, of Clearwater, Fla., and Lawrence Whetzel, of Poway, Calif.; nine grandchildren, 11 great-grandchildren and two great-great-grandchildren; and a brother, Charles Tullius, of Jefferson Hills.

Visitation is from 2 to 4 and 7 to 9 p.m. today at the A.J. Bekavac Funeral Home, 555 Fifth Ave., Clairton.

A Mass of Christian Burial will be celebrated at 10 a.m. Monday at St. Thomas a Becket Church, Jefferson Hills, with the Rev. Robert L. Seeman officiating.

Graveside service and interment in St. Clare Cemetery, Clairton.