Ann (Ruschak) Samios

Ann Samios, a longtime resident of West Newton, passed away on Friday, May 26, 2017 in Pickerington, Ohio, with her daughter, son and granddaughter by her side.  She was 89.  Ann was born on January 6, 1928, the daughter of Carpatho-Rusyn immigrants Peter and Mary (Maskara) Ruschak.  She grew up in Wyano, PA, where her father worked as a coal miner.  She married Gus Samios in 1947 and moved to an apartment above his father’s restaurant – Angelos, at the corner of Water and Main Streets in West Newton, PA.  In 1956 the family bought the house at 301 Vine Street (at the corner of Third Street) in West Newton, where Ann lived until 2014 when she moved to Pickerington, OH, to be near her daughter, grandchildren and great-grandchildren.  Always a hard worker, Ann joined the workforce during World War II making shells in a munitions factory. She ran the second floor of the family’s Vine Street home as a rooming house for elderly long-term residents.  After her husband’s death in 1966, she also held other jobs in West Newton, including at Ron’s Restaurant, as a secretary at the West Newton borough office and, her favorite, as a child care provider for many West Newton families.  Ann loved her life in West Newton, PA.  She attended every community, church and school event she could.  She often said, “If you don’t attend things, they’ll stop having them.”  She was a lifelong member of the Methodist Church, a Girl Scout leader, a Cub Scout den mother, an energetic supporter of the West Newton High School Class of 1965 and an active participant in local Democratic politics.  Ann enjoyed spending time at the West Newton Senior Center.  She loved playing cards (Gizmo being her favorite game) and bingo and traveling with her family, but was equally content gardening and sitting on her Third Street porch, which, like the rest of her home, became a regular gathering place for her family and friends.  Ann hosted an open house party during the West Newton Community Festival for 27 consecutive years.  She was preceded in death by her husband Gus Samios; her sister Mary Ruschak; her brothers Steve, George, John, Mike and Peter Ruschak; and her son-in-law Terry Balko.  Ann is survived by her daughter Karen (Samios) Balko of Canal Winchester, OH; son Gus Samios and his partner Jacinta Orlando of New York, NY; grandson Terry Balko, his wife Missy and their children Chase, Natalie and Makenna of Canal Winchester, OH; and granddaughter Kristin (Balko) Foster, her husband Danny and their son Daniel of Pickerington, OH.  Friends will be received Wednesday, May 31, 2017, from 2-4 p.m. and 6-8 p.m. at J. William McCauley Jr. Funeral Home, Inc., 901 Vine St., West Newton, PA 15089. Addition visitation will be from 10 -11 am Thursday, followed by the Funeral service at 11 am at the First Methodist Church, 106 North Second St., West Newton, PA 15089.  Interment will follow at the West Newton Cemetery.  In lieu of flowers, memorial donations may be made in Ann’s name to the First Methodist Church, P O Box 149, West Newton, PA 15089, or the West Newton Senior Center, 103 East Main St., West Newton, PA 15089.  Condolences may be left at http://www.mccauleyfuneralhome.com