Former NBV resident, one of country’s oldest women, dies at age 111

By JOE GRATA
For The Mon Valley
Independent

A long-time North Belle Vernon resident who was among the nation’s oldest living women has died at age 111.
Elizabeth (Antal) Lucas passed away Sunday of complications related to COVID-19 at the Laurels of Steubenville, an Ohio nursing facility near where her son, Robert, lives with his wife Darlene.
Born in the borough on April 6, 1909, and one of 11 children, she lived there until after the death of her husband, Walter, in 1997.
Mrs. Lucas was less than four years short of being the oldest living woman in the U.S. and less than one year shy of joining the “Top 10” list.
Robert Lucas said she was a modest, soft-spoken, stay-at-home mom who didn’t draw attention to herself. She was a devout Catholic who faithfully attended St. Sebastian Church and, later, Sunday worship services at the Laurels.
“I never heard a foul word out of her mouth,” he said. “She taught me to take people at face value, not to hold grudges, that life is too short.”
She marked her 111th birthday with a toast with her son and daughter-in-law, albeit it took place through a window because of the pandemic and visitation restrictions at the nursing facility, where she was the celebrated resident. The staff decorated her room, sang and served refreshments.
In recent years, although Mrs. Lucas’ memory was fading, she still held short phone conversations with her son on a regular basis, inasmuch as in-person visits had been suspended.
“It has been tough,” Robert Lucas said. “I missed going to see her and everybody, but we’re all in the same boat,” unable to visit loved ones because of COVID-19.
Mrs. Lucas was the daughter of Martin and Agata “Agnes” Antal, a mail-order bride from Poland who arrived in the U.S. with a trunk of clothing and $6. The family lived in a two-story, two-bedroom frame house on May Street. All of the children slept in one bedroom. Mrs. Antal lived to age 102. Mr. Antal was a coal miner.
Elizabeth “Betty” Lucas left school after the sixth grade. Starting at age 13, a priest would take her and other local girls to Pittsburgh “to clean for rich people” during the week. She would ride a trolley home on Friday, giving her small pay to her mother to help with expenses.
The family couldn’t afford to take vacations, but Mrs. Lucas had happy memories of standing on the front porch, waving flags at passersby to celebrate the Fourth of July.
In February 1936, she married Walter Lucas, who worked in Monessen for Wheeling-Pittsburgh Steel Corp. and its predecessor, Pittsburgh Steel Corp. The couple lived on Fell Street and parented three children – Robert, retired from the steel company’s Steubenville Works; and Walter Jr. of Howell, N.J., and Dorothy Duessel of Avalon, both deceased.
Mrs. Lucas’ survivors include two sisters-in-law, Lillian Antal of North Belle Vernon and Joan Tegel of Lynnwood; several grandchildren and great-grandchildren; and a number of nephews and nieces who live in the area.
Mosti Funeral Home in Steubenville is handling arrangements. Following a private funeral ceremony there, Mrs. Lucas will be buried next to her husband in Belle Vernon Cemetery on a yet undetermined date.