Karen L Ostapowicz Susick, 72, of Belle Vernon, passed away peacefully April 12, 2022, at Elizabeth Seton Memory Care Center, Greensburg, with her husband at her side, after a seven-year battle with dementia. She was born on Feb. 25, 1950, in Pittsburgh and raised in Monessen, daughter of the late Edward and Helen Sokol Ostapowicz. She was a 1968 graduate of Monessen High School and a 1974 graduate of California State College (California University of Pennsylvania) with a master’s degree in education. She touched the lives of more than 1,000 students as an elementary teacher of 34 years in the Belle Vernon Area School District. She was a Barbizon model and fashion was her passion. She loved listening to her vinyl record collection of the ’50s and ’60s oldies and doo-wop music. She is survived by her husband of 34 years, Dr. Timothy Susick. She is also survived by her extended family, her brother, Edward (Patty) Ostapowicz of North Carolina; niece, Lauren B. Ostapowicz of Washington, Pa.; nephew, Ethan B. (Megan) Ostapowicz of Carroll Township; cousins, Lance (Diane) Sokol of Belle Vernon, Ann Sokol of Monessen, Michele Fryer of Finleyville, Harry (Marie) Ostapowicz of Cuyahoga Falls, Ohio, Don (Joyce) Ostapowicz of Coplay Ohio, Colleen (Joe) Gracyk of Lexington, Ky., Hugh Boyle of Marysville, Tenn., Tom Boyle of Lexington Ky., and Michael (Erica) DeAntonio of Plum; along with several nieces, nephews, brothers-in-law and sisters-in-law, as well as second cousins. Friends will be received from 6 to 8 p.m. Monday, April 18, and from 2 to 4 and 6 to 8 p.m. Tuesday, April 19, at ROBERT A. BILLICK FUNERAL HOME INC., Grand Boulevard and Marion Avenue, Monessen, www.billicksfuneralhome.com. A blessing will be held at 9:30 a.m. Wednesday in the funeral home, followed by a 10 a.m. funeral Mass at Epiphany of Our Lord Roman Catholic Church with Father Michael Crookston and Father Douglas Boyd officiating. Interment will follow in St. Hyacinth’s Cemetery. In lieu of flowers, the family asks that memorial donations be made to Karen’s Scholarship Fund by writing “Karen L. Susick Monessen H.S. Scholarship Fund” in the check memo line and making the check payable to The Foundation for Cal U and mail to P.O. Box 668, California, PA 15419, or online at www.calu.edu/giving.
