Olive Ann Plesko Coneybeer passed away peacefully at her home on Wednesday, May 17, 2023, at the age of 95. Olive, known to some as “Ollie,” was born March 22, 1928, in Duquesne at the Oliver Hotel, which her parents ran at the time, hence the name. Daughter to European immigrants Charles and Rita Kantar Plesko, Ollie was one of 12 children. Ollie grew up in Roscoe, traveled the world with her family and moved to Santa Fe after World War II with her beloved husband, George, before settling down in Rostraver, where they built their dream home at Cedar Creek farm in 1970. Ollie had an endless love for animals, and the farm created the perfect landscape to house everything from horses, cows, chickens and ducks to the natural wildlife that she claimed as her own to love. Ollie and George were the proud owners of Cedar Creek Construction Company, which employed their children, nephews and close friends for 30 years up until the late 1990s. Ollie was an artist at heart, a skilled seamstress, embroiderer, musician, bullfighter, painter, woodworker and homemaker. Ollie held multiple jobs throughout her younger years before assuming a new role of motherhood to her four children, Bern, Christine, Barbara and Charles. Obviously a multifaceted woman, she answered to many names, but most significantly, she eventually earned the endearing title of “Grammy.” Throughout her life, Grammy excelled in the art of nurturing and loving her grandchildren, a role that defined her in the most profound way. With constant affection and kindness, she enveloped them, allowing each one to flourish as an individual. The Cedar Creek farm transformed into a limitless playground for the kids, where imagination and curiosity thrived among the animals she loved so dearly. Grammy was the originator of the unshakable “I can do that” spirit that courses through her family’s veins. She never shied from a challenging task and consistently instilled the same fearlessness in her grandchildren, urging them to embrace difficulty with open arms. Ollie was predeceased by her husband, George; son, Charles; son-in-law Richard Fusia; and her brothers and sisters, Mary Coneybeer, Michael Plesko, Emery Plesko, Jane Burkett and Irene Leonard. Ollie’s memory will continue to live on forever with her children, Barb Fusia, Bern Coneybeer, Christine Proch and daughter in-law, Janet Coneybeer; as well as eight grandchildren, Daniel, Jason, Melissa, Jake, Brett, Seth, JT and Molly, 10 great-grandchildren; and countless “honorary” grandchildren she accumulated throughout the years. Friends will be received from 10 to 11 a.m. Thursday at Concord United Methodist Church, 100 Old School Road, Rostraver Township, and a funeral service will be held at 11 a.m. with Pastor Sandra E. Fitzgibbons officiating. Interment will follow in Belle Vernon Cemetery. Funeral arrangements have been entrusted to JAMES C. STUMP FUNERAL HOME INC., 580 Circle Drive, Rostraver Township, 724-929-7934, www.jamesstumpfuneralhome.com.
