Mary Z (Zavortink) Karaffa

Mary Zavortink Karaffa, age 98, of Ravenna, passed away Thursday, August 23, 2012, while at Longmeadow Care Center. She was born December 20, 1913, in Piney Fork, Ohio to the late Michael and Antonina (Wityck) Zavortink. Mary was of Ukrainian descent and grew up on a farm in the Campbellsport area along with her sisters and brother. She attended a schoolhouse in Campbellsport and as a child received an autographed copy of P.B. Tomson's book, "Fifty Years in the Schoolroom" as a reward for learning the most Bible verses. She was one of the first children who participated in the Akron Beacon Journal Spelling Bee where she won third prize of a gold coin. But due to the depression the coin went to her family. March 23, 1929, she won first place in a Latin II county scholarship contest. A 1931 graduate of Ravenna Township School, she continued her education at Kent State Normal College earning a teaching certificate. Mary was also a 1941 graduate of Bohecker's Business College in Ravenna. As a young working girl, she worked in the office of the Portage County AAA Farm Bureau answering farmers questions, working with the milk subsidy program, working with the wheat insurance program and farm records of some 5,000 farmers. She held various positions teaching typing courses at Bohecker's and her at-home trying service helping many college students with their college papers. Mary returned to work at the young age of 75 working as a clerk-typist for the Portage county Health Department retiring at age 80. The farm girl never left Mary who was an avid organic gardener. She loved her flower and vegetable gardens. It wouldn't  be unusual to see Mary climbing up a tree to pick apples or slinging a bucket over her arm, dressed in overalls, heading for the woods, through thickets and brush with her friend, Ethel Copeland to reach those blackberries or blueberries. Mary always had knowledge of almost any subject to discuss from gardening to winemaking. She always enjoyed a good game of Scrabble with her friend Gladys Jones or bridge with friends.  She is survived by her children, Connie of Kent and Bill of Twinsburg; best friends, Dorothy Morrison and Frances Stevens; and many nieces and nephews. In addition to her parents, Mary was preceded in death by her husband, William, whom she married on June 10, 1944; sisters, Anna, Katherine, Dorothy, and Barbara; and brother, William. The family wishes to extend a heartfelt thanks to the staff at Longmeadow Care Center and Crossroads Hospice for their wonderful, loving care of their mother which words cannot express. Calling hours will be held on Monday from 5-7 PM at the Shorts-Spicer-Crislip Funeral Home, where a funeral service will be held on Tuesday at 11 AM, with Dan Tayman officiating. Interment will follow in Maple Grove Cemetery.

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