Former Fallowfield supervisor Olga Woodward remembered for kindness

By TAYLOR BROWN
tbrown@yourmvi.com
A lifelong Mon Valley resident and former Fallowfield Township supervisor who passed away suddenly on Sunday will be remembered as a kind-hearted woman who loved her community.
Olga Onufer Woodward, 93, of Fallowfield Township, was the valedictorian of the Charleroi High School Class of 1944 and her dedication to her fellow classmates continued with her neighbors and colleagues throughout her life.
The first woman elected to Charleroi borough council in 1967, she became involved in the political scene after becoming active in her husband John D. Woodward’s political campaigns.
Her husband was the Washington County Recorder of Deeds for many years until his unexpected death in 1970.
Olga was nominated by former Gov. Milton Shapp to fill his term and she continued in the role until 1989.
During her time as recorder of deeds, she was recognized for her work in safeguarding privacy of veterans’ military records from the Veterans of Foreign Wars.
With help from her deputy and predecessor, Debbie Bardella, who succeeded her, the duo worked to preserve important records such as the “Court Record of Yohogania County, Virginia, 1776-1781 and the Negro (Slave) Register of Washington County, Pennsylvania from 1782 to 1851,” which helped preserve such documents for historians and genealogists. The records are now digitized and are available online through the Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission.
To add to a lengthy list of professional accomplishments, she was also the president of the Pennsylvania Recorder of Deeds Association and was the first woman to serve as chair of the Washington County Democratic Party.
Even in her retirement, she remained active in local politics, serving on the Washington County Board of Assessment Appeals in the 1990s. In 2004, she was elected to serve as a Fallowfield Township supervisor, a position she held for 10 years.
Olga was already in office when current Fallowfield Township Supervisor Earl Sadler was elected.
“She was very civic minded,” Sadler said. “That is probably the best way I can put it.
“She helped me in many ways over the years and taught me a lot of the things I know now.”
Of her many accomplishments, she played a crucial rule initiating the development of the Alta Vista Industrial Park in Fallowfield Township.
“When I was elected, one of the first things she said to me, or told me rather, was ‘you’re going to help me get this going,’” he said. “And we did. We got the road open, took responsibility of the right of way so it was able to be subdivided.”
Now, while the site still has several acres for sale, many businesses call the park on top of the hill home including three new companies which will be constructing buildings there this year.
“Even though she is not going to see it, I know it would mean a lot to her to see what is going to happen up there by the end of this year,” Sadler said. “She knew back then it was important to our township, it still is, maybe even more now than it ever was before and she was a big hand in getting that started.”
Not only was she civic minded and business savvy, but she was also incredibly kind hearted, Sadler said.
During her time as a supervisor a program existed through a partnership with the county jail that brought prisoners in for community services.
“They would help cut the cemetery grass or clean out our creeks,” he said. “We would have about 20 to 30 at a time, a handful of different times.”
Each time they came in to log their community service hours in the township, Olga wanted to take care of them while they were “on the job.”
“It’s a cute story…” he said. “The first time they came I remember her coming up to me and telling me we were going to feed them.
“I asked her how we were going to pay for it, and knowing we could not take it out of the township’s money, between the two of us we spent a pretty penny at Subway when they came in buying hoagies and pop and cookies, but that is the kind of person she was and how she should be remembered — for the small acts of kindness she did that she might not always have been recognized for. She was a super person.”
She also held a special place in her heart for first responders within the Mon Valley, especially firefighters with the Fallowfield Township Volunteer Fire Company, Lock Four Volunteer Fire Company and the Charleroi Volunteer Fire Department, where she frequently volunteered.
Fallowfield Township Fire Chief Anthony Fleming said Olga was one of the department’s biggest supporters over the years.
From helping out with events and fundraisers to just popping in to say hello, he called her an irreplaceable staple of the fire company.
“We always looked forward to seeing her around,” he said. “In fact, the night before she passed away she stopped in to the department to drop off a big bag of KitKats for us to take on the bus with us to the Pirates game we were going to. We never thought that would be the last time we saw her.
“It’s incredibly sad because there is not a soul who could replace her in our eyes.”
Firefighters and members of the community will likely continue to crave her baked goods that she frequently dropped off to the department as a treat or donated for a fundraiser or fish fry.
Wayne Ray, Fallowfield Township tax collector and firefighter, said she made one particular sweet treat he described as a combination of a cookie and peanut butter brownie.
Her baked goods won several blue ribbons at Washington County fair competitions.
“They were absolutely to die for,” he said. “Just so delicious. Sometimes she would come to the department or to the municipal building just to drop off a treat to do something nice. And she also would knit or crochet scarves for the departments or other groups to auction during raffles or other fundraisers.
“Her talent, intelligence and generosity will surely be missed in our community. She loved the Mon Valley with all of her heart and made sure to spread that.”
She and her husband had one son, John D. Woodward Jr., who is an attorney and professor of international relations at Boston University.
She is survived by her son, his wife Shirley and several nieces and nephews.
Per her request, private funeral services were recently held at Melenyzer Funeral Home in Charleroi.