Sunday, October 5, 2008 THE - DALLAS POST 4 PAGE 5 Two area business owners pass away on same day By REBECCA BRIA rbria@timesleader.com Two former Back Mountain business owners died on the same day last month. Former Shadowbrook co-foun- der and co-owner Peggy Welch Ste- vens, 80, died on Tuesday, Sept. 16. Robert A. Rave Sr., 87, co-founder and co-owner of the former Rave’s Garden Centers, Robert A. Rave Sr., 87, also died that day. Rave’s Garden Center was a place many Back Mountain resi- dents visited for years to buy plants and gardening supplies. The store existed for many years in the Back Mountain and in Wyoming, Ashley and Clarks Summit. Rave was a graduate of Kingston Township High School and earned a bachelor’s degree in commerce and finance from Pennsylvania State University. He served as a ser- geant in the United States Army in Italy during World War II. In1950, Rave and his brother, Lou, started a business across from Cad- die LaBar’s on Memorial Highway. “At that time, there really we- ren’t too many of them (garden centers) around,” said Scott Rave, Rave’s son. “He and his brother both had a love for plants and grew up doing things with plants. He saw it as an opportunity to do busi- ness.” But the location proved to be problematic. The landlord wanted the Rave brothers to buy the stor but, worse yet, the extremely close proximity to the highway caused damage to the plants. “Many Sunday mornings at like 4 in the morning, the police would call and my dad would have to go down there because people would be drunk and drive into the shrub- bery,” Scott said. “I have a paper on which my father wrote, ‘Some of our friends thought we got our start in business because of money we received in accidents.” The Raves closed the Dallas lo- cation and opened a bigger store just one year later on Memorial Highway in Shavertown. The lot was about 1000 feet south of the current traffic light on Route 309 and Center Street. Rave’s aunt, Flo- rence Rave, lived directly behind the store across Toby Creek and a footbridge over the creek allowed Rave to easily walk to his aunt’s house which served as the land- scaping headquarters. In the late 1960s, the Raves once again relocated to another spot in Shavertown, about a quarter of a mile south of the old location on Memorial Highway. Other stores were later opened in Ashley, Clarks Summit and Rave’s sons, Robert Jr. and Scott, bought the business in 1996. Lou Rave died in 1998. Robert Jr. and Scott closed the remaining stores - the Shavertown, Ashley and Clarks Summit location s-in February 2004. “He had a great sense of humor and would joke around with people,” Scott said of his father. “He would try to get them (customers) the plants they needed for the area he wanted to plant. He would work all day, come home and eat dinner and go back and work until the sun went down.” Once, the elder Rave had a run- in, literally, with a customer. “Jack Palance, the actor from Co- nyngham Township, used to come to our Ashley store,” Scott said. “One time, my dad literally ran into him. He was going to use our bath- room and my dad was coming out. Jack Palance said something to him that was funny, something like, Istherea two-seater in there, or no?” susmITTED PHOTO and the Rave Robert A. Rave Sr., 87, co-foun- der and co-owner of the former Rave's Garden » 3 Center, died on September 16. years ago, casual outdoor furniture also became a big part of the busi- ness. Peggy Stevens graduated from Tunkhannock High School in 1945 and worked at a bank until she mar- ried her husband, Robert, in 1948. Robert had worked on Shadow- brook, his family’s farm in Tunkhan- nock, as a milkman. The same year that Robert and Peggy married, they also took over ownership of the farm. In 1955, the couple opened Shadowbrook Dairy Farm and sold their dairy cattle in 1957 to start the Shadowbrook Hous- ing Development. The Stevenses later expanded their business to become Shadow- brook Inn and Resort, featuring a motel, bowling lanes, dining room, bar, campground and an 18hole golf course. When the restaurant first opened, Peggy cooked all of the food herself. That was inaddition to being a homemaker and a mother of five children. After Robert and Peggy sold Shad- owbrook Inn and Resort in May of 1981, they retired to Sun City Center, Fla., about 40 minutes south of Tam- pa on the state’s west coast. Peggy had a circulation problem and could no longer tolerate northeastern Pennsylvania winters. Peggy took pottery classes at Ma- natee Community College in Bra- denton, Fla. and became a skilled potter. She taught pottery classes and she and her daughter, Gail Viec- zorek, created a local business to- gether called P and G Creations. “She was always a crafty type of person,” Vieczorek said of her mother. According to a story in The Times Leader’s archives, Peggy did pottery demonstrations at the 17th Annual Wyoming County Arts and Crafts Fair in Meshoppen in 1994. She and Vieczorek brought along crafts from P and G Creations. “I don’t know if our turnout will be as good as other years because of the heat,” Peggy said in the story. “But there was quite a crowd watching me demonstrate the pottery wheel.” - Peggy purchased a home in Eat- on Hills in Tunkhannock during the summer months after Robert died in April 2006. For the past three years when in Florida, Peggy assisted her daugh- ter, Betty, and son, Jack, with their business called Java Cow Ice Cream Café, a coffee and ice-cream shop in Sun City Center. “When they would do catered things, she would help put the hot fudge in the ice-cream and other things she could do sitting down,” Vieczorek said. Peggy also baked quiche, a dish made primarily of eggs and milk or cream in apastry crust, every morn- ing to be sold at Java Cow Ice Cream Café. “We're going to miss her cooking, that’sfor sure,” Vieczorek said. “She was a very happy person. She would do anything for anyone. She just loved to be around people.” smile? Tired of hiding your Let us help. Beack-Nownitain Dental Watch videos with answers to your questions at : HEALTHLEADERS timesleader.com The information you need from the professionals you trust. OBITUARIES DeCINTI - John M. (Jack), 63, of Palm Beach Gardens, Fla. and a former resident of Dallas and Harveys Lake, died Friday, Sept. 19, 2008. Born in Wilkes-Barre, he was a graduate of G.A.R. Memorial High School and attended the former Wilkes College. He had been employed as the sales man- ager at Wilkes-Barre Wholesale Company, Wilkes-Barre, and manager of Cosmic Train and Gallery Lounge of Edwardsville. He was a member of the Moose Lodge, Palm Beach Gardens, Fla. Surviving are his wife, the for- mer Barbara A. Sabol; brother, Fred, of Southlake, Texas; nieces and nephews. Memorial donations to the American Cancer Society, 190 Welles St., Forty Fort, PA, 18704. HIBBERT - Harry C., of Eaton Terrace, Tunkhannock, died Sat- urday, Sept. 27, 2008. Born in Chicago, Ill. on Janu- ary 20, 1915, he joined the Re- serves after his high school grad- uation and worked as an instruc- tor for the ATF and FBI as a sharpshooter expert. He retired from the U.S. Coast Guard after 22 years of service and then went to work as an engineer for Dielec- tric in Raymond, Maine. He was a member of the Church of the Nativity BVM in Tunkhannock. Surviving are daughters, Ma- ria Elena McKee, of Patchogue, NY.; Cindy Hibbert, Nassau, N.Y.; and Melissa Tucker, Bever- ly, Mass.; four grandchildren and eight great-grandchildren. JOHNSON - Billie Beatrice, 97, of Dallas and formerly of Downingtown, died on Tuesday, Sept. 23, 2008. Born in Springfield, Ark. on Ja- nuary 16, 1911, she attended local schools and beauty school. In 1930, she married Kenneth John- son and, for over 30 years, they traveled with the U.S. Navy. In the 1960s, they retired to Florida where Billie became a realtor until moving to Pennsylvania in 1997. She was a lifelong member of the Methodist Church, recently at- tending Downingtown United Methodist Church. She was a member of the Eastern Star and the National Officers’ Wives Asso- ciation. She resided at Bellingham Retirement and Simpson Mead- ows Retirement Communities un- til 2006 when she moved to The Meadows Manor in Dallas. Surviving are her daughter, Sue J. Taylor, of Downingtown; three grandchildren; six great- grandchildren. Memorial donations to Hos- pice of the Sacred Heart, 600 Bal- timore Dr., Wilkes-Barre, PA 18701, or The Meadows Manor, 200 Lake Dr., Dallas, PA 18612. KUFFA - Reta, 84, of Tunkhan- nock, died Wednesday, Sept. 24, 2008. Born in Avery Station, Lemon Township, she was a member of the Nativity BVM. Church, Tunkhannock, and its Altar and Rosary Society. She was a 1941 graduate of Tunkhannock High School. Surviving are her daughters, Barbara Dillon, Flushing, NY.; Nancy Fisher, of Springville; Joanne Kuffa of Wapwallopen; and Debra Goble, of Tunkhannock; sons, John A., of Dallas; and Da- vid, of Tunkhannock; 15 grandchil- dren; 16 great-grandchildren; sev- eral nieces and nephews. Memorial donations to Trigemi- nal Neuralgia Assoc., (TNA) 925 NW 56th Terrace, Suite C., Gaines ville, FL. 326056402 or Nativity BV. M. Church, Tunkhannock. PETROSKAS - Geraldine H., of Harveys Lake, died Wednes- day, Sept. 24, 2008. Born on August 30, 1919, she was a graduate of Luzerne High School. She studied nursing at Margaret Haig School of Nurs- ing, New Jersey and Nesbitt Hos- pital in Kingston where she later worked as a supervising nurse. She worked for many years as the project nurse for Bechtel Corpo- ration at Mehoopany and Ber- wick. She also assisted Dr. Ar- thur Sherwood in private prac- tice in Tunkhannock. She was a member of Our Lady of Victory Church at Harveys Lake. She had served as a Euchar- istic Minister and on numerous church committees over the years. Surviving are her daughter, Peggy Cronin, of Harveys Lake; two grandchildren; three great- grandchildren. Memorial contributions to Mercy Center Personal Care and Skilled Nursing Unit, Dallas, PA 18612. PLUSHANSKI - Lois Roller, 81, of Fieldcrest Drive, Tunkhan- nock, died Thursday, Sept. 25, 2008. Born in Somerville, N.J. on May 26, 1927, she was a 1945 graduate of Somerville High School and then graduated from Somerset Nursing School. She was a member of the Tunkhan- nock Presbyterian Church. Surviving are her husband, Henry; son, Gary, Chicago, Ill; daughters, Carol Garnecki and Dawn Risley, both of Tunkhan- nock; sister, Carol Carver, of Mor- ris Plains, N.J.; three grandchil- dren; five great-grandchildren; sev- eral nieces and nephews. NAYLOR - Leroy J. Jr., 70, for- merly of Luzerne and Dallas, died Friday, Sept. 26, 2008. Born November 22, 1937, he was a 1955 graduate of Luzerne High School. He was a veteran of the U.S. Army. Prior to retiring in 1993, he was the owner of Home- Brite Rug Co. in Kingston. Surviving are sons, Leroy J. III, West Wyoming; Kevin, Pittston; four grandchildren; two great- grandchildren; and brother, James, Geneva, Fla. VALENTINE - William A., 77, of Tunkhannock, died on Sun- day, Sept. 28, 2008. Born on December 19, 1930 in Tunkhannock, he was a graduate of Tunkhannock Area High School. Upon graduation, he en- listed in the United States Air Force, serving in Colorado and abroad in England. After returning home from En- gland, he worked for Sikorski Air- craft in Connecticut, then with American Housing in Allentown. He was a 40-year member of Local Labor No.130 of Scranton. Surviving are his wife, Mary A.; children, Bill, of Scranton; and Cindy Marcy, of Tunkhan- nock; two grandchildren; a broth- er, Robert, of Florida; a sister; Be- tty, of Tunkhannock; several nieces and nephews. Memorial donations to the Russell U. M. C. c/o Peggy Ells- worth, 2 Lemon Creek Rd. Meshoppen, or Mehoopany Am- bulance, Mehoopany. WEAVER - Timothy M., 47, of Dallas, died Tuesday, Sept. 23, 2008. Born in Dover, N.J., he was a car- penter by trade and worked for various contractors in the area. Surviving are his parents, Jen- nie Condon Weaver and Harry Weaver; brother, Harry, Center Valley; sister, Cathy Reeder, Sweet Valley; step-mother, Mary Weaver; step-brother, Robert Knowles, East Greenville; step- sister, Betty Jean Ramick, Qua- kertown; nieces and nephews. ZURINSKI - Frank W., 74, of Harveys Lake, died Friday, Sept. 26, 2008. Born in Luzerne, he attended Luzerne Schools. He was in the U.S. Army, stationed in Germany, and was discharged with 100 per- cent disability. He was a member of Our Lady of Victory Church, Harveys Lake and a lifetime mem- ber of the D.AV. and the NR.A. Surviving is his wife, the for- mer Marian Maceiko; children, Debbie Jones, of Riverview Fla.; Mark, of Clark Summit; Judy, of Erie; two grandchildren; sisters, Susan Stolarick, of Lehman; and Eva Katchick, of Whitehall, N.J. 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