Mildred Hodtwalker Shashaty

Mildred Marie Hodtwalker Shashaty of Leetonia Ohio passed away on May 15 at Salem Community Hospital at the age of 86 after a brief illness.

She resided in Leetonia, Ohio and was a native of Crete, Nebraska. She was predeceased by her husband, Alexander Shashaty, who died in 2003.

Shashaty taught English at Columbiana High School and was a tutor for several area schools. She had a master's degree in education from Youngstown State University and a bachelor's degree in journalism from the University of Nebraska at Lincoln. From 1943 to 1946, she was an active duty lieutenant in the U.S. Navy. She received her honorable discharge after serving in the Naval Reserve in 1955.

From 1941 to 1943 she was secretary to the director of the David Taylor Model Basin at the Naval Laboratory. From 1940 to 1941, she worked for the Census Bureau in Washington, DC. Shashaty was born in Crete, Nebraska, and was raised on a farm. She went to a one-room country school most of her early years of schooling.

She attended high school in Crete. She qualified for a Regents' Scholarship and graduated from the University of Nebraska as a member of Phi Beta Kappa. She was one of six children, and was predeceased by two brothers and three sisters. Her father, Theodore Hodtwalker, grew up in the Lincoln area, her mother, Mary Luella Park, grew up near Crete. Her maternal grandfather, Simon Park, moved to Nebraska from Newfane, Vermont after his ancestors migrated from England in the colonial era. One of the Park ancestors, Roger Sherman, was a signer of the Declaration of Independence.

She was a writer of poems and short stories. Her collected stories and poems were published in a book titled "Sunshine and Shadows." Excerpts of the book can be viewed at the Hodtwalker family web site (www.hodtwalker.com).

Before moving to Leetonia, Shashaty lived for many years in Boardman, Ohio, and her children attended Boardman High School. She attended the First Unitarian Church of Youngstown, Ohio.

Shashaty will be missed by three children, Andre Shashaty of San Rafael Calif., Nina Mosley of Hesperia, Calif., and Yolanda Shashaty of New York, NY; eight grandchildren, Alicia, Rali, Gabriel, Aaron and Marissa Mosley; Alec, Evan and Lily Anna Shashaty; and one great grandchild, Ariana Mosley.

There will be public calling hours Friday, May 19 from 5 pm to 6:30 pm followed by a memorial service at 6:30 pm at the Warrick-Kummer Funeral Home at 28 North Main St. in Columbiana Ohio.

Friends and family may view this obituary and offer condolences at www.familycareservices.com

There will be a private funeral service at the Oakdale Cemetery on Leetonia Road in Leetonia on Saturday.

Memorial contributions may be made to the Leetonia Public Library, 24 Walnut St., Leetonia, Ohio 44431 or Hospice of the Valley, 2235 E Pershing St #B, Salem, Ohio 44460 (www.hospiceofthevalley.com)

Song of Seasons

By Mildred Shashaty

I like to walk in the spring of the year, When trees are budding and the air sweetly fresh.

I like to feel the tired earth waking after long deep sleep, Beneath her blanket of winter's crystal snow.

I like to wake at night and hear rain on the roof,

To watch the lightning spread silver on my window pane,

To hear the sound of automobile tires on wet pavement,

And to hear the crash of the thunder in a summer storm.

I like to watch the dry leaves as they fall,

Exquisitely colored in beiges, reds, and browns.

I like to hear the soft sweet shuffle as

They are brushed aside by the many people passing.

I like to watch the snow, deep drifting snow

Piling high and thick over country lanes and city streets

Shrouding all the world in a crystal shroud,

And the world lies silent, as if praying before sleep.