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Poland resident has plenty of stories to tell
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Neighbors | Shaiyla Hakeem .Poland resident Mary Rose Butch was the first generation of her family to be born in the United States. Her parents were from Italy and only spoke Italian.
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Neighbors | Shaiyla Hakeem .Mary Rose Butch, 95, graduated with a Masters in Social Work in 1968 from the University of Pittsburgh. She has dedicated her life to a career in social work and community service.
By SHAIYLA HAKEEM
Growing up in an era where women in the workforce was frowned upon, Mary Rose Butch faced the odds and rose above the stigma.
Butch, 95, is a native of Lowellville, but currently resides at Sunrise Senior Living in Poland Township. She has lived a life grounded in education and community service.
Butch’s mother and father were natives of Italy and she was the first generation to be born in the states. Italian was the only language spoken in her home while growing up.
Her mother never received a formal education and wanted Butch to live a life of bearing children rather than focusing on school. She wanted Butch to get married and start a family. It was tradition.
“My mother, being an immigrant, with her background, didn’t want me to go to school beyond the eighth grade,” Butch said, “But I rebelled. I said, ‘I am not quitting school.’”
As the eldest of eight children, Butch took on a lot of responsibility to help her family. During the Great Depression, her father was given two days weekly to work in the local steel mill. Having such a large family, welfare seemed to be the only feasible solution.
After the work order for the welfare service was submitted, a social worker came to Butch’s residence as a routine house visit. She had heard of Butch’s fast typing skills and desire for education. The social worker offered Butch an opportunity that changed her life forever.
“She said, ‘Instead of putting your family on welfare, we’ll give you a job,’” Butch said.
Her first job was at the Division of Aid for the Asian. This job was linked to a welfare department which funded her with a grant to attend the University of Pittsburgh. There, she received a Masters degree in Social Work in 1968. Her former boss offered her a position as a social work consultant which placed her on a path full of community service and personal accomplishments.
“After that, I got involved with everything. I was a joiner,” Butch said.
She has received several commendations, recognitions and prestigious appointments. She was named Social Worker of the Year in 1975, Woman of the Year by Lowellville Village Administration in 1983, awarded the Jefferson Award for community service in 1984 by WYTV and honored as an outstanding senior citizen by the Ohio State Fair in 1993.
In addition, in 1980, she was the first women to be elected to serve a four-year term on the Lowellville City Council.
Living a life of community involvement didn’t leave much time for courting and marriage. After the love of her life was killed in action, she never entertained the thought.
“I was going with a fellow during the war and he was killed on the beach so I never got married. I was too busy doing things,” she said.
Butch may not have children of her own, but she has 14 nieces and nephews and 10 great-nieces and nephews that visit her regularly.
“I incorporated the values of the Italian family, we are very close,” she said.