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Robert F. Hanslik
Highland Heights - Dr. Robert F. Hanslik, 77, who had a dental practice on Mayfield Road in Lyndhurst for 50 years, died May 12 at his home in Highland Heights. He was a member of the Pierre Fauchard Academy, an international association of dentists.
Hanslik served as a B-24 navigator with the 93rd Bomber Group of the Army's 8th Air Force during World War II. He was stationed in Hardwick, England. In 1998, he planned a reunion for his crew.
He was born in Cleveland. After his military service, he attended Western Reserve University, where he graduated from the dental school in 1951.
In addition to professional organizations, Hanslik was a member of South Euclid-Lyndhurst Kiwanis.
Hanslik is survived by his wife, Evalyn; daughters, Jane Alexander of Cincinnati, Jeanne Barbatti of Cape Girardeau, Mo., and Lisa Phillips of Luxemburg, Wis.; a brother; and four grandchildren.
Services were arranged last week by Maher-Melbourne Funeral Home of South Euclid. Memorial donations may be made to Hospice of the Western Reserve, 300 East 185 St., Cleveland 44119; or St. Paschal Baylon Building Fund, 5384 Wilson Mills Road, Highland Heights 44143.
05/22/02
Paul David Gerber, funeral director
Brecksville - Paul David Gerber, 60, was trained as a lawyer, but he eased away from the practice as he found more satisfaction in aiding grieving families as a funeral director. Gerber, who had colon cancer, died Friday at his home in Brecksville.
He became familiar with the funeral business in the 1960s when he took a part-time job while he attended Western Reserve University School of Law. He worked at the Nosek Funeral Home on East 55th Street in Cleveland in exchange for quarters on the top floor of the building. By the time Gerber became a lawyer, he was married
to Karen Nosek.
Gerber had a law office in Brecksville but remained active in the funeral business. He eventually became executive vice president of the A. Nosek & Sons, Gerber-McCreery Funeral Home.
Gerber was born in Wausau, Wis., but spent his early childhood in Orrville, Ohio.
He was a basketball star at Massillon High School, where he was president of the student council and of his class. He attended Baldwin-Wallace College and was president of the Lamda Phi Alpha Fraternity.
In addition to belonging to professional associations, Gerber was a Mason and a past president of the Brecksville Republican Club.
He belonged to the Brecksville Little Theater, Huron Yacht Club, Eagles and Elks.
In addition to his wife, Gerber is survived by daughters, Kristin McDonough of Westmoreland, Tenn., and Kylie Hulten of Brecksville; sons, Kurt of Brecksville and Kraig of Livonia, Mich.; two brothers; and two grandsons.
Services will be at 11 a.m. today at the A. Nosek & Sons, Gerber-McCreery Funeral Home, 8150 Brecksville Road, Brecksville.
05/22/02
Doris Berke
Doris Berke, 78, who created the technical library at the Hoover Co. in Canton, died Sunday at Cleveland Clinic Hospital.
Berke moved to Cleveland in the 1950s and married
Morris Berke, former head of the U.S. Civil Service Commission for northern Ohio. She was a talented painter who exhibited in the May Show at the Cleveland Museum of Art. She became an officer of local units of Hadassah and ORT, an education and training organization.
Berke was born in Canton. She studied social work at Ohio State University, where she graduated in 1945.
She belonged to Lake Forest Country Club in Hudson and directed its July Fourth festivities for several years. She also belonged to Boca Lago Country Club in Florida. Berke was a supporter of the Cleveland Museum of Art and other University Circle cultural institutions.
She is survived by her husband and a sister.
Services will be at 2 p.m. today at the Berkowitz-Kumin-Bookatz Memorial Chapel, 1985 S. Taylor Road, Cleveland Heights.
Memorial gifts may be made to a charity of the donor's choice.
05/22/02
Patrick Ambrose, teacher and coach at Cathedral Latin, West Geauga High
Highland Heights - Patrick E. Ambrose, 53, a popular teacher and coach for 31 years, died Sunday at the Cleveland Clinic. He had been diagnosed with pulmonary hypertension and congestive heart failure.
Ambrose loved American history. He taught advanced-placement classes at Cathedral Latin School and West Geauga High School, but was best known as an assistant coach at the schools and as head basketball coach at West Geauga for three years. Basketball teams he assisted reached the state tournament five times, including the Cathedral Latin squad that won the 1977 Class AA championship.
Ambrose also served as assistant coach of men's and women's basketball at John Carroll University. He worked with coach Mike Moran when the men's team reached the "elite eight" in an NCAA Division III tournament.
"He was one of those guys behind the scenes who work as hard as any head coach, " Moran said.
Ambrose was born in Cleveland. He graduated from Cathedral Latin in 1967, then earned bachelor's and master's degrees at John Carroll. He began teaching at Cathedral Latin in the early 1970s. In addition to basketball, he also helped coach football and baseball.
After Cathedral Latin closed in 1979, Ambrose began teaching at West Geauga. He was the offensive line coach for the football team for 20 years. He coached ninth-grade and junior varsity basketball until he was named head coach in the 1990s.
In addition to coaching, Ambrose traveled to games across Northeast Ohio to scout players for other coaches and to officiate at track meets.
His commitment to West Geauga involved much more than athletics. He handled many activities, including serving as senior class adviser. He was known for using his wit to make history come alive.
Ambrose lived in Highland Heights. An only child, he leaves 22 first cousins.
Services will be at 9:30 a.m. today at St. Paschal Baylon Catholic Church, 5384 Wilson Mills Road, Highland Heights.
Scholarship contributions may be made to the West Geauga Board of Education, Central Office, 8615 Cedar Road, Chester Township 44026, Attention: Pat Ambrose Memorial Fund.
Arrangements are by DiCicco & Sons Funeral Home of Mayfield Heights.
05/23/02
Matthew I. Cotabish
Olmsted Township - Services for Matthew I. Cotabish, retired Gould Inc. labor relations director and former Beck Center trustee, will be at 2 p.m. today at St. Peter's Episcopal Church in Lakewood.
Cotabish, 86, died Sunday at the Renaissance in Olmsted Township of complications following heart surgery.
He had worked for Gould and its predecessor, Clevite Corp., for 25 years before retiring in 1978. He served on the Ohio Bureau of Employment Securities Advisory Board and chaired the American Management Association's sub committee for unemployment compensation.
The Cleveland native volunteered his time and expertise to Lakewood community affairs. When Frank Celeste was the Lakewood mayor in the late 1950s and early 1960s, Cotabish chaired the mayor's advisory council. When the Beck Center for the Performing Arts was being built, he became a member of the board of trustees.
Cotabish graduated from Lakewood High School and Ohio State University.
He earned a law degree from Cleveland-Marshall Law School. He was a World War II Army veteran.
Survivors include his wife of 61 years, Gwen; daughter, Carol Workman of Medina; three grandchildren; two great-grandchildren; and a sister.
Donations may be made to St. Peter's Episcopal Church, 18001 Detroit Ave., Lakewood 44107, or to the Renaissance Endowment Fund, 26376 John Road, Olmsted Township 44138.
Busch-Saxton-Parker-Daniels Family Chapel of Lakewood is handling arrangements.
05/23/02
J. William Petro, active in local, state politics, dies in Columbus
J. William Petro, a force in local and state politics who helped President Reagan get elected, died yesterday of a cerebral hemorrhage at a Columbus hospital. He was 62.
Petro had been an assistant state attorney general, veteran of a dozen GOP campaigns, executive assistant to former Cleveland Mayor Ralph Perk and a presidential adviser when he became the U.S. attorney for Northern Ohio in 1982.
Less than two years later, he was fired from the post while facing charges that he leaked confidential information to a friend. In March 1985, he was found guilty of criminal contempt.
In later years, Petro continued to work as an attorney in Cleveland and Columbus, specializing in government and political law.
Petro drew great pride from his work, said his brother Jim Petro, who is state auditor. J. William Petro once worked through New Year's Eve and Day to negotiate a labor contract and avert a teachers strike.
"He really was committed to getting Cleveland schoolchildren back in school, " Jim Petro said.
Petro had a reputation for being street-savvy. He was a regular at the old Pewter Mug restaurant downtown. He sat at Table 14 with powerbrokers like Art Modell and George Steinbrenner.
He trained horses from high school through law school and was on the Ohio Racing Commission from 1977 to 1982. For years, Petro would spend a month traveling to watch thoroughbred racing at famous tracks.
He was born in Cleveland, and was the oldest son of the late Lila Helen and William J. Petro. He grew up in Brooklyn, where his father was a Republican ward leader.
While just a student, Petro became a bailiff in the Brooklyn Mayor's Court and was elected to the school board. It would be his only elected office, despite several attempts to reach Congress and the state legislature.
Petro attended the University of Maryland, where he was a linebacker for the football team until he broke six ribs in a game. He earned his bachelor's degree from John Carroll University and law degree in 1965 from Western Reserve University Law School.
In addition to his brother, he is survived by his wife, Mary Lou; son, Benjamin; daughter, Jessica; stepsons, Dennis, Paul, John and Patrick; stepdaughter, Christie; and six step-grandchildren.
A Mass will be said at 1:30 p.m. tomorrow at Church of the Resurrection in New Albany, 6300 E. Dublin-Granville Road, New Albany, OH 43054. Egan Ryan Funeral Home in Columbus is in charge of arrangements.
Memorial contributions may be made to the church.
05/24/02
Selma Doyle Enkler
Parma Heights - Services for Selma Doyle Enkler, who played the organ and piano for silent movies at the Fairyland Theater and waited tables at Stouffer's Restaurant, will be at 10 a.m. today at the Busch Family Chapel, 7501 Ridge Road, Parma.
The 98-year-old Parma Heights resident died Monday at the Century Oak Care Center in Middleburg Heights.
Enkler, whose maiden name was Fenslau, was a member of the Cleveland Federation of Musicians for more than 80 years. She was 16 when she joined the organization and began providing the back ground music for silent films at the Fairyland Theater on West 25th Street.
Her talent for making music that evoked certain emotions and responses came in handy when a fire broke out in the Fairyland projection room in the early 1920s. The Cleveland native played tunes that calmed the audience while firefighters extinguished the flames.
Enkler's last public performance was at Parma Hospital's ElderCenter nine years ago, when she played "I Love You Truly" for a married
couple renewing their wedding vows.
From 1940 to 1959, Enkler was a waitress at Stouffer's Restaurant at Playhouse Square.
She was married
twice. Her first husband was Red Doyle, a drummer and orchestra leader. After their divorce, she married
William C. Enkler, a firefighter. He died in 1971.
Enkler is survived by her son, Patrick A. Doyle of Broadview Heights; daughter, Nancy Doyle Zuk of Parma; five grandchildren; and nine great-grandchildren.
05/25/02
