Olga B. Vaters passed away on November 16, 2020 in Clearwater, Florida, after fighting with heart disease and finally, cancer. Born in Endicott, New York, in 1924, she lived 96 years and proclaimed she was grateful for every day.
Olga was the first of two children born to Paul and Mary Panasik. In 1942, she married John Blaha, who emigrated from Czechoslovakia as the WWII was beginning. After the War, they built a house in Vestal, New York and raised three children, John, Ronald, and Diane. Olga and John moved to Florida after John’s retirement from IBM in 1986(.
Olga was always interested in learning and read the newspaper from front to back, saving many articles for reference. She liked to watch what she called “educational” public television. She was always the involved mother, following the lives of her three children and seven grandchildren and offering advice freely . She celebrated her Czech heritage and visited relatives in Czechoslovakia several times, taking her family across the “iron curtain” for the first time in 1960. Olga dabbled in Florida real estate sales and loved gardening, collecting many exotic plants. She remarried to John Vaters later in life and cared for him to his passing after he suffered a severe stroke. Finally, Olga cared for her former husband for 5 years during his battle with Alzheimer’s Disease. In recent years, Olga has been living near son, John and daughter, Diane in Clearwater, Florida.
Olga’s intentions are to be laid to rest with her parents at Vestal Hills Cemetery in New York State. She leaves a legacy of three children, seven grandchildren, and eight great grandchildren – she will be missed!