Ethel Genevieve Rabagia, 90, of Granville, went to be with her Lord, Sunday, April 11, 2021, at Stonerise (Mapleshire) Nursing and Rehabilitation Center in Morgantown following a brief illness.
Born on March 20, 1931, in Morgantown, Ethel was the fourth daughter and youngest of eight children born to the late Mike Ballas and Barbara (Bertha) Menhart Ballas. The last surviving member of her immediate family, Ethel was the only sibling to be a native-born West Virginian and the only one to have been born in a hospital (Old Mon General), as her elder seven siblings were born at home in a coal mining camp in Pennsylvania, attended by their maternal grandmother who was a mid-wife in her native Hungary.
Ethel was a graduate of University High School, Class of 1948. For the majority of her life, Ethel was a homemaker, wife, mother and grandmother. From 1966-1971, she was employed as a cashier at Foodland on Dunkard Avenue in Westover.
Ethel is survived by her husband of 65 years, George, whom she met in 1947 while working as a clerk at a pharmacy in Osage during her senior year of high school. That same year, her family moved to Granville, where she and George became next door neighbors. Following a nine year courtship, they were married on June 16, 1956.
Also surviving are her three children, Barbara (Doug) Conn and Mick (Patty) Rabagia, of Morgantown, and John Rabagia, of Granville; and two granddaughters, Loriann (Colin) Foster, of Morgantown, and Brittany (Jason) Hicks, of Alexandria, Va. She is also survived by three great-grandchildren, Adalyn Hicks, Conor Hicks and Michael Foster, who were the Lights and Joys of her life.
Ethel is also survived by a step-granddaughter, Erin (Conn) Johnson. Several nieces and nephews also survive her.
In addition to her parents, Ethel was preceded in death by four brothers and three sisters; Mike Ballas, Andy Ballas, John Ballas, infant brother Andy Ballas, Margaret Ballas, Helen Ballas and infant sister Helen Ballas. She was also preceded in death by sisters-in-law, Genevieve (Mike) Ballas and Alice (Andy) Ballas and a niece, Dolores (Ballas) Jones, with whom she grew up with like a sister.
Friends may call at the McCulla Funeral Home, 770 Fairmont Road, Westover, from 4-8 p.m. Wednesday, April 14, and from noon, Thursday, April 15, until the 1 p.m. funeral service with Pastor Kevin Cain officiating. Burial will follow at East Oak Grove Cemetery. Following COVID-19 guidelines, masks must be worn and social distancing practiced.
Condolences:
www.McCulla.com
