Edith Hovak

October 18, 2021

Edith Hovak, 99, of Perth died peacefully on Monday, October 18, 2021 in the home that she and her husband, William, built in 1952. Born in Amsterdam, she was the last living child of the late Frank and Mary Sikorski. Edith spent her early years on the farm just down the road from her current home. She attended the one-room schoolhouse on Stairs Road with her sisters, Josephine Blacha and Bernice Kiszkiel and brother Casmier Sikorski. She graduated from Perth Central High School in 1940 and, after completing her coursework at Amsterdam School of Commerce, began her first job at Western Union in Amsterdam. After WW II, Edith began working at the Mohawk Carpet Mills as an addressograph operator and advanced through a series of positions. In 1974, Edith was promoted to Supervisor of Office Services at Mohasco. Edith met the love of her life at a wedding at the Broadalbin Hotel and they were married on November 27, 1948. They built a wonderful life together centered around their two daughters and their close-knit extended family. Bill and Edie loved to fish, explore the Adirondacks, and spend Sundays at the camp on Sacandaga. Shortly after they celebrated their 25th silver anniversary, William died unexpectedly on April 27, 1974. Edith loved to play blackjack and enjoyed casinos in Monte Carlo, Las Vegas, Atlantic City, Puerto Rico and St. Croix. She would always bet on the grey horses at Saratoga. Well into her 99th year, she played online scrabble on her iPad, loved a good game of gin, followed friends and family on Facebook, and never missed a Yankee game. Edith spent winters in Puerto Rico and St. Croix with her daughter’s family, but always wanted to come home to her house on the corner of Stairs Road. During her last years, she loved watching the birds on her back deck and being surrounded by her family. Survivors include her two daughters, Carol DiPalo and her husband, Joseph of Pleasant Valley NY, and Mary Ann Mahoney of St. Croix, US Virgin Islands; three granddaughters, Katherine DiPalo of Brooklyn, Emily DiPalo of Brooklyn, and Alison Mahoney and her husband, Graham Bailey of Pittsburgh PA; and many nieces and nephews. A Mass of Christian Burial will be celebrated 11 am on Tuesday, October 26, 2021 at St. Stephen’s Church in Hagaman, NY and burial will follow in the parish cemetery. Relatives and friends are invited to call on Monday, October 25, 2021 from 4-7 pm at the Robert M. Halgas Funeral Home, Inc. 111 County Highway 106, (corner of Rt. 29 and Black St.), Johnstown . The family requests all who attend are vaccinated and wear a mask. In lieu of flowers, contributions may be made in Edith’s memory to Mountain Valley Hospice, 108 Steele Avenue Gloversville, 12078. The outstanding care that Edith received from the nurses and staff at Hospice allowed her to spend her final months in the home that she loved, supported by her loving family, caregivers, friends, neighbors and her cat, Big Cindy.