Thea M. Saturday

Thea M. (Spencer) Saturday

November 9, 1927 – March 12, 2022

Thea Saturday was a resilient, kindhearted, and sharp-witted woman. Born November 9, 1927, near Wayne Township, she was the product of her Depression-Era upbringing. Frugal but comfortable living and common-sense thinking shaped how she saw the world. Thea graduated from Williamsfield High School as an excellent typist. And if it weren’t for her father’s sudden passing in 1944, she would have traveled to Washington D.C. to hone her typing skills with the federal government. Instead, Thea stayed home to help her family and earned money as a seamstress with the Seat Cover Corporation in Williamsfield.

After World War II, Thea would ride to Cleveland with her coworkers to watch baseball. She often reminisced about the buzz and excitement of cheering for her beloved Indians when they won the 1948 World Series. Thea’s early obsession with Cleveland sports never faded. She spent the rest of her life tuning in faithfully for the first pitch or opening tip-off to cheer for (and sometimes curse at) her favorite players. Thea loved dancing with her sisters. Her outgoing personality took her to many USO-sponsored dances in Ashtabula, where she met her late husband, Dominic.

Thea enjoyed city-living for most of her life. Aside from caring for her own family, she helped feed thousands of students throughout the years as a lunch lady in the Ashtabula City School system. She knew that a good meal was powerful—that food and drinks could bring people together and keep them laughing, dancing, and telling stories all night. She loved hosting Thanksgiving and Christmas dinners where family, friends, and neighbors were all welcome.

In 1991, Thea sadly assumed a new role as matriarch after losing her husband, Dominic. Though she lived independently for the next 31 years, she was an unbreakable link in the family chain. Nothing made her happier than watching her loved ones grow and accomplish new things, from births to graduations, weddings, promotions, anniversaries, and more. Relaying the latest family news by phone became her new favorite hobby.

Thea’s broad-mindedness was uncharacteristic for someone with her background. She opened her heart and her home to anyone in need without judging. Indeed, she never uttered a discriminating word. “The way I see it, we’re all God’s children,” she would say. She was a sincerely religious woman.

Thea suffered from the pain and frustration of living with severe arthritis. Her hands ached so much that she never drove. In some ways, this was a blessing in disguise. Her reliance on family and friends for transportation and errands kept them nearby and gave her the social interaction that a widow of 31 years needed.

This past winter, Thea traveled—as she sometimes did—to stay with family in Texas to avoid the cold. But, in the end, old age, an unexpected fall, and complications from COVID-19 proved too much for her fighting spirit. She passed away in Houston on the morning of March 12, 2022.

Thea was preceded in death by her husband (Dominic), her parents (Artie and Ellen), her siblings (Roy, Dona, Bob, and Joyce), and her grandparents (Muscoe and Anna). She is survived by her four children (Linda Patterson, SuEllen Matousek [Rick], Kathy Hefner [Glen], and David Saturday [Kathleen]), her grandchildren, great-grandchildren, nieces, and nephews. Her family will host a graveside memorial at Greenlawn Cemetery in North Kingsville at 11:00 AM on Saturday, March 26. In place of cards and flowers, please make donations to the Arthritis Foundation in her name.

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