Natalie Anita Lizanich

Natalie (Kotch) Lizanich was born on February 4, 1930 to Nicholas and Anita Kotch of Olyphant, Pennsylvania. Natalie was their only daughter. Parents Nicholas and Anita named their firstborn Nicholas. A second son died from pneumonia as an infant, Tommy. Natalie was born some years after Tommy’s death, and after Natalie’s birth, son Nathan soon followed.

Natalie Anita was named by her godmother, Aunt Nellie. Although Nellie passed away from cancer at a young age, Natalie remembered her godmother fondly throughout her life. As the two youngest children in the family, Natalie and Nathan forged a strong sister-brother bond. They were often seen together, and were nicknamed Nate and Nat. The two siblings and their mother would take in a picture show on Sundays. Natalie and Nathan favored the westerns, while their mother loved Shirley Temple. Natalie’s most treasured memory of Nathan happened one day while Nathan was on a swing, when he sang to her, “You Are My Sunshine.” They were each other’s best friends.

Natalie and Nathan would pick blueberries together, and after selling some berries to their neighbors, they brought home the remainder for their mother to make into blueberry pie. Natalie often spoke of her family’s peach trees, a cherry tree and vegetable garden, all of which required food processing that kept their mother busy. Their father had built the home on East Scott Street in Olyphant on a corner double lot after the family survived a house fire in the early 1930s.

Though her coal-mining family lived in a beautiful home – their family was the first on the block to purchase a white Kelvinator refrigerator – Natalie was anxious to be on her own. Natalie just missed attending her high school graduation from Olyphant High School, class of 1947, in order to move to Newark, New Jersey to be with her cousins. One of her first jobs in Newark involved working in a cafeteria. In Newark, Natalie met Frank Lizanich at a church dance, and they soon became a couple. Frank also hailed from Pennsylvania, the son of a coal miner, which gave them something in common. The couple wed on February 24, 1951 in Newark, New Jersey.

When the couple moved to Rockaway, New Jersey in the early 1950s, Natalie became a member of Sacred Heart Roman Catholic Church. She loved the Slovak roots of the parish, and supported the parish wholeheartedly. Frank and Natalie had three children: daughters Suzanne and Christine, and a son, Lawrence. As Natalie raised her children, she also worked outside the home, her longest tenure at Rockaway Sales, a department store in Rockaway, New Jersey. Natalie first worked on the sales floor in the domestics department, and later on, in the business office, helping with bookkeeping tasks.

It was only after Natalie, her husband and son Larry moved to Brandon, Florida in 1977 that Natalie discovered her true calling: volunteerism. For ten years, she volunteered in the infant nursery at Brandon Regional Hospital as a Pink Lady. After that, she began a long volunteer tenure spanning three decades at Consulate Health Care of Brandon. She especially enjoyed getting to know the nursing home patients who were there for the long haul, reading the daily menus to them, setting up the Rosary prayer time and lending an ear to those in need. It seemed many of the patients could claim they were Natalie’s favorites because she enjoyed them all.

Natalie had a passion to see the world. She joined numerous group tours, both domestic and international. Because of her devotion to the Blessed Virgin Mary, she traveled to Marian shrines throughout Europe. After entering the waters at the shrine in Lourdes France, Natalie claimed a measure of physical healing from scleroderma; her doctors later had no explanation for such a remission. Natalie often said her healing was not for her own benefit, but she believed that God restored her health so that she could serve others. Other travel highlights include a visit to Hawaii to see her brother Nathan, with whom she was especially close.

Natalie’s interest in dancing began at an early age. She loved to tell the story of how her grandfather George Kotch came for a visit and taught her the Hungarian csárdás. Natalie adored the music of the Big Band era as well as classic Hollywood movies. In her later years, a day rarely went by without Natalie listening to music or watching a classic movie. Other enduring hobbies include practicing tai chi, which she reluctantly gave up at the age of 80, and shopping for unique hats. She enjoyed wearing hats, and never seemed to have too many.

Toward the end of her life, Natalie lamented how much she had forgotten: she forgot how to do laundry, she used to know how to make waffles. Even though she forgot many familial faces, she never forgot Jesus, she kept fast the faith.

Natalie passed away on August 4, 2022 at the age of 92 due to complications from vascular dementia. Natalie’s husband Frank preceded her in death. Natalie is survived by many loving family members and friends, including her three children, Suzanne Lizanich-Aro [husband Karl Aro] (Silver Spring, MD); Christine Bodine (Williams Bay, WI); and Lawrence Lizanich (Plant City, FL). She is also survived by her brother Nathan Kotch [wife Diane Kotch] (Mililani Town, HI). Natalie’s grandchildren include Ted Bodine (Wheaton, IL); Steve Aro [wife Krista Baron] (Wexford, PA); Caroline Aro (Baltimore, MD); and Kassi Ketterer [husband Travis Ketterer] (Shelby Township, MI). Natalie is survived by many treasured nieces and nephews who live across the country.

Funeral arrangements are being handled by Hillsboro Memorial Funeral Home, Brandon FL. Interment will be at Hillsboro Memorial Gardens, Brandon FL.