In Memory of Guy Lewis Abbott

In Memory of Guy Lewis Abbott Dec 8th, 1927 to July 10th, 2009

Born to Guyton and Geraldine Abbott on December 8, 1927. He was known as "Sonny" to all of the Abbott family. The nick name came from a neighbor who called him the sunshine of her life. He grew up and went to school in Swissvale, Pa.

Sonny was a sergeant in the army (WWII) and stationed at Fort Lewis in Washington. He was scheduled to be shipped out to the Pacific theater when we dropped the A-Bomb so he never went overseas. He then was recruited to be a MP and was assigned to track down and bring back deserters to the base.

He returned and went to Duquesne University, married Rosemarie and they had two boys and two girls. Ricky, Michael, Sandy and Eileen. They lived for a while in Irwin, Pa while Guy worked as a draftsman at the Switch & Signal. After that they moved to Cannonsburg, PA while he worked as a supervisor for RCA. In the years after he retired they moved to Hilton Head and again enjoyed a number of years hosting family members at their South Carolina house.












Guy loved his family, children, grandchildren, and his great grandchildren. They were a special part of his life and the ones he leaned on when he became ill. He had a heart bypass, recovered and then was diagnosed with Lung cancer. He had an operation to remove the cancer from his lung. But, as so often happens cancer was found to be in his bones. As the disease advanced he moved in with his daughter Sandy, at her house in Charlotte, NC.

Last July we went down to Charlotte and had the opportunity to see my uncle one last time. My dad went with us to spend a few days with his brother. When we left him, my dad visually upset knowing he would not see him in this world again. On July 10th, 2009 my Uncle, known also as "Sonny", brother, husband, father, grandfather, and great grandfather left us.


He will be missed by all that knew and loved him. But never forgotten.

Father Day 2010

For Our Fathers who we Love and Honor

Great Grandpa and Grandpa we still think of you both

Fathers day is a very important and sometimes emotional day for we honor that man who was a part of our existence. Not just physical, but emotionally and even spiritually to make up who we are.

We need to look deeper into the true meaning of fatherhood. It is not that you are able to create life with your partner, but are able to give of yourself , your time and your resources. To be able to stand in the gap at times for your children and shape them into the people they become.

To be able to have a stake in the future of the ones we love and to be a part of their lives and hopefully their childrens lives.

My father always spent the time to be with us on the baseball field and at home. We were taught to respect others and to work hard to get what we wanted. Our dad has been there when we really needed him.

Thanks Dad we love and appreciate you......

April Showers brings May Birthdays

Birthday Mania

May is a very busy month in the Abbott family

Cathy and I have our anniversary on the 1st Day of the month.

Followed by Birthday after Birthday.... from Brian, Kevin and Jeff ..... all three brothers born in May.


Followed by two of Kelly's children Taylor and Samantha also have birthdays in the Fifth month of the year.




Alyssa eating the cake for the May Crew
Her birthday is next month.

Some families save money for the Christmas holidays, but we also have to spend more in the Fifth month of the year than at the end of the year.





Sammie gets ready to light the cake
and sing for all.

It is a joy to spend time with the family and enjoy talking of the days gone by and share in the family dreams of tomorrow.

Taylor waiting for the Birthday songs to begin

The Abbate Family off to America

Formicola, Italy...

The year was 1848. In Italy a revolution was growing for national unity and independence. That year revolution had initiated uprisings from Vienna which moved through several other regions. Finally, in 1861 the Kingdom of Italy was established. During this Italian unification, the territories of Emilia and Romagna combined into the new nation.

This war and the building of a new nation had prompted many to emigrate to the United States. A large number of Italians sailed off to the New World which held a promise for a new start, cheap land and endless opportunities.


This takes us to a young couple from the city of Formicola, which is 55 km northeast of Naples. Formicola means "Ant Hill", which may be another reason why they left for the new world.
Vincenzo Abbate and Filomena Caputo married and decided to leave the old country for a new start.

Here they stand a few years later.

In 1901 the Abbate family invaded the New World, arriving at Ellis Island in two waves. Vincenzo James Abbate then 32 arrived in May of 1901 establishing a residence and job to provide for his family. While his wife Filomena Caputo Abbate then 24 arrived in September with their children.



The journey eventually took them to a new area in western Pennsylvania, near Pittsburgh. They lived out their lives in Pittsburgh with the family flourishing around them.

Filomena died Sept 3rd, 1945 at age 68. Vincenzo died June 10th, 1952 at age 83.

Although their journey has ended, the Abbott family
legacy continues to grow in the country where a young italian couple braved the ocean and raised a family in love.

I say to them .... noi ti amiamo, GRAZIE
(we love you, and thanks)



My Greatgrandfather and Grandfather

Patriarch of the Abbotts

Who is this man?

Charles "Bo" Abbott is a quiet yet strong father of five. He is also the grandfather to seven girls and a great grandfather to five. All know him as an easy going, layed back person who enjoys his family and the time we spend together.

But who is this man really?

When you really think of what he has done and been through, he really is a very strong person. He was an all state lineman for Swissvale High School. He fought in the Korean War and worked his way up to staff sergeant. Upon his return to the states he entered a new war - the life of family and working a full time job. He had a blue collar job as a machinist at the Union Switch and Signal. After leaving there, he went to Westinghouse Research. While there, he had the chance to work on several projects for NASA. Some of his work could possibly be on the moon!



He probably felt more in control of his army squad in Korea than his new squad back in Pittsburgh. It wasn't long before the family grew to four boys and it was up to dad to deal with us on a nightly basis after working all day. He eventually got his little girl and our family was complete.





We could not wait for him to come home to play baseball. He always made time for us and would help us hone our baseball skills. Our yard had become the baseball field in the neighborhood. Which means it lacked grass and resembled a major league diamond. Dad was often the pitcher of record, giving up some monumental homers. But, we enjoyed the time we spent and would usually play ball until dark. It wasn't long after that we joined local organized baseball leagues and he was drafted into coaching. He had a special talent for coaching where he helped develop a number of talented kids.



Who is the patriarch of the our family? He has always been there for us all, a strong force that will not bend in a storm. He has always encouraged us and helped us get through the tough times. We love you dad for all that you are to us.

Stength and love

LOVE OF A MOTHER

What holds us together as a family.

Is it the strength of one individual member
or is it the love of all of the family in a whole.

I referred to the bible reading in 1 Corinthians 12:12
Which reads : "The body is a unit, though it is made up
of many pars; and though all its parts are many they
form one body."

We all have various strengths and talents that we bring to the family. This makes a working body to help each other and provide the encouragement, strength and love to get through life.

***************************************************


With today being my mothers birthday, I am focused on her life and how she was a driving force
in making me what I am today. She was the matriarch of our family and all of us would eventually have to answer to her. All the family functions, parties and dinners would find her right in the middle of the arrangements. She wasn't very tall, in fact you could say she was small. But, her bite was just as bad as her bark.

I will always remember talking back to her and to my amazement... how keen her sense of hearing was.... and also, how fast she could run after us when provoked.

Thinking on the positive though, She was a great cook and loved to use her cooking skills, especially for the sunday family dinners. That was the days you better have a good excuse for being at the table..... like you were dead maybe...

One such fine dinner found my father asking why the spaghetti sauce was so thick..... She did not respond, but got up from her chair and went into the kitchen to get a glass of water. When she came from the kitchen she went directly to my father and poured the water over his head. Which in turn found its way to the plate, thus thinning the sauce.

As with all families we had good and bad times. But, I remember mostly good times, with the one that loved us. She would call all the time to give us the encouragement when we needed and sometimes the words of rebuke when did not care to hear it. She was dedicated to her family and would do whatever was necessary to make sure we were cared for.

I will always remember our trip to the outer banks. How we would walk along that beach every morning at sun up for that week. We talked and shared the moments of a lifetime in those thirty minutes a day.



















Love you mom. Happy Birthday from the parts that make the family.

Grandma and Grandpa start of a dynasty

Grandma and Grandpa ...
The Start of a family story...

What can be said of Grandma and Grandpa Abbott. They enjoyed the quiet life of sitting in the living room and chatting with each other and family. They spent 70 years together very much in love and struggled the hard life of the depression years. Where every dollar was stretched beyond what we would be comfortable with in these times. They both were very sharp and could remember exclusive details of every family event. Especially the ones we wished they would not remember.

Guyton Abbott (Grandpa) worked at the Westinghouse switch and signal as a tool maker until he retired. It was said by co-workers that he was the best tool maker they had ever met. He not only new how to stretch his money, but was able to invest in his families future by buying US Savings Bonds and Treasury notes.

I remember him coming into town one morning on the bus to personally attend to his Treasury notes at the Federal Reserve. He was a very proud man and needed to resolve an issue with his notes and bonds. I remember feeling very proud of him, because he was so independent and in charge. He told me that resolved his issue and that he set the people at the Fed straight.

Geraldine Abbott (Grandma) was a great cook and dazzled the family with her cooking skills. Her pasta and meatballs were amazing at the family gatherings. She was a great grandmother and enjoyed her visits with the great grandchildren. You could never pull anything over on her, she seemed to be two steps ahead of us grand kids.

I remember after grandpa had passed away in July 1994, she sat down with me and wanted to tell the family story which she could recall as if it happened yesterday. She provided us with so much information about the family that my uncle was able to create the family story.

I can recall the day that she went down to Maryland in the ambulance to live out her remaining time with stomach cancer at my uncles house. She told me that "I Love you and to take care of the family", as if she was going away for the weekend. She was a very strong person who took her terminal illness with the grace expected of her personality. Then on Feb 25th, 2000 we lost that strength and the matriarch of the family.

What they have left us were three sons, who in turn created three separate families that have all grown and spread out across the country.

But, no matter what... all the origins lead back to the little house in Swissvale. Where the love of two was the beginning of a family.


Love you Grandma and Grandpa!!!

Welcome to the Abbotts

Welcome to the Abbott's

Life in the burgh of Pittsburgh is always
interesting.


My sister and Dad visit us for Thanksgiving.






The purpose to this blog is to allow the family to keep in touch with each other where ever life takes them.

We are put together in this life to share and love each other. Our visits are always interesting and we get a number of great stories and pictures. This is the essence of what I want to capture the snapshots of life and the special moments.


Here is my sisters family after eating the big turkey dinner, Doug holds the real turkeys here.

The girls are Taylor, Alyssa and Sammie and they capture three individual personalities that we will expound on in a future blog. Just keep in mind that they are rather entertaining.






My brother Kevin and his wife Mari have two beautiful and very intelligent daughters. We will feature them in there own blog in the near future.

My brothers Jeff and Brian are the other two brothers who keep low profiles in the family news and events. Once again we will elaborate in future postings.

I was married for 28 years with Jamie, before we got divorced. We had two daughters together. Jamie passed away in 2008 from brain cancer. My daughters Danielle has two children Nathan and Haley. While Erin my youngest daughter has three children Ryleigh, Logan and Sara. These you can read about in the coming months......

My wife Cathy and I are just enjoying our life together. As we do life together.