Obituary of Bridget L. Xander

BRIDGET L. (Tukina) XANDER After an extended illness, Bridget L. (Tukina) Xander, 88 of Mt. Lebanon, formerly of Bell Acres and North Ft. Myers, FL died peacefully on Tuesday, December 12, 2017. She was the mother of Richard A. Xander, Jr. (Valerie) of Moon Township, Karen M. Xander of Castle Shannon, and Brian K. Xander (Barbara). She was preceded in death by her husband of 48 years, Richard A. Xander Sr., her parents, Michael and Pauline Tukina, and her sister, Mary Byrnes. Born September 9, 1929 near Trencin, Czechoslovakia, she emigrated at age 6 to New York City with her mother and sister and were met by her father who emigrated in 1929. She grew up in Palmerton, PA where she attended Sacred Heart School from 1935-43. She graduated from Stephen S. Palmer High School in 1947. She always wanted to be a nurse and worked as a nurse’s aide at Palmerton Hospital before enrolling in the Palmerton Hospital School of Nursing, earning her R.N. in 1950. She married her handsome pilot, Dick Xander in 1952 and moved with him to Kinston, NC where he worked training pilots for the U.S. Air Force while she worked at Lenoir Memorial Hospital as a nursing supervisor. The family moved to Cleveland, Ohio when Dick took a job as a pilot with Allegheny Airlines and Bridget worked as a nurse at Fairview Park Hospital working in maternity surgery. She left work when the family moved to Pittsburgh (Bell Acres) in 1967. In addition to her children, one of her proudest accomplishments was earning a B.A. in Psychology from LaRoche College in 1980. She then returned to work as a Psych Nurse at Dixmont State Hospital. As a snowbird between Bell Acres and North Ft. Myers, she continued to enjoy travel, golf and bowling well into her 80s and was a big baseball fan. She served as Eucharistic minister at St. Therese Catholic Church in North Ft. Myers. Viewing is private. Arrangements by Warchol Funeral Home, Bridgeville. A Mass of Christian Burial will be held at St. John Capistran Catholic Church, Upper St. Clair on Friday, December 15, 2017 at 11 AM. No flowers, please. If desired, contributions may be made to Bridget’s favorite charities, Doctors Without Borders (www.donate.doctorswithoutborders.org) or Trinity Missions (www.trinitymissions.org) or Priests of the Sacred Heart (www.poshusa.org). The family would like to express gratitude to the nurses and staff at Bridgeville Rehab & Care Center for their kind care and compassion.