Julia (Somjai) DeDad, 93 years young, was born May 1, 1928 in Holden, West Virginia to the late Stephen and Margaret (Holbus) Somjai. She died peacefully in her home on August 6, 2021.
A 1946 graduate of Albion High School, Julie took great pride in helping to coordinate many class reunions. She welcomed 14 classmates to their 70th class reunion in 2016! Julie began her working career after high school as the secretary of the purchasing department at Lovell Manufacturing in Erie and held many jobs with different organizations in the city before retiring from the Erie City School District in 1993. Julie also volunteered at the local election polls, a position that she very much enjoyed and took very seriously.
Although she excelled at all of these career endeavors, the job she loved most was that of wife and mother. Julie met her late husband Nicholas A. DeDad after many chance encounters in their Brown Ave neighborhood. Soon after, they were married and spent 52 years of loving marriage, filled with laughter, golf outings, and family picnics. We are sure that she is already catching Nick up on all the news he has missed since his death in 2005.
Julie was an active member of St. Joseph Bread of Life Community and a lifetime member of the Siebenburger Ladies Auxiliary. She loved to play golf and try her luck at the casino, and she will always be remembered for her clever wit, great cooking skills, and her amazing memory of the details of her long life and her family’s history. She loved keeping her Hungarian heritage alive by teaching her grandkids to count and sing in the language.
Besides her parents and husband, Julie now joins her brothers Joseph and SSGT Stephen Somjai in eternal life, as well as many, many dear friends and partners in fun.
Julie is survived by her four children and their families, including six grandchildren and 1 great-grandchild: daughter Suzanne DeDad (David Bonney); son Nicholas J. (Karen) DeDad and children Nicholas S. DeDad and Olivia (Chantha) Bun; son Matthew (Monica) DeDad and children Matthew and Michael DeDad; and daughter Sandra (Jeffrey) Luthringer and children Corey Luthringer (Jordan Smith) and their son Callum, and Julia (Patrick) Arrigo. She will also be greatly missed by her sisters Elizabeth (Betty) Orr and Margaret (Margy) Harkness; Sisters-in-law Helen (DeDad) Clement, and Therese (Picano)
DeDad, as well as many nieces and nephews who will forever keep Aunt Julie alive in their hearts.
Family and friends may call at the Kloecker Funeral Home and Crematory, Inc to share their memories on Tuesday, August 10, from 3-7pm and are invited to the Funeral Mass at St. Joseph Church Bread of Life Community on Wednesday, August 11, at 10am. Send condolences to www.kloeckerfuneralhome.com
Entombment will be in Mary Queen of Peace Cemetery.
In lieu of flowers, memorials can be made to the Shriner’s Hospital for Children in Erie, PA or to the charity of your choice.