Olga Selvester, was no ordinary woman. She was ahead of her time and a gifted addition to our society. This obituary will be told through the mind of her daughter Kathryn Mary Selvester-Neubauer. My mother had two sisters Lee Ferrari and Marie Zizzo. They both lived in Sugarmill Woods where they shared many friends, but have since passed. She had two brothers, Rafael Mirabella and Schippione Mirabella, AKA the famous Skip Nelson, also deceased. Mom came from a very musical family. My Grandfather was a Prof of Music and was the opera House Manager in charge of all Orchestra Personal and Bookings at the Brooklyn Academy of Music, in Brooklyn NY. He was a Timpanist. My Uncle Skip was an accomplished Pianist and famous singer in the 1940’s. Mom attended a prestigious Catholic school for Girls where she had a continuing musical education in piano. At 11 years of age she performed for the entire Catholic hierarchy, many of whom traveled from abroad to hear her play. She played everything for Chopin to Tchaikovsky and Beethoven, to Gershwin, all without music in front of her. She graduated from the academy at 18 and became an Executive Assistant to V.K Krishna Menon, the Ambassador from India to the United Nations. She also met and married Vincent Selvester with whom she stayed married until his death in 1986. During her time working at the U.N she was revered as the most incredible typist in the entire building. She actually took dictation on her typewriter. No shorthand needed! She typed 120 words per minute. Her piano skills paid off as this was unprecedented. During her time at the U.N she became pregnant with her first of seven children. Her son Joseph Michael must have been influenced by her job at the U.N because he grew up to become a Brahman Priest. This Hindu Religion was born in India thousands of years ago. Her pregnancy made it difficult to keep her job at the U.N. as she suffered throughout her pregnancy with appendicitis. In her ninth month they performed an appendectomy by moving the baby in the womb over to remove the appendix. Amazing! After my older brother was born she became pregnant with her second child Thomas William. He lived a short life of 13 months due to spina bifida which caused water on the brain. She buried her son while four months pregnant with me. Her heart was broken and spirit collapsed. When I came along it was her great joy to have a little girl that was perfectly healthy. Her children:
Joseph Michael, A Brahman Priest who serves selflessly as a Servant of GOD.
Kathryn Mary Selvester lives a life Mom prepared her for. A life as a singer, songwriter, musician and recording artist a Community Servant and Rotarian Ret.
She went on to have four more children, all boys.
Thomas Anthony was first! He lives a good life and has owned and operated a few businesses with his wife Celia. He lives in Gainesville.
Robert William, deceased, spent most of his life building businesses in NY in the carpet industry when he died of cancer suddenly.
Vincent Thomas, deceased, also was a business owner of three carpet stores when he died of cancer.
Losing her children in their 40’s and 50’s really broke Mom’s heart even further.
Anthony John, has had a difficult life and is still struggling.
Mom took enormous pleasure in being a mother. She was incredibly nurturing. She explained life to each of us in very specific and creative ways. She tried to prepare us for what was to come. We were all raised in the Catholic Church of St. Brendans in Brooklyn NY. Everyone loved my mother. She handled the bazaars, she was a Lector at the church masses, she threw block parties with the neighbors. She kept her children close by cooking for all the kids so as to keep them in her kitchen and backyard. Very often she would cook for all the neighbors. They would tell her what they wanted on their pizza and she’d make it for them and we’d deliver them. It was all too funny. We had a fun childhood! The best memory was when we went to the beach. She would pack pots and pans filled with spaghetti and meatballs, loaves of bread and lots of cookies. We’d sit on the blanket with a small BBQ and she would plate out all the food. The people on neighboring blankets were astonished and would stare. My mother took this to mean that they were hungry so she fed them too. Soon half the beach had spaghetti and meatballs on Italian bread and were all having a great time sharing stories and good times. It was incredible. Additionally my mother’s sisters would join us at the beach and they had 8 kids collectively so now there were enough kids to start a ball team all eating spaghetti and meatballs at the beach. Dad was literally relegated to beach cop when we all hit the water. Watching 6-14 kids swimming must have been his worst nightmare. As we grew older her oldest left home to pursue their dreams while the younger ones stayed home. A couple of them never left. They literally stayed home after my parents went to Florida. They had to sell the house to get them to find their own places to live. Some kids never want to leave home. Mom didn’t stop there. After she got to Fl., 3 years later my father died. She eagerly took her mother into her care. My grandmother lived with her until her death in 1995 at 95 yrs old. One by one my brothers moved down to be with her. She bought a five bedroom house so everyone would have a place to stay or live. The boys always brought their children down and Mom cooked up a storm. Two of my fondest memories of my mother are the apron she wore with all the diaper pins attached to it (there were no Pampers back then). The other was her constantly cooking. Whether we were on a school lunch break or an after school snack, she was there with food in hand to fill our stomachs. There was also the time when we all had the measles followed by the mumps at the same time. We would stand in line to get calamine lotion dabbed all over us. It was so ridiculous but that was Mom and her constant nurturing. To say that my mother led an extraordinary life is my version of it. I am sure there are many Moms from that era who did a lot of the same things, but I never met them. In fact I never met anyone like my mother!
My mother was a “One of a Kind”. When she went into the nursing facility at Diamond Ridge in Lecanto, her first thought was to go and meet all the residents to see if they wanted company or to pray. She would get up every morning and put on her makeup, do her hair and dress to the Nines. It was as if she was going to work. She had dignity and pride like no one I’ve ever known. She cared about all the nurses and aides. She would go to Walmart with the transport at Christmas time and try to buy everyone a little gift. She was unusually considerate, thoughtful and respectful. She just wanted to make others happy, and she did. My mother will be missed by many as she was loved by most. She is survived by 4 children, 9 grandchildren and 3 great grandchildren, along with countless nieces and nephews all over the country! It breaks my heart to say goodbye, but I guess we all have to at some point when it comes to our parents. Until we meet again Mom…..I Love You, Kathryn.
Friends will be received on Mon., Dec. 2, 2019 and Tues., Dec. 3, 2019 from 6:00 to 8:00 P.M. at Wilder Funeral Home, Homosassa, Florida. Mass of Christian Burial will be celebrated on Wed., Dec. 4, 2019 at 11:00 A.M. from Our Lady of Grace Catholic Church, Beverly Hills, Florida. Interment will be private. www.wilderfuneral.com
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