Barbara Toth

Barbara Toth

On Jan. 7, 2025, Barbara Toth died. On Sept. 13, 1938, she was born in the Blesh’s stone caretaker’s cottage along Fishing Creek at the west end of Sugar Valley where her parents, Ella Sarah Zerby Mayes and Roy Mayes lived.

When she was six, her brother, Bill, was born and the following year their brother Dave was born. As a child, she worked hard and had responsibilities that formed an exceptional work ethic. She learned all the domestic skills expected of young women of the day but became especially proficient with a needle and thread. She won first prize several times at the Pennsylvania Farm Show in Harrisburg for her fine and even stitches.

As a teen she worked her first job at Beschler’s Store in Loganton for $0.50 an hour. After graduating from Sugar Valley High School, she went to live at the YWCA in Williamsport and worked in a factory nearby. She married Buck Welshans and continued to work various office jobs honing her secretarial skills. She gave birth to her children, Julie and Dean. The family lived in Shirk’s Hollow and then Swissdale.

When the children were grown and her life’s circumstances changed, with courage and resolve, she sold her possessions and moved to the Atlanta, Ga. area where she had no job waiting in the wings or a place to live. There, she built a life for herself and worked for various insurance companies and thrived. Always friendly and compassionate, she made many friends and brought much joy to many. She loved music and always enjoyed singing in her church’s choir. When she was bowling, she met and later married Dan Toth. After she retired, she moved to Florida where she lived in the in-law suite with her son and his daughter, Ella. She attended Ella’s soccer matches and spent time assembling puzzles and enjoying sunsets from the lanai as the family pooch, Kona, romped in the grass.

Her final days were spent fighting a losing battle with MDS, a type of blood cancer. Barb was a loving mother, a proud grandmother, a wonderful sister and a loyal friend. Many hearts are empty and sad now that she’s gone.