Mary Lou Kachurek Mikula Hudak 1935-2026

She was born June 29, 1935, the youngest child of Joseph and Mary Novotny Kachurek.

Mary Lou was a 1953 graduate of Chaney High School and the ACME clerical training program. She married Paul Mikula on June 20, 1959; they were happily married for 46 years until his passing on Dec. 28, 2005. She married William Hudak in 2007, who sadly passed in 2022.

Mary Lou was an administrative professional at Steel City Corporation and retired from the Mahoning County Commissioners’ Office. She also worked for Market America and Carlson Wagonlit Travel Agency.

Mary Lou had a smile for everyone. She loved life, loved a party and was eternally young at heart. She enjoyed casinos, concerts, plays and baking Slovak cookies. She had a lifelong love of travel (anywhere). She traveled to Slovakia twice to visit cousins. Some of her trips included cruises to the Panama Canal and Alaska and hosting a family Christmas cruise to the Bahamas. She took a Danube River cruise just two weeks after 9/11, when many canceled their plans, and cruised to Iceland at the age of 88 with her flower girl, Patti Lynn. She planned numerous Kachurek family reunions, including the 2024 reunion with 122 attendees. She cherished celebrating her 90th birthday party surrounded by family and friends.

Mary Lou enjoyed monthly gatherings with her “500 Club” high school friends and helped plan many class reunions. She was a devoted member of St. Christine Church, an Infant of Prague member and served as a Eucharistic minister to the homebound.

Mary Lou leaves behind four children, Carol (Dan) Thomas, Ken (Cheryl) Mikula, Kathy (Tom) Mohl and Shelly (Todd) Stover. She was a proud grandmother to Don (Shannon) Jones, Gunnar (Allie) Mikula, Kyle (Kayla) Stover, Haley Mikula, Sienna Mohl, Lauren (Zach) Michel and Ryan Mohl, and four great-grandchildren, Declan, Camden and Maddie Jones, and Palmer Stover.

She is also survived by her sister, Rita (Bill) Johnston, along with many special nieces and nephews. She was preceded in death by her parents; her sisters, Agnes White, Martha McClain and Helen Semeraro; her brothers, Joseph and Raymond Kachurek; and her niece, Beverly White Magda.

Calling hours will be 9 to 10:30 a.m. Tuesday, Feb. 10, 2026, at Vaschak-Kirila Funeral Home on Canfield Road in Cornersburg, with a Mass of Christian Burial to follow at St. Christine Church at 11 a.m.

Vaschak-Kirila Funeral Home handled all of the arrangements for the family.

(special notice)