Edith “Edie” McLaughlin Lukasevich spent nearly a century making herself indispensable to the town she loved.

She knocked on doors for Franklin D. Roosevelt at age 5. She was still serving on Jim Thorpe Borough Council at age 90. In between, she worked for the Carbon County Area Agency on Aging for 17 years, served as a registrar of vital statistics for 33 years, helped restore the World War I and World War II memorials in Jim Thorpe, marched in nearly every St. Patrick’s Day parade in recorded memory and devoted decades to the Democratic Party, the Ladies Ancient Order of Hibernians and Kemmerer Park.

Lukasevich, 99, of Jim Thorpe, died Monday, Feb. 16, with family at her side at the home she shared with her daughter Lori and son-in-law Wilt Turnbach.

“Her life — not only was it long, but it was so varied,” said Ron Sheehan, a longtime friend and fellow Democratic activist from Jim Thorpe.

Lukasevich was born the daughter of Joseph and Mary (Geiger) McLaughlin of Mauch Chunk and spent all of her life in Jim Thorpe. She was a 1945 graduate of Mauch Chunk Catholic High School and held an associate degree from Lehigh County Community College.

Her political instincts surfaced early. According to her obituary, she remembered campaigning for FDR at age 5 by pulling a wagon with a sign reading “Vote for FDR.” The story stayed with her for life.

“Whenever there was a visiting politician — whether it was a governor, U.S. senator or a congressman — whenever Edie would be introduced to someone, that was her opening story,” Sheehan said. “She was a true Democrat her entire life.”

She backed it up with decades of service, working as committeewoman in Ward 5, serving as president of the Jim Thorpe Democratic Club and as a member of the Carbon County Democratic Executive Committee. She was elected to Jim Thorpe Borough Council, serving from 1995 to 2002, and then returned for a second term from 2017 to 2021 — at age 90.

Sheehan credited Lukasevich with helping launch his own political career.

“She was very instrumental in my first election as county treasurer,” he said. “Her advice to politicians was that the old system always worked — the door knocking and always be positive with your advertising. She told you what had worked in the past and what had failed, and she could give you the insight of what direction to take with your campaign.”

Speaking her mind

Despite her deep party roots, Sheehan added, she did not let partisanship drive her council decisions.

Michael Sofranko, who served on council during her first term and was mayor during her second, said their relationship was defined by honest disagreement.

“I didn’t always agree with Edie,” Sofranko said. “We had many debates from politics to council and the direction of the town, but she always stuck to her guns and spoke her mind. She could debate you and you would leave thinking you may never talk again, then the next day she’d see you and say hello and have a friendly conversation. She was committed to her causes and she fought hard for what she believed in. I always admired that.”

Sheehan echoed that quality.

“She would always give you her opinion and her advice on a matter, whether it conformed to your idea or not,” he said. “She always gave you a straight opinion or a straight answer. But she was also always willing to help with any organization. She loved the town of Mauch Chunk and later Jim Thorpe, and she basically dedicated her life to it.”

Putting loyalty to the test

Her party loyalty faced its sharpest test when her son ran for Carbon County commissioner as a Republican. Rather than resign from the Democratic executive board, Lukasevich took a formal recess for the duration of the campaign and returned immediately after the election.

“Even that tells you she could be bipartisan, where she supported her son naturally as a Republican candidate, but she had that much respect for the Democratic Party that she could not bring herself to just resign and step away,” Sheehan said.

At the Carbon County Area Agency on Aging, where records show she was hired Dec. 15, 1976, as an outreach worker, Lukasevich was known as someone who connected seniors to help they might not have known to ask for.

“When they knew she was coming, she would always have people asking her questions about all aspects of aging programs, and she was very knowledgeable in that,” said Anne Horrigan, a colleague. “Everybody liked Edie. They weren’t afraid to talk to her. She was very approachable.”

Making connections

Cindy Bizarre, another colleague, said Lukasevich’s greatest professional asset was knowing how to make connections.

“She was very energetic, very caring and knowledgeable — not only in the job, but throughout the whole community,” Bizarre said. “She knew a lot of people. She knew where to make arrangements, where to get help for people, and how to make those connections.”

“We need more people like Edie in our community,” Horrigan said. “She was very, very active for those that needed somebody to stand beside them.”

Sue Ziegler, who also worked with Lukasevich at the agency, said her approach was straightforward.

“If she thought it was right, she did it,” Ziegler said, “and if she thought it was wrong, she told you why.”

Away from work, Lukasevich was known for her sense of style. Horrigan recalled her little hats and briefcase.

“She was always stylish and professional looking,” Horrigan said. “She presented well.”

Bizarre, who came from a dairy farming family, said she still has a small pewter cow keychain Lukasevich gave her years ago.

“I still have it, and think of her,” she said.

Champion for parks

Beyond politics and public service, Lukasevich’s connection to Kemmerer Park in the upper Mauch Chunk section of Jim Thorpe was personal. Her obituary described the park as a project “close to my heart,” in her own words, noting the many summers she spent there as a child.

Jack Sterling, of the Kemmerer Park Association, said she remained engaged with the park’s work into the very end of her life.

“She was sharp as could be towards the end,” Sterling said, noting she had responded to a board email about a donation from the Kemmerer Family Fund as recently as December.

Sterling said the association is now exploring a lasting tribute.

“One of her favorite topics — she kind of giggled about it — was about the fountain that used to be there,” he said, referring to an old park fountain that no longer exists. He said he has been tentatively looking into what it would take to create an Edie Lukasevich memorial fountain at its original location.

“I don’t know how much it would cost and what we could afford, but that would be nice,” Sterling said.

Sheehan said parks across Jim Thorpe mattered deeply to her.

“All of the parks were a passion of hers — Twining Park on Front Street, Kemmerer Park, Sam Miller Field up in the Heights,” he said. “Parks were a big deal to her.”

Sheehan also co-chaired with Lukasevich the committee to restore the World War I and World War II memorials in Jim Thorpe — a project she pursued with personal investment.

“She had relatives on the World War II monument, and she knew a lot of the people that were on those monuments over the years,” he said. “She would do all the running and gathering information, and then I would do all the paperwork for the grant, getting the names correct on the honor rolls.”

At Immaculate Conception Catholic Church, where she was a lifetime member, Lukasevich served as a Eucharistic minister, CCD instructor, choir member and member of the Women’s Club.

Celebrating heritage

Her faith and her Irish heritage were equally central to her identity.

As a charter member of the Ladies Ancient Order of Hibernians, she served on the Jim Thorpe St. Patrick’s Day Parade committee and as an aide to the grand marshal. “You could always count on her on parade day to be wearing her kilt, her high woolen socks and her beret,” Sheehan said. “She really knew how to play the part.”

To Sheehan’s knowledge, she missed only a single parade in all her years — and only because she fell at the conclusion of the St. Patrick’s Day Mass, where she had been serving as Eucharistic minister, and broke both elbows.

“That’s about the only thing that could keep her away,” Sheehan said.

Those who knew her said Lukasevich’s drive never diminished.

“At a time when most people would be resting on their laurels, she was just plowing forward,” Sheehan said.

“That, in itself, speaks volumes — not only to her energy, but her belief and her love of the town.”

Lukasevich was preceded in death by her husband, Victor Lukasevich; her grandson, Victor Marshall Lukasevich; and her siblings, including her beloved sister and best friend, Marie. She is survived by her five children: Francis Lukasevich, husband of Barbara; Andrea, wife of M.J. Hardin; Lori, wife of Robert Turnbach; Chris, husband of Margaret; and Amy Lukasevich. She is also survived by 11 grandchildren and nine great-grandchildren.

Visitation will be held from 9-11 a.m. on Monday at Immaculate Conception Catholic Church, 180 W. Broadway, Jim Thorpe, followed by a Mass of Christian Burial at 11 a.m. Interment will take place at SS. Peter and Paul Cemetery, Lehighton. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to the Rett Syndrome Foundation, 4500 Cooper Road, Suite 204, Cincinnati, OH 45242, or online at rettsyndrome.org. The Melber Funeral Home, Jim Thorpe, is handling the arrangements.