Surkosky

Our beloved “Nunee,” Judith Rosalia Surkosky, 87, of Butler, passed away Sunday, Aug. 17, 2025.

Born in Pittsburgh on Dec. 12, 1937, she was the daughter of the late Walter Keay and Gertrude Klekner Keay James.

Judy’s children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren were her greatest joy in life. She persevered through many adversities, but she always made her family her priority, which made a lasting impression upon her children.

She was an avid gardener, spending hours pulling “those darn weeds” and never met a flower she did not like. She worked as a floral arranger in the family’s business, the Primrose Flower Shop in the Bloomfield neighborhood of Pittsburgh.

She spent summers as an arts and crafts camp counselor at Camp Deer Creek so her children could go to summer camp. She was extraordinarily creative, working and mastering multiple media by teaching herself. She loved to sew and craft, as well as create puppets and Halloween costumes.

She loved to bake. Christmas cookies and nut rolls were favorites, and every Christmas, she and “Bumpy” would make dozens and pack tins to the brim. Her specialties were caramel cups, anise sticks and Uncle Dean’s cookies. She made beautiful desserts, trifles and pies, and everyone’s favorite, lemon lush.

Next to her family, her faith played a significant role in her life, volunteering at the church she belonged to, whether in Pittsburgh or here in Butler. She instilled her love of God in all of her family. In Butler, she was a member of All Saints Parish, St. Paul Roman Catholic Church, and served as a greeter and as a member of Our Lady’s Rosary Makers of Butler.

She went to grade school at St. Leo’s School on the North Side of Pittsburgh and was a high school graduate of Mount Assisi Academy in Bellevue. She modeled in her late teens and early 20s, even after having children.

She loved her morning coffee and sitting on her back porch watching the birds and deer. Hummingbirds were her passion and she made sure they always had food, filling them to the brim at the end of the season so they had enough for their flight south. Her bird feeder was always full and she made sure whoever came to visit filled it when she could not.

She was a volunteer with Meals on Wheels and was a founding member and active volunteer for Kids Day America in Butler for 20 years. Judy also volunteered as a 4-H and Girl Scout mom.

She is survived by four children, Cynthia Hackett and her husband, John, of Verona, Pa., Sondra Pipes and her husband, Kurt, of Butler, Dr. Andrea York and her husband, Carl, of Walworth, N.Y., and Dr. Stuart Surkosky and his wife, Dawn, of Butler; 12 grandchildren, Teale (Chad), Adam (Mariola), Joseph, Joshua (Marissa), Alexandra (Giovanni), Andrew Walter, Jacob (Danielle), Annaleigh (Thomas), Andrew Joseph (Cecelia), Alizabeth, Jordon (Kapria) and Addelynne; nine great-grandchildren, Aislynn, Hazel, Abby, Zane, Noah, Kai, Marek, Julia and Hollis; as well as nephews, Sean Keay and Peter Keay.

In addition to her parents, Judith was preceded in death by her beloved husband, Joseph J. Surkosky, who passed away March 10, 2005; and her brother, Anthony Keay, who passed in January 2025.

SURKOSKY — Friends of Judith Rosalia Surkosky, who died Sunday, Aug. 17, 2025, will be received from 2 to 4 and 6 to 8 p.m. Friday, Aug. 22, at MARTIN FUNERAL HOME DOWNTOWN, 201 E. Cunningham St., Butler.

Final viewing will be at 9 a.m. Saturday, Aug. 23, at Martin Funeral Home Downtown, followed by a Mass of Christian Burial at 10 a.m. at All Saints Parish, St. Paul Roman Catholic Church, 128 N. McKean St., Butler, with the Rev. Kevin C. Fazio officiating.

Burial will take place in Calvary Cemetery.

In lieu of flowers, donations may be made in memory of Judy Surkosky to the Narcolepsy Network at nni.app.neoncrm.com/forms/donation or NORD at rarediseases.org/donate-nord.

For more information, please visit www.martinfh.net.

Please sign the guest book at www.butlereagle.com.