Emily Howatt Pliskatt, 86, of Foxfire Village, formerly of Wilkes-Barre, Pa., died Monday, Oct. 29, 2012, at FirstHealth Hospice House, in Pinehurst.
A visitation will be held from 5 to 7 p.m. Friday, Nov. 2, at McCune Funeral Home, in Mountain Top, Pa. A graveside funeral service will be held at 11 a.m. Saturday, Nov. 3, at Dorrance Cemetery, in Mountain Top.
Emily was born May 10, 1926, in Luzerne County, Pa. She was the youngest daughter of the late Walter J. and Louisa Kling Howatt. She was a graduate of Hanover Township schools and graduated in 1944. Emily continued her education at West Virginia State College and Parkersburg Community College, with enrichment courses and piano at Sandhills Community College.
She was employed by State Farm Insurance Company in the claims office in Wilkes-Barre for many years while she also did verbatim reporting for many lawyers at that time. Upon her move to Charleston, W.Va., she worked briefly for Monsanto Company in Nitro, W.Va., before moving to Parkersburg, W.Va., where she became official court reporter to Judge Donald F. Black, in the Wood County Circuit Court. After 15 years in court, and because of declining health, she retired early, along with her husband, to Foxfire Village.
She had many interests prior to retirement, and in addition to pursuing various volunteer work with organizations for children and young adults, she worked for five years with Samarkand Manor at Eagle Springs, in an intergenerational program for juvenile offenders. She was honored and recognized for her work with juveniles at Samarkand Manor, and nominated for outstanding senior citizen on the statewide level. She was recognized by Sandhills Jaycees for her work and received an Outstanding Senior Citizen award from them.
Emily was a member of West Virginia and National Shorthand Reporters Association; a member of the W.Va. Pilot Club of St. Albans and Altrusa Club of Parkersburg, and a member and officer of Cotillion Club of Parkersburg. She was elected member and secretary of the board of auditors, Rice Township, Pa.; a member and secretary of the board of auditors of the Miss West Virginia Scholarship Pageant.
Her name is listed in Who’s Who of American Women; Who’s Who of Southern Women; Community Leaders and Noteworthy Americans, for her outstanding and distinguished service. She was a lifetime member of St. Paul Lutheran Church in Wilkes-Barre.
She is survived by her loving husband of 61 years, Charles “Chuck” Pliskatt, of Foxfire Village; and several nieces and nephews. In addition to her parents, she was preceded in death by her three brothers, John, Walter and Gordon Howatt; and four sisters, Mary H, Weir, Carrie H. Stewart, Ruth H. Sobers and Margaret H. Williams.
Boles Funeral Home of Seven Lakes is serving the family locally, and McCune Funeral Home of Mountain Top, Pa., is serving the family in Pennsylvania.