Phil Kivach
Phil met the love of his life, Pauline (nee Begovich), in grade school. They went their separate ways for high school and reconnected at an 8th grade reunion. They married in July 1969 and had fraternal twin girls, Paulene and Tina, the following summer. A third daughter Karen arrived 18 months later.
His Roman Catholic faith remained strong throughout his life. He took the 4th of God’s Commandments to heart by having his mother live with him until her death in 1985. All three daughters attended private Catholic schools graduating from St. Columbkille in Parma and Holy Name High School in Parma Heights. Dad’s love of sports and music were introduced to all three girls. Many evenings after dinner, Dad would teach us his favorite sport, the game of baseball, in the backyard every summer. In his later years, you could catch Dad and Tina at Byers Field every Friday night. He taught Tina the fundamentals of football and reflected on his days at Latin playing intramurals for the Lions. His love of all genres of music found a special place in the heart of his daughter Paulene. Phil would attend concerts with Paulene and listen to The Cleveland Orchestra as well as other musical groups. The girls went on to marry and baby Ashley, his only grandchild from his daughter Karen, became his new pride and joy! What a proud “Papa” Phil was!
Phil loved the t.v. game show Jeopardy! and anything relating to history and the military. His quick recall of current events, history and trivia were unmatched by friends and family who dared to play along with him. Phil was an avid bowler and participated in many leagues and tournaments. He was a powerhouse! Phil loved to travel and he shared his love of traveling with us by taking us on countless memorable vacations every year. His favorite locations to visit were Florida and Chicago. Phil lived in Arizona for about a year and always dreamed of owning an RV and traveling cross-country. Phil enjoyed fishing with his life-long friend Richard Skerl (CLS 1961). We believe both are in heaven endlessly casting their lines while enjoying a “cold one” together on the shore.
Dad was the life of the party and taught all of us not to take life too seriously, but rather live life to the fullest and have fun! Dad also taught us to pursue our dreams and goals and not let anyone stand in our way of doing so. His youngest daughter Karen did just that. She started a catering business in the Cleveland area. The only thing missing was her favorite “bus boy” as Dad always aspired to be. An apron hangs off in the corner of the kitchen at every event in his honor. Phil’s personality and wit are characteristics that can easily be found in his youngest daughter as well.
At the age of 40, Phil was diagnosed as a diabetic. The last 5 yrs of his life, he dealt with end stage renal disease which ultimately contributed to his death in October 2007.
Phil is deeply missed, but never forgotten by all those he met. He was best man, a godfather several times over, a father-in-law to Jim and Dean, a confidant, friend and everyone’s favorite “Uncle Phil”.
Thank you for this opportunity to talk about Dad and share his life with all of his friends at Latin. My mom, my sisters and our families visit Primo Vino in Little Italy every year. We feel Dad’s presence there as we are aware of the gymnasium floor being harvested and converted into tables, the school doors are the entrance way into the establishment as well as into the kitchen and we are told some of the chapel tiles can be found inside the restaurant as well. All of us have yet to visit The W.O. Walker building near The Cleveland Clinic to see the main doors of the old school. We wish Dad could’ve seen these items and provided his own inside history to us at these locations.
“Our love for thee shall never cool” – Go Purple! Go Gold!
Tina (Kivach) Olexo