Pearl Bernice (Waclawik) Hale

Pearl Bernice (Waclawik) Hale of Wickliffe, Ohio–and the most incredible mother, grandmother, and great-grandmother passed away peacefully on New Year’s Eve, December 31, 2022 just hours before the ball dropped. At the beautiful age of 90, Pearl reunited with her beloved husband Jack Hale in heaven, so they could ring in the new year together. Pearl was born in Cambridge Springs on October 27, 1932 to the late John Andrew Waclawik and Stephany Agnes Ksiaszczak Waclawik. She graduated from Cambridge Springs High in 1950. While Pearl kept her younger years shrouded in mystery, it’s well known that she was and forever remained an absolute powerhouse and force of nature. She loved riding on the back of motorcycles, getting lost in books, dancing in the rain, and laughing with her friends and family. Shortly after high school, her lifelong friend, the late and indelible Jean Rice Kochera, introduced Pearl to the very handsome, very kind Jack Hale of Meadville, PA. Jack and Pearl instantly fell in love and were married on February 2, 1952. Their love transcended distance and time. Their marriage was effortless and was filled with the greatest joy, respect, and admiration. From this pure love came their two daughters: Stephanie Anne Hale and Jacqueline Lee Hale who survive her. Sadly, Jack passed away on May 22, 1966 and Pearl became a widow and a single mother of two young girls at the age of 33. Heart-broken but ever-resilient, Pearl balanced raising her daughters on her own, while building a career to provide for her family. She studied microcomputers at Lakeland Community College and soon after wrote programs that powered the Davis-Besse Nuclear Power Plant among others. She taught her daughters and later her granddaughter, Stephanie Elizabeth Hale, how to be adaptable and forge your own path with kindness and integrity. As she always said: “You have to just move through it, and it will all work out.” She was a human rights activist who stressed the importance of advocating for equity for all, especially when it’s uncomfortable. She taught her family how to pursue their dreams. How to laugh. She taught them what unconditional love feels like–while also stressing the importance of enjoying one’s own company. She ended many conversations with: “Be interesting to yourself. Be your own best friend.” She also repeated: “Tony Tony, look around…” but that’s because she was always losing things. She was an enviable dancer and danced with her granddaughter constantly. While she loved a good Polka–Sarah Vaughan, Barbra Streisand, Gypsy Kings, and Steve Tyrell were some of her favorites. She created beautiful ceramics, knitted the coziest sweaters, and planted beautiful gardens. But her true life’s work was how she dedicated every moment of her life to raising these three women and was enthusiastically bestowing her love and wisdom on to her great-grandson, Greyson Jack, who in a blink became her whole world. In addition to her husband, she was preceded in death by her brother, Joseph Waclawik and her sisters: Sylvia Komsa and Gloria Hayes. She is survived by her brother, Eugene Waclawik, and nieces and nephews spanning multiple generations. Family and friends are invited to share a memorial service for Pearl at St. Anthony of Padua Church, 165 Beach Ave., Cambridge Springs, PA 16403 on Saturday, January 14, at 11 a.m. Pearl will be laid to rest with her husband Jack at Venango Cemetery in the Spring of 2023. In lieu of flowers, please consider a donation in Memory of Pearl Hale to the Hospice of the Western Reserve, P.O. Box 72101, Cleveland 44192. Donate online at www.hospicewr.org. Arrangements entrusted to the Brunner Sanden Deitrick Funeral Home & Cremation Center, Mentor, OH. Offer condolences at www.brunners.com.

Pearl Bernice (Waclawik) Hale

October 27, 1932 - December 31, 2022