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WHEREAS, Theresa Daniher, a life-long resident of the historic Polish Hill region of Pittsburgh, was born Theresa Frances Filipiak on April 7, 1930 as one of six children to a loving and close-knit family of Polish immigrants; and
WHEREAS, Theresa inherited her sense of community from her mother Antoinette Filipiak, who was very well known in her hometown in Poland for her generous donation of several beautiful stained glass windows to adorn the important and historic local Polish churches; and
WHEREAS, a living testament to the rich historic character of the Polish Hill community, Theresa attended Polish grade school and Saint John's High school in Polish Hill and is often overheard telling stories about the days when she would ride the street car over the hill to go to a movie or walk with her friends by the train tracks in the strip district to see train cars full of soldiers passing through on their way to serve their country; and
WHEREAS, Theresa met her husband Donald as a young child when they would throw rocks at each other-obviously love at first sight; and
WHEREAS, Theresa married Donald Daniher 60 years ago at Saint Paul's Cathedral in June 1950 and together they had five children-Michael, John, Mark, Donna, and Maggie; and
WHEREAS, though Theresa is a mother of five, a grand mother of 13, great grandmother of 2 and lover of her three grandoggies and grandkitties, her love of family has always extended beyond the borders of her household as the unofficial "mom" of her close-knit community-many of whose children and grandchildren still lovingly call her "mom Daniher" in their adulthood; and
WHEREAS, Theresa worked for many years at the University of Pittsburgh and the Forbes Center for Gerontology and later in private nursing care, caring for patients with the same love and attention she devotes to her own family; and
WHEREAS, Theresa spent many years volunteering as a librarian at Saint Paul's Cathedral and Central Catholic High School, hosting girl scouts and boy scouts for neighborhood children, chaperoning school dances with her husband, planning school picnics at many city parks and Kennywood, and giving back to the community in any way she could; and
WHEREAS, known for her plethora of creative talents, Mrs. Daniher has baked delicious treats for nearly every bake sale or event in her neighborhood and is often either found whipping up something spectacular in the kitchen for her loving family, knitting a beautiful heirloom afghan quilt by hand for a friend, or digging up earth in her beautiful garden for all the neighborhood to enjoy; and
WHEREAS, Mrs. Daniher has been an incredible asset to the City of Pittsburgh, working or volunteering for many its most important establishments and organizations, including the University of Pittsburgh, Phipps Conservatory, Heinz Hall, Bendum Center, the Syria Mosque, and many others; and
WHEREAS, Theresa Daniher is still active in the community, serving as a democratic committee person and election constable for many years, chairing committees to assess neighborhood development, and, as always, serving her most important role as the official "mom" of Polish Hill.
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NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED that the Council of the City of Pittsburgh, does hereby commend and congratulate Mrs. Daniher on her 80th birthday and 60th wedding anniversary and does hereby declare Wednesday, April 7, 2010 to be "Theresa Daniher Day" in the City of Pittsburgh.