Peter John Berish
Page edited 24-Aug-22. ET
Born on March 22,1910 in Buck Run, Indiana County, Pennsylvania. He was the seventh oldest child to Michael Berish and Anna P. Mudry.
Description
Peter was of average build and stature (5 foot 10 inch). He was clean shaven and had brown hair and brown eyes. He wore glasses in later years.
Early Years
- Childhood - Peter was born Petrum Biros. The family name would later be changed to Berish after his father's naturalization in 1922.
- Siblings
Education
Completed the eighth grade.
Religion
Peter was baptized into the Catholic faith Baptized by Reverend F. Wieczore on March 27, 1910 in Clymer, Indiana County, Ohio. His godparents were Michael Cfufoliez and Maria Gregon
He was a member of St. Mary's Roman Catholic Church.
Family Years
Married Mary Zilka on June 12, 1933 in the Homer City, Indiana County, Pennsylvania. The couple had three children: two boy - Robert John and Edward George, and one girl - Margaret Ann.
The couple would eventually have three children:
- Robert John Berish
- Edward George Berish
- Margaret Ann Berish-Zilka
During the early years of their marriage Peter worked in the nearby coal mines. Not only was the work in the mines was dangerous but also inconsistent. Mines were opening and closing all the time. Peter had been talking to his brother-in-law Joseph Timko Sr and was told that maybe he should look for work in Warren, Ohio if he wanted job security. Peter traveled to Warren, stayed with Joseph and tried a few jobs such as working at Denman Tire for a few weeks before Joseph persuaded him to look for a job at Republic Steel Corp. Peter was hired and eventually worked as a millwright in the mill. With a new job secured, Peter, or Pete as he was known, moved his family to Warren, in Trumbull County, OH in 1948 when he was thirty-eight years old. His son Edward remembered them loading all their furnishings in a truck Peter managed to borrow from a friend. Then, both Edward and his brother Robert rode in the back of the truck on their journey to their new home.
Their new home was on the south side of Warren at 769 Fourth Street, not far from his bother-in-law Joseph Timko. To buy their new home, Peter and Mary had to borrow money from Mary’s father, Michael Zilka. In order for them to repay the loan, Mary went to work at Packard Electric, a division of General Motors, for a couple of years. When they saved enough money to repay her father’s loan, Mary took him the money. Michael took the money, counted it out and said that the amount was the correct amount. He then quietly gave the money back to his daughter and told her to keep it. His daughter had done what she had promised to do by repaying the loan. He looked at the arrangement from the point of view that he had helped his daughter, she had learned to manage her families finances, her family was building a new life and that was all he really wanted. They both got what they wanted.
Residences
- 769 Fourth Street in Warren, Trumbull County, Ohio
Working Years
He was employed as a millwright at Republic Steel Corporation and retired in 1975 after 27 years. He had started working in 1924 as coal miner in Indiana County, Pennsylvania (Circa 1930).
Personal Life
Peter liked to hunt and fish.
Death
Peter died of bone cancer on November 19, 1991 at home in Warren, Trumbull County, Ohio. He was buried on November 27, 1991 at Pineview Memorial Cemetery in Warren, Trumbull County, Ohio.