Muriel Dorothy Zlomek.

SANATOGA PA – Muriel Dorothy (Pyle) Zlomek, a loving wife and mother and a dedicated teacher, died of natural causes Wednesday (Nov. 12, 2008) at the home of her daughter, Elizabeth, in DeWitt NY. Until her move to New York in July 2008, she had been a resident of First Avenue North, New Bern NC, for more than 20 years.

Mrs. Zlomek, 77, was the mother of Joe Zlomek, managing editor of The Sanatoga Post. She and her husband of 56 years, Fred, lived in Sanatoga for nine months during 1991 while recuperating from an illness. During their stay here they were members of St. Aloysius Roman Catholic Church, Pottstown.

“Dot,” as she was affectionately known, was born during 1931 in Coney Island NY. She was the daughter of George V. and A. Frances Pyle, and moved upstate with her family from Brooklyn to Craryville NY at age 14. She attended and graduated from Roeliff Jansen High School in Hillsdale NY, now part of the Taconic Hills School District. She later graduated from, and received her teaching certification at, Oneonta State Teachers College in Oneonta NY, now known as the State University of New York College at Oneonta.

Although she held several careers during her lifetime, Mrs. Zlomek was best known as a teacher of home economics and life skills to public high school students. She taught in several southcentral New York State schools during the 1950s. She was an award-winning seamstress and fabric painter. Her guidance positively shaped the lives of hundreds of children for a generation.

Mrs. Zlomek also was a gifted retailer. During the late 1950s through early 1960s she and her husband owned and managed Frederick’s Furniture Store in Edmeston NY, where they also lived. Over almost a decade of summers in the late 1960s and 1970s, she and her husband owned and managed Frederick’s Ship ‘N Shore marina and restaurant in Copake Lake NY, and there she also operated Dot’s Boutique, a shop of handcrafted giftware and handmade clothing.

Mrs. Zlomek devoted her life to her large family. The Zlomeks lived for many years in Utica NY, first on Emerson Avenue and then on Prospect Street. As a parent, Dot volunteered time in activities at John F. Hughes Elementary and Our Lady Of Lourdes schools there. The family later moved to Liverpool NY during the 1980s; and then to North Carolina, first to Bridgeton and then New Bern. She similarly volunteered in Craven County NC school activities.

A deeply religious woman, Mrs. Zlomek was active in ministries of St. Paul’s Roman Catholic Church, New Bern NC, and for many years was treasurer in its chapter of the Catholic Daughters. She also served as an officer in the local unit of the International Order of St. Luke the Physician, an ecumenical organization dedicated to the Christian healing ministry. She and husband were the subjects of a front-page feature article published during April 1993 in the New Bern Sun-Journal newspaper, following their return from a trip to shrines in Conyers GA.

She is survived by her husband, Frederick M. Zlomek; their seven children, Joseph M. Zlomek of Sanatoga PA, and his wife Debbie, F. Mathew Zlomek of Chittenango NY, and his wife Nancy, Elizabeth A. Zlomek of DeWitt NY, Thomas P. Zlomek of Poughkeepsie NY, and his wife Katy, Mary F. Guditis of Chenango Forks NY, and her husband Chuck, Catherine S. Zlomek of Rockville MD, and LCDR Marc A. Zlomek of Seattle WA, and his wife Stefanie; eight grandchildren, two great-grandchildren, several nephews, a great niece and a great nephew. She was predeceased by two brothers, Robert Rawlinson and Kenneth Pyle, by a sister, Karen Pyle Shivers, and by a great-grandchild, Asia Rose Briel.

Viewing hours will be held Sunday (Nov. 16, 2008) from 2-4 p.m. at the Burns Garfield Funeral Home, 3175 E. Genesee St., Syracuse NY. A Roman Catholic Mass in her name will be celebrated Monday at Holy Cross Church, 4112 E. Genesee St., Dewitt NY. Internment and a memorial mass will follow at a future time at St. Paul’s Church Cemetery, New Bern NC.