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Descendants of William Frank Wotus


      24. Amelia "Emily"3 Wotus (Joseph (Jozef) William2, William Frank1) was born March 20, 1933 in Crabtee, Pennsylvania, and died February 18, 2004 in St. Luke's Hospital, Jacksonville, Fla. She married Louis J. Beltz, son of Louis Beltz and Angeline Luzar. He was born February 07, 1934 in Claridge, Pennsylvania, and died August 11, 2003 in St. Vincent Medical Center, Jacksonville, Fla.

Notes for Amelia "Emily" Wotus:
Emily Beltz
Ponte Vedra Beach, Fla.

Emily Wotus Beltz, 70, of Ponte Vedra Beach, Fla., died Wednesday, Feb. 18, 2004, in St. Luke's Hospital, Jacksonville, Fla. She was born March 20, 1933, in Crabtree, a daughter of the late Joseph W. and Agnes Kustwan Wotus. Prior to her retirement, she was employed as a clerk for the Orange County Courthouse in California. In addition to her parents, she was preceded in death by her husband, Louis J. Beltz, in 2003; and a brother, Andrew Wotus. She was the beloved mother to a son, Dr. Louis J. Beltz and wife, Jennie, of Lubbock, Texas, and a daughter, Dr. Jennifer Beltz Byron and husband, Dr. Mark, of Ponte Vedra Beach, Fla.; and the beloved grandmother to three grandchildren, Michael and Katherine Beltz, and Natalie Byron. She also is survived by four brothers, Stanley Wotus and wife, Aggie, of Crabtree, Joseph Wotus, of Massachusetts, Frank Wotus and wife, Joann, of Crabtree, and John Wotus and wife, Jean, of Connecticut; four sisters, Jean Tetorka, of New Jersey, Alice Stula, of Connecticut, Violet Exline and husband, Walter, of Tennessee, and Jane Ranier and husband, Ronald, of Jeannette; and numerous nieces and nephews.


Notes for Louis J. Beltz:
Louis J. Beltz
Ponte Vedra Beach, Fla.

Louis J. Beltz, 69, of Ponte Vedra Beach, Fla., died Monday, Aug. 11, 2003, in St. Vincent Medical Center, Jacksonville, Fla. He was born Feb. 7, 1934, in Claridge, the son of the late Louis J. "Doc" and Angeline Luzar Beltz. He was a 1958 graduate of Carnegie Mellon University with a mechanical engineering degree. He was a U.S. Army veteran of the Korean War. Prior to retirement, he was employed as Western Regional Sales Manager for Milton Roy Co. in California, and was a former employee of the Elliott Co. in Jeannette and California. In addition to his parents, he was preceded in death by a sister, Dolores Beltz. He is survived by his beloved wife of 41 years, Emily Wotus Beltz; a beloved son and daughter, Dr. Louis J. Beltz and wife, Jennie, of Lubbock, Texas, and Dr. Jennifer Byron and husband, Dr. Mark Byron, of Ponte Vedra Beach, Fla.; and three grandchildren, Michael and Katherine Beltz and Natalie Byron.
     
Children of Amelia Wotus and Louis Beltz are:
+ 57 i.   Dr. Louis J.4 Beltz.
+ 58 ii.   Dr. Jennifer Lynn Beltz.


      26. Mary Jane3 Wotus (Joseph (Jozef) William2, William Frank1) was born December 06, 1938. She married Ronald E. Ranier.
     
Child of Mary Wotus and Ronald Ranier is:
  59 i.   Ronald Alan4 Ranier. He married Amy Kathleen Bennett.
  Notes for Ronald Alan Ranier:
Ron's Trip To Poland 2001: Letters to myself and Mark Kustwan

Libby,

Well, we found family on both the Wotus and Kustwan side. Here is the
story and the way that I like to tell it is from the expressions of my
mother.

We took an overnight train from Prague to Krakow which was quite
interesting. We had two sleeper cars - one for (aunt) Vi and (uncle) Walt
and one for my mother (Mary Jane) my wife (Amy) and Myself. After passing
through the checkpoint at approx 4:00 am where both the military checked
passports my mother did not sleep. In fact, I watched as she sat at the
window every once in while she would wisper something such as "...mom - dad
I coming to where you grew up..." In here eyes I could see the excitement
of a child trying to take in everything at Disney World their first time.
Exhausted we got from the train station to our hotel in downtown Krakow at
the heart of the old city.

We had a driver and tour guide for two days

Day 1:

Our tour guide a professor at the University of Krakow was used to giving
tours of Kakow and the general area. When she heard that a day in the town
of Bialka and another day in the town of Sromowce -- she was surprised and
intrigued. I don't know if someone was watching from above but our guide
was familiar with both cities from her trips.

As we were entering the town of Bialka we stopped for a group photo at the
sign entering the city -- and then a photo of my mother and I -- at that
point she could not hold back any longer and as we stood there she started
to tear up. We stopped at the city graveyard and just started to wonder
around and then all of a sudden we found the grave of Jozef Kustwan - my
great uncle. Our guide noticed how the graves were in excellent condition
meaning that someone was taking care of them. We went to a house where our
guide stayed on her holidays in Bialka. We were introduced and phone calls
were made -- all of a sudden a lady in her 40s , Hanna and her daughter
came in -- she was a cousin. I have to admit I was a doubting Thomas at
first. Then Hanna's Grandfather Walter came in -- When everyone looked at
him and then looked at my mother and Vi there was not a dry eye in the
room. The face and the eyes were exactly the same. My mother listened to
the Polish being spoke and translated in such a way they you would think
that she understood Polish. At that point, I felt that my job was complete
- I fulfilled what I wanted to do.....

Day 2:

With the success of day 1 we had a difficult time in not wanting to be over
anxious of what would would or would not find in Sromowce. As we once
again took a group phot and then the one of my mother and I she again
started to get tears in her eyes. All we had was an address of a bed and
breakfast that was run by a Wotus. Our guild went door to door to find the
street and the house. We knocked on the door and a gentleman by the name
of Walter Wotus came out. Amazed he was speechless and himself started to
tear up -- he looked like (uncles) John and Andy. In a matter of minutes
we found out that the ORIGINAL Wotus family house was still standing and in
the family. A minute later we were there. The wife of Koba(Jacob) was
still alive. Mom and Aunt Vi had the chance to meet one of their Aunts
which I can not explain the emotions. We spent the afternoon having coffee
with them and once again, mom was holding on to every word. Again -- was
someone watching over us.


Take this how you want -- But for some reason the entire time that I was in
Poland I felt this strange sense of security and warmness that I cannot
explain - it was like that more people in our group then just the five of
us.

Ron's letter to Mark:

Mark,

The trip to Poland was wonderful. I cannot express in words the emotion. At
times I even felt as if I was having an out of body experience watching
from above. I do not know if it was fate, luck or divine intervention. I
start from the beginning:

We started our trip in Prague, to see that city since it has opened up to
the west. From Prague we took an overnight train to Krakow, which was quite
interesting. We left the train station at 10:00 pm to arrive in Krakow at
6:30 am. About 3:00 am we entered Poland. I remember this b/c of the
Passport checks. From that point on I began to realize really what the
significance of this trip. From the time we had our passports checked my
mother watched out the window trying to absorb everything. As I got down
from my bunk to sit with her all she kept saying was something like -- Mom I
coming to see where you were born...

When I said divine intervention I was not kidding. When we met our tour
guide at our hotel in Krakow and explained that we wanted to go to Bialka.
To our luck Bialka is where she spends her winter vacations -- interesting.

When we arrived in Bialka we stopped at the sign of the city to have a photo
taken...My mother's eyes began to fill up with tears. About a mile down the
road we stopped at the cemetery to see what we could find. As we were
walking around we found the grave of Jozef Kustwan which would be my mothers
uncle. Our tour guide went to the church for candles for mom and Aunt Vi to
light at the grave. We continued to walk around the graveyard and found
more gravesites.

Our tour guide suggested that we stop at the house where we she would stay
on vacation to see if anyone still lived in the town...After being there
about 15 minutes people started coming in....who were our cousins. I was
amazed yet sadly I have to admit a little skeptical. But then, an older
gentleman in his 70s by the name of Walter Kustwan came in from the fields
because someone went to get him to tell him that families form the US
arrived. When he walked through the door and looked at mom and Aunt Vi the
three of them burst into tears. The face and moreover the eyes was all the
proof needed. It was like looking into a mirror. The features where
similar -- but the blue eyes could not lie -- they where the same. We spent
the next evening at their house for dinner. The property is still in the
family, but the original house is no longer standing. The original church
is there and a newer one across the street. I have a new website with the
photos but I have not put it out there yet.

We also went to Sromowce Wyzne to find my grandfather's family. Which once
again, we were able to do. The interesting thing is that the house in which
my grandfather lived in is still the family home. My Grandfather Jozef had
a younger brother, Jacob that was born after he left for the US. Jacob's
wife was still alive in her 90s. So mom and Aunt Vi had a chance to meet
their Aunt. But it was the same thing for my mother -- another dream
fulfilled.

I hope that you can understand what I wrote. Sometimes I don't understand
it. I guess that I keep looking at it through the eyes of my mother and
what it meant for her. I am still working on the family tree -- but now I
want more then just names, dates and places. It seems that there is so much
more then recording who is related to who and how.... I do continue to try
to capture that information, but I am adding more.

A neat fact....
The Kustwan's city of Bialka is about 10 miles from the Wotus's city of
Sromowce Wyzne.




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