Lena Scarl, 94, Mother to Many

She was born prematurely in 1909, the tiniest of twins, on the old Orange Avenue neighborhood of downtown Cleveland. Lena, whose christened name is Adeline, was hand-fed by her father for weeks and unexpectedly survived her stronger twin sister.

By the time she was seven, she was helping her mother Rose care for a family of 11. The family took boarders in and it was young Lena’s responsibility to scrub clothes, clean the house, and care for her younger siblings. The family moved to West 67th Street when Lena was still a child. She attended the neighborhood public schools until an injury to her mother’s arm forced her to leave school, at the age of 12, to take on the responsibilities of caring for the family full time.

From her earliest years, Lena mothered not only her younger siblings, but many of the babies of Our Lady of Mt. Carmel parish on Cleveland’s west side. At the age of 15, she eloped with Tony Scarl, a pipe fitter and friend of her older brothers.

Having married near the onset of The Great Depression, Lena and Tony moved frequently as Tony looked for work. In those early years they parented two daughters, Delores and Elaine (aka Totsie). The family lived for some time in Wickliffe and Cincinnati, Ohio; in Kalamazoo and Bay City, Michigan; in Washington, D.C.; and in Chicago, Illinois.

In the early 1930’s, they returned to the family home on West 67th Street in Cleveland where Lena once again took on the responsibility of taking care of her extended family. During the economic hard times and family hardships that followed, Lena took on parenting responsibilities again and again. She helped to raise many of the younger children of her own brothers and sisters, as well as the children of other relatives and neighbors, while raising her own two girls.

In 1950, the Scarl family moved to Avon Lake, where with her own two girls grown, Lena once again assumed the parenting role for a third and fourth generation of children. A legendary cook and baker, no one has ever left her table hungry. Just weeks before her passing, she was making dozens of Christmas cookies in anticipation of Christmas visitors.

Lena is survived by daughters: Delores Rauscher of Avon Lake, and Elaine Kice (Warren B. Kice) of Texas; three grandchildren: Kevin Rauscher (Carla) of Avon Lake, Warren B. Kice, III (Bo) (Tiffany) of Texas, and Adam Kice (Amy) of Texas; five great-grandchildren; and the extended family of nieces, nephews, and children she helped to raise.

She was preceded in death by her husband, Anthony V. “Tony” on May 14, 1971; her parents: Rose and Gregory; her siblings: Barbara Markese, Fanny Pierantozzi, Angeline McConley, Joseph, Mike, Sam, Phil, and Frank (aka Babe); and her son-in-law Herbert Rauscher.

Friends may call the Busch-Burmeister Family Chapel, 163 Avon Belden Rd., Avon Lake on Monday, January 26, 2004 from 9 a.m. until the time of prayer services at 10 a.m., followed by a mass of Christian Burial at Holy Spirit Church, 410 Lear Rd. Avon Lake at 10:30 a.m. The Reverend James H. Beatty, pastor, will officiate. Interment will follow at Holy Cross Cemetery, Brook Park. Memorial may be forwarded to New Life Hospice, 5255 N. Abbe Road, Elyria, Ohio 44035.