Oct 30, 2017 7 min read

Sophie and John Choratch never had children, but they would be thrilled to see the ones they’ve helped to cultivate their educational dreams through a scholarship fund that has bloomed impressively over the years.

The couple will be honored posthumously by the Washington County Community Foundation as its 2017 Philanthropists of the Year at a banquet Thursday at the Hilton Garden Inn in Southpointe. Proceeds from the event will support the charitable activities of WCCF, including the Choratches’ scholarship fund.

The assets of the Coratches’ Donora flower shop, grown under the careful cultivation of its owners, particularly Sophie, have made it a perennial producer of gifts long after their passing.

Their spirit of giving is being remembered by their current beneficiaries, some of whom hope to become philanthropists in their own right.

Lifelong residents of Donora, John Choratch was born in 1912 and Sophie in 1916. Both graduated from Donora High School and were married just after Sophie’s graduation. At the time, John was already working at the steel mill in Donora.

When the mill closed, John and Sophie purchased John’s Flower Shop – one of three in town – to provide for themselves. But shortly after buying the shop, John died of a heart attack, leaving Sophie to manage it.

“Sophie knew nothing about the flower business,” said Richard Harrison, 76, a floral designer and Donora native who worked for Sophie for 29 years. “She attended the Hixson School of Floral Design to learn how to do arrangements, but she didn’t care much for the creative side of the business.”

Making assets grow

But that didn’t mean Sophie didn’t have a “green thumb” of her own, Harrison said, especially when it came to saving and growing financial assets.

“What Sophie knew was money, how to make it and how to save it,” he said. “She could rub two pennies together and get a dime.”

And true to her calling as a businesswoman, she excelled at sales.

“She was great with people and handled all the sales, both in person and over the phone,” Harrison said. “Then she would bring the work to me.” He noted that Sophie’s success with sales was fed by her highly cultivated network of friends and business associates.

“Sophie knew everyone in Donora, and everyone knew her,” he said, adding that her parents had owned a dairy in town.

Despite working hard at running her business, Sophie did leave time for leisure, Harrison said, noting that she went on trips with senior citizens and others, but never overspent.

“She went to Spain, Hawaii and Italy, where she met the Pope, but it was always on a shoestring and she never flew first class,” he said. “She didn’t believe in spending money if she didn’t have to and didn’t even want to take her Social Security benefits because she said she didn’t need the money.”

Sophie sold the store and retired at age 86. She died six months later, in 2003.

“When she gave up the store, she gave up living,” Harrison said. “The flower shop was her life.”

Sophie’s astute business practices were also aided by investments that helped her grow her financial assets. Harrison said she received sound investment advice from her sister Katherine, who lived in Washington, D.C., and worked for U.S. Sen. Norris Cotton of New Hampshire.

Creating a legacy

When Sophie prepared her will, she instructed her attorney, the late Paul Barna, to include some financial gifts to family members, as well as $25,000 to the local Meals on Wheels program and $25,000 to Donora Public Library.

Her belief in the value of an education also prompted her to instruct her attorney that the remainder of her estate be used to create a perpetual fund to provide scholarships to local high school students. She wanted students to be able to attend any post-secondary school in the country to pursue any vocation. Because she wanted a fair selection process, the community foundation was selected to administer the scholarship fund.

According to the community foundation, when the events of Sept. 11, 2001, occurred, Sophie wanted to help the victims in New York. In a codicil to her will, she instructed the scholarships be given to students whose parents were victims of the Twin Towers attacks on 9/11.

In response to the tragedy, many Americans like Sophie were moved to contribute to charities to help the victims’ families. However, contributions were so great that charities stopped accepting gifts and urged those wishing to help to contribute in their local communities. Because the original intent of Sophie’s fund was no longer practical, Washington County Orphans Court permitted the community foundation to redirect the scholarships to the children of first responders in Washington County.

A total of $720,000 was received from Sophie’s estate, making her fund one of the largest of the more than 30 scholarship funds of WCCF. Today, the John and Sophie Choratch Scholarship Fund is valued at more than $900,000 and has provided a total of $175,000 in scholarships to 70 Washington County students whose parents are first responders.

WCCF Executive Director Betsie Trew said this year marks the first time the foundation has presented its Philanthropist of the Year award posthumously. “The award recognizes individuals who have made their mark on this community through philanthropy,” Trew said, adding that many of those who became philanthropists did so well before WCCF created its philanthropy award in 1995.

“We look forward to future opportunities to recognize others who are no longer with us, but whose generosity continues to improve the quality of life in Washington County,” she said.

The Choratches’ legacy isn’t lost on the current group of scholarship recipients. Trew said the current group receives $8,000 apiece, or $2,000 per year toward their college costs.

Several of the fund’s recipients wrote words of thanks for Thursday’s event.

“This scholarship has helped me in choosing my major to become a nurse,” said Mikala Maltony, a Washington High School graduate who attends the University of Akron. “If it wasn’t for this scholarship and for both my parents, my father a firefighter and my mother a nurse, I wouldn’t have found my passion for helping others and wanting to make a difference in other people’s lives.”

The scholarship is also an inspiration for some to consider becoming philanthropists and follow the example set by people like the Choratches.

Alex Adams, a graduate of California Area High School and current finance major, said he hopes to one day help students in the way that he has received assistance.

“The Choratch scholarship has enabled me to attend California University of Pennsylvania and focus on my studies,” Adams wrote. “I realized very quickly the value of a dollar when the acceptance letters and financial obligations from colleges began coming in the mail. I then knew I needed to maximize my available funds to get the best education I could afford. I want to be able to be in a position one day to give back to the community, helping others maximize their educational potential and possibly have a scholarship of my own to award.”

Those are seeds of sentiment Sophie would be happy to know she sowed.

To purchase tickets to Thursday’s Philanthropist of the Year Banquet, call the Washington County Community Foundation at 724-222-6330.