Teresa Spatara, Sharon, passed away peacefully of natural causes at 4:40 a.m. Wednesday, June 26, 2013, in the hospital of Sharon Regional Health System after an illness. Miss Spatara was born in Grove City to Frank and Betty Mittiga Spatara and lived there most of her life. She was a graduate of Grove City High School and held a Bachelor of Arts degree from Youngstown State University. She completed graduate work at YSU and Slippery Rock University of Pennsylvania. While in Grove City, she belonged to Church of the Beloved Disciple, Pine Township, where she taught Confraternity of Christian Doctrine for a number of years. She was also secretary of the parish council and the Rosary Confraternity. She had been a member of St. Joseph's Church, Sharon, where she produced, edited and wrote for a 20-page tabloid-sized newspaper, "A View From the Inside." She joined the news staff of The Herald newspaper in Sharon and worked there 39 ½ years in positions including reporter, feature writer, county editor, Spectrum editor and special project editor. For the last seven years there, she served as editorial page editor. She received many awards and tributes for her writing including the prestigious Silver Gavel from the American Bar Association. She also won awards from the American Academy of Family Physicians and the Pennsylvania Newspaper Publishers Association. She was a longtime member of Pennsylvania Women's Press Association, serving as president, vice president, treasurer and Northwest District director. She was PWPA's scholarship director for a number of years; the group honored her by naming the scholarship the Teresa Spatara Journalists Scholarship of PWPA. After her retirement from The Herald, she wrote features for many years for the Youngstown Vindicator. She also wrote stories and took photographs in Mercer County churches for the Lakeshore Visitor for the Catholic Diocese of Erie. Her hobbies were music, reading and collecting books. Surviving are a sister, Margaret Zack, Boardman, Ohio; two brothers, Joseph, Harrison City, Pa.; and Frank, Lima, Peru; and several nieces and nephews. Teresa was preceded in death by her parents; three brothers, Dominic Sr., Anthony "Tony" and James "Jim"; a sister, Mary Spatara Shellhammer; five nephews, Dominic Jr., Raymond, Michael, Dwayne and William; and a niece, Judith Spatara Yeager. Calling hours: 5 to 8 p.m. Friday (6-28-13) in J. BRADLEY McGONIGLE FUNERAL HOME and CREMATORY Inc., 1090 E. State St., Sharon. Service: Mass of Christian burial at 10 a.m. Saturday (6-29-13) in St. Joseph's Church, 79 Case Ave., Sharon. The family requests that everyone go directly to the church Saturday morning for the Mass. Interment: Crestview Memorial Park, Pine Township.