Ida F. Gleeson, age 96, of Oakmont, died August 20, 2024. She was a native of Ford City and graduated as valedictorian of Ford City High School. Ida earned a BA in English and Spanish from Westminster College in New Wilmington, graduating with honors. She received additional education in education at Penn State University. She began her teaching career at Ford City High School, where she taught English and Spanish. After marrying Mark S. Gleeson of Ford City in 1952, she worked for a year in the State Department in Washington, D.C., and then taught Spanish and English for a year at Richard Montgomery High School in Rockville, Md. She and her husband returned to Pittsburgh in 1954, where she taught in various Pittsburgh public schools and taught for five years in the 1960s at the Village Academy, a private cram school in the South Hills. She entered the family restaurant business in Cadogan, PA in the mid-1970’s and was a partner in Falsetti’s Villa restaurant for 12 years. Among her other activities, Ida Gleeson served as a commissioner of the Allegheny County Civil Service Commission for 28 years. She was the first president of the Women’s Guild of the Pittsburgh Ballet Theater and was director of subscriptions for the Pittsburgh Ballet Theater for five years. Ida Gleeson was an avid tennis player and was known for her play of bridge. Surviving are her husband, Mark, her daughters, Rosemary of Oakmont, PA, Mrs. Ellen Gleeson (Nick) Harris of Lake Tahoe, Nevada, and her son, Kurt of Indian Shores, FL, and two grandchildren, Katherine and Matthew Harris. Donations may be sent, if desired, to Bridges Hospice, 4130 Monroeville Blvd., Monroeville, PA 15146. Funeral services and arrangements are entrusted to BURKET-TRUBY FUNERAL HOME CREMATION AND ALTERNATIVE SERVICES, INC., Oakmont. To plant memorial trees, please visit the Sympathy Store.
