Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

Savior of Travelers Aid Society of Pittsburgh

VARCEY TROAN Oct. 31, 1920 - Feb. 26, 2017

- By Bill Schackner Bill Schackner: bschackner@post-gazette.com, 412263-1977 and on Twitter: @Bschackner­PG.

Varcey Troan may not be a familiar name to the thousands of disadvanta­ged residents in Allegheny County and beyond who each month get rides to the hospital, to veterans support services or to appointmen­ts that can lead to jobs — all courtesy of the Travelers Aid Society of Pittsburgh.

But that organizati­on, which has morphed into a $7 million-a-year community service provider, would not exist today but for Ms. Troan, 96, of Mt. Lebanon, who died Sunday in Baptist Homes of Western Pennsylvan­ia.

She and her husband, John, former editor of The Pittsburgh Press, would pass through airports in the mid-1970s when a thought sometimes occurred to her: What a shame it was that Pittsburgh did not have an active travelers assistance society, said Robert Lindner, its executive director

At the time, he explained, what was a $320,000-a-year operation had been shuttered after the United Way, its largest supporter, cut off funding in 1974.

So she made it her mission to, in effect, come to the aid of Travelers Aid. Working with Betty Cameron, whose husband, Barney, was president and business manager of The Press, Ms. Troan strengthen­ed the society’s management and secured enough outside funding for it to resume operations in early 1976 and expand its volunteer effort. She became its president and was on its board.

She loved to travel and “always said when you run into a problem, there is nothing more fearful than knowing no one in the city you’re in,” Mr. Lindner recalled. “She wanted to make sure that kind of help was available in Pittsburgh.”

Today, the staff of 31 provides more than 7,000 individual­s a month with Port Authority tickets, gasoline cards and in some cases Uber service to reach their destinatio­ns, Mr. Lindner said. They include parents of infants born prematurel­y who must travel daily to neonatal intensive care units, veterans going to job training programs and others.

The society, supported by county and state agencies as well as the United Way and foundation­s, works with 100 other organizati­ons to fill transporta­tion needs.

“We're the largest social service agency in Allegheny County that you’ve never heard of,” said Mr. Lindner, 68, hired by Ms. Troan more than four decades ago.

She was determined and had connection­s, but never bragged about it. “She was gracious. Very quiet,” he said.

Varcey Morrissey Troan was born Oct. 31, 1920, in Cork, Ireland, her family said. In 1923, the family left Ireland, initially for Nova Scotia until they gained legal entry into the United States, settling in Crafton.

She graduated high school in 1937 at age 16 and was offered a scholarshi­p to Pennsylvan­ia College for Women, now Chatham University, amid the Great Depression, her family said. But instead, she went to work to help provide family income and took a job in The Pittsburgh Press editorial promotion department, checking entries in a weekly football contest, according to her family.

She enrolled part time at the Business Training College, forerunner of Point Park University. Her family said it helped her rise to the position of executive secretary to Press editor Edward T. Leech, who led the paper during the Depression, World War II and the beginning of Pittsburgh's Renaissanc­e. He died in 1949.

Ms. Troan in 1943 married John Troan, then a reporter at The Press, who was waiting to be called to duty in World War II with the Navy, her family said.

Mr. Troan was a science reporter for The Press who chronicled the efforts of Dr. Jonas Salk to develop a polio vaccine.

When he returned from the war, Ms. Troan left her job at The Press to be a homemaker and volunteere­d for the Civic Light Opera, Pittsburgh Symphony, Pittsburgh Opera, Pittsburgh Ballet, Center for Theatre Arts and Magee Hospital, her family said.

Her son Geoffrey Troan, of Altamonte Springs, Fla., said his mother sacrificed a promising business career for her family. The family lived in Washington, D.C., from 1958 to 1966 while Mr. Troan was a correspond­ent with Scripps Howard News Service. He was named editor of The Press in 1968.

“She was always a great support to Dad, helping him in his career,” her son recalled. “When he was away she had to be both father and mother around the house.”

In addition to her husband of 73 years and her son, Ms. Troan is survived by two daughters, Judy Gelman of Peters and Mary Lou Satterfiel­d of Mt. Lebanon; and 11 grandchild­ren and five great grandchild­ren

Her funeral was Thursday. In lieu of flowers, donations can be made to St. Bernard's Angel Fund, 311 Washington Road, Pittsburgh, PA 15216 or the Baptist Homes Foundation, 489 Castle Shannon Blvd., Pittsburgh, PA 15234.

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