Mary “Marge” Hajduk is grateful for many things. Her four children and four grandchildren, her Oil City home, and two decades as principal of St. Stephens School immediately come to mind, as do the fifty years of marriage she shared with Michael J. Hajduk, DMD.
Photo courtesy Marge Hajduk
Marge and Mike met as juniors in high school, attended college in Erie, and married in 1969 at St. Joseph Church. After both graduating with advanced degrees from the University of Pittsburgh, Marge’s in education and Mike’s in dentistry, they returned to Oil City to establish Dr. Hajduk’s dental practice and start their family. When the kids entered high school, Marge left being a stay-at-home mom to become an assistant in the dental practice. She returned to teaching in 1993 at St. Stephens. In 1996, she became the principal, a position she held for twenty-three years.
The Hajduks shared a passion for supporting local healthcare. They were both members of the Corporation Board of the Northwest Hospital Foundation, and Dr. Hajduk was a member of the Foundation’s Board of Directors for several terms. Through their involvement, they learned of the many ways the Foundation assists in meeting technology, education, patient hardship, and quality-of-life needs at UPMC Northwest.
The importance of a local hospital hit home when Dr. Hajduk was diagnosed with Chronic Lymphocytic Leukemia, cancer of the blood and bone marrow. For thirteen years, Dr. Hajduk and Marge were frequent visitors of UPMC hospitals in Seneca and Pittsburgh. At UPMC Northwest, they saw firsthand how the staff training and equipment provided by the Foundation benefits patients here in Venango County. They were grateful to have access to quality, compassionate cancer treatment right in their community.
Dr. Hajduk passed away in 2019 after over forty years of practicing dentistry in Oil City. Marge carries on his legacy of supporting local healthcare by donating to the Northwest Hospital Foundation in his memory. She knows her gifts will directly benefit others seeking hope and healing at UPMC Northwest.
“We are so fortunate to have a hospital like UPMC Northwest here,” said Marge. “When people help each other, it improves the quality of life in our area. No gift is too large or too small when you are helping others.”