Note: Berna worked as girl’s dorm supervisor in 1970-1971 for one year and from 1974-1975 till 1999-2000 retirement.
Bernadette E. (Dunn) Hacharian, of West Mifflin, passed away on Thursday, March 5th, 2026. She was the beloved wife of 61 years to the late Harry “Hatch” T. Hacharian; the daughter of the late Homer Slates and Catherine Waddell; the mother of Mark (Georgia) Hacharian, of West Mifflin, and Lisa Marie (August) Kellermann, of North Huntingdon; the sister of the late Kathleen (late William) Patterson; grandmother of Michael (Rachel) Hacharian, Kristen (William) Borowski, Logan Kellermann, Shaun Kellermann, and the late Matthew Kellermann; the great-grandmother of Zoey Hacharian, Jon Hacharian, Lexi Hacharian, Isabella Borowski, Evelyn Borowski, Noah Borowski, and Belleamy Matthew-Gene Kellermann. Bernadette will also be missed by many nieces, nephews, and close friends.
Bernadette graduated from Braddock High School with high marks and was a member of the National Honors Society. Bernadette worked at the Western Pennsylvania School for the Deaf as a counselor and girl’s dorm supervisor for 36 years and she received an education in American Sign Language from the University of Pittsburgh. She was a member of the Duquesne Women’s Club, a member of Christ the Light of the World Parish in Duquesne, and president of the Pittsburgh Youth Symphony Parents Organization. She was a dedicated mother, grandmother, and great-grandmother to her loving family.
Friends and family to be received at the SAVOLSKIS-WASIK-GLENN FUNERAL HOME INC., 3501 Main Street, Munhall, 15120, on Sunday, March 8th, 2026, from 6 – 8 PM. A funeral mass will take place the following on Monday, March 9th, 2026 at 10 AM at St. Therese Church of St. Thomas the Apostle Parish, 1 St. Therese Court, Munhall, 15120.
Condolences may be left at www.swgfuneralhome.com.
From Steve Rute:
Bernadette Hacharian was hired as a houseparent in 1970 while her mother, Catherine Slates, worked on the same floor. She left the position in 1971. After her mother, Catherine Slates’ retirement in 1975, she returned to the
school as a houseparent and continued in that role until her retirement in 2000, completing a total of twenty-six years of service.
Also, Catherine Slates was hired as a houseparent on the Girls’ Side in 1955 at the Western Pennsylvania School for the Deaf. She served in that role for twenty years until her retirement in 1975. During the 1970–71 school year, her daughter, Bernadette Hacharian, also worked as a houseparent on the Girls’ Side, serving alongside her mother. Catherine Slates passed away on June 6, 1999, at the age of ninety-five.
