April 6, 2018 at 1:53 p.m.
SCHOOL TRAGEDY
St. Pius mourns loss, recalls legacy of student and father
St. Pius mourns loss, recalls legacy of student and father
The community at St. Pius X School in Loudonville was shaken on June 14, when a tragic plane crash claimed the life of three people, including fifth-grader George Kolath Jr. and his father.
"We've never experienced a sudden tragedy like this," said St. Pius principal Dennis Mullahy. "I feel stunned, disbelief, sadness, concern for the rest of the students and the impact it will have on the teachers."
George was in a small plane with his father, Mathai Koltah George (also known as George Kolath) and Krishnan Raghavan when the small Piper airplane crashed into the Mohawk River after struggling to take off from the Mohawk Valley Airport in Scotia. Autopsies revealed all three victims drowned.
George Kolath, 42, was a successful businessman and hotel owner from India. He leaves behind his wife, Anne, and five other children who also attend St. Pius.
Faculty and staff members at St. Pius remember George Jr. as a shy, hard-working, intelligent little boy who had a great sense of humor.
"The thing I'll always remember about George," said Tim Sullivan, his fifth-grade homeroom teacher, "he came to me with a 90 and wanted to see what he could do to improve his grade. Most kids would be satisfied with a 90, but not George. He was always looking to do better."
Mr. Mullahy got to know George through one of his many passions, chess.
"We have a chess club here," he said, "and I would play with him a lot. He used to always give me a little smile every time he beat me."
Along with chess, young George enjoyed telling jokes, swimming and baseball and had a great love for flying.
"He was doing something he loved," said Rev. Michael Farano, pastor at St. Pius. "He loved flying. He used to write essays all the time about flying."
That the boy was with his father in their last moments may have been fitting.
"George [Jr.] knew he had big shoes to fill and more importantly, he wanted to fill them," said Mr. Sullivan.
Father Farano also remembered the endearing smile that George gave.
"We used to pass each other in the hallways and he would always look down and keep walking because he was so shy," he recalled. "This year I told him he couldn't go any further until he smiled. So from then on, every time I saw him he would always give me this big smile."
Pitching in
After news of his death, St. Pius held a Mass and prayer service for George and his family. Students and other faculty members wrote special prayers or notes dedicated to George and put them on a giant cross. The funeral was held at the Armenian Apostolic Church in Watervliet on June 19.
Though the Kolath family is not Catholic, they are a big part of the St. Pius community.
"The whole community has been very supportive of Anne," said Father Farano. "She's a wonderful woman, a woman of great faith. One of the wonderful things is how the community and the parish comes together and supports one another."
Mr. Mullahy said that members of St. Pius have collected hundreds of meals for the Kolath family, noting all the guests from India and around the area who will visit them to mourn.
Losing George "is going to leave a huge hole in our school community," said Mr. Mullahy. "It still is very shocking. We'll all miss him."
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