Contributed
Gene Viola, left, recently presented a check for $1,000 to Jefferson County Children Services as a donation to purchase classic children’s books for children of Jefferson County. The donation is shown being accepted by Tracey Dailey, Jefferson County Job and Family Services, Children Services Division, placement unit, adoption, adoption assessor, coordinator. The donation from the Mary Jo Viola Foundation honors the memory of Viola’s wife, the late Mary Jo Viola, who died in 2017. Her longtime career as an English teacher and advocate for area children included time spent serving as program director for Children’s Social Services in Steubenville. Viola and his family honor Mary Jo’s belief that a lifelong love of reading is the foundation of every child’s education, growth and development. The hope is that the books will encourage a passion for reading, according to Viola, whose son, Robert, also donated several copies of his book, “The Orphan, the Abbey &
Dec 31, 2020
PRODUCTIVE YEAR Former area resident Robert Viola published two books in 2020 “The Orphan, the Abbey & the Pack” on Feb. 1 and “Revolution” in August. Contributed
CANAL WINCHESTER As an unusual year comes to a close, a former area resident can nonetheless celebrate an accomplishment the publishing of not one, but two books in 2020, both of which, he notes, “couldn’t be more different.”
Robert Viola, the son of Gene Viola of Wintersville and the late Mary Jo Viola, published “The Orphan, the Abbey & the Pack” on Feb. 1 and “Revolution” in August.
The first is a young adult book, the other “a much darker tale for grown-ups only,” explained the 1993 graduate of Wintersville High School who earned a bachelor’s of English literature degree at Ohio State University.