Dr. Anita H. Kovach

YORK- Dr. Anita H. Kovach was born October 26, 1938 and died March 26, 2026 at age 87. Anita was married to the Rev. David Kovach, who survives her. They spent 27 years loving each other, loving life, and traveling around the world to broaden their horizons.

Anita's only son-- Peter Neil Pflum, and her only sibling-- Nancy Bushey, have pre-deceased her. She is survived by stepchildren: Deborah Caldwell and husband Ray, Judy Brady and husband Pat, Peter Kovach and wife Amy; and grandchildren: Megan, Kyle, Ben, Duncan, Danny, Alex and Laura; and great grandchildren Griffin and Freya. Other surviving family include a niece Alisa James and great nephew Logan Fishack.

Born and raised in York, Anita moved to Hagerstown, MD where she graduated from high school. After receiving a B.S. in Education from Towson University, she taught in Baltimore, New Jersey, and Ohio, before ending her teaching career in York. After several years in the West York and York Suburban school districts, she was invited to join the elementary education department at Millersville University and to teach in the campus laboratory school. While at Millersville, Dr. Kovach also designed and taught many undergraduate and graduate courses for prospective and in-service teachers.

During her 35+ years in education, a particularly rewarding time for her was the 8 years she spent teaching in the Millersville campus laboratory school. While serving as teacher and team leader, she helped design curriculum and ultimately helped to transition the school from an ordinary elementary program to an open education model which used team teaching, non-gradedness, continuous progress, and positive discipline to produce happy, motivated, stress-free learners who were lucky enough to progress at their own level.

This school experience prepared Dr. Kovach for a year as Open Education Coordinator for the state of Pa, during which she crossed the commonwealth, teaching teachers and administrators how to develop open education programs. She then used those experiences as content for two books she co-authored on the subject.

And in her "spare" time, Anita earned a master’s degree from Millersville and a PhD from the University of Maryland. After 35+ years in the field, Dr. Kovach retired from Millersville with professor emeritus status.

Personally, Anita loved nature, gardening, and sitting on any porch. Although she and David circled the globe, her special spot on the planet was the Grand Teton National Park in Jackson Hole, Wyoming.

At every point in her life, Anita loved creating, idea-generating, and problem-solving. In their retirement community resident council, Anita facilitated options for improving residents' lives. She also co-directed a no-talent show involving 30 residents, which brought joy to some folks who needed it.

Anita was a bit of (ok, a lot of) a free spirit. In the summer after her first year of teaching, she and a teacher friend drove her tiny MG Roadster to California for the summer, in order to earn car-payment and rent money for teaching back in Baltimore. On the trip home, to save motel money, the girls' adventures included sleeping in city parks in the daytime, and sleeping in an unlocked yacht one night in a yacht sales lot in St. Louis. She was an adventurous, fun-loving person with a good sense of humor. She also loved giving parties.

Anita said many times, that of all her accomplishments, the one of which she was most proud, was raising her son, Neil. Raised at times by a single mother, this young man was a fun-loving, caring individual who loved life and wanted to help others. In turn, he was loved by many. Anita would ask, "is there a better accomplishment than that?”

A celebration of life tribute service will be held at 1 p.m. on Saturday, April 4, 2026 at Heffner Funeral Chapel & Crematory, Inc., 1551 Kenneth Rd., York with Certified Celebrant Allison Duke officiating. A visitation will be held from 12-1 p.m. prior to the service. The service will be livestreamed around 1 p.m. at HeffnerCare.com on Anita’s obituary page.

Memorial contributions may be made to Compassion & Choices Gift Processing Center, PO Box 485, ETNA, NH 03750.

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