Loretta Gnivecki, born Loretta Jane Smith (May 21, 1928), died peacefully early Wednesday morning, March 9, in Rochester, New York, at the age of 93. She was a Mishawaka native, one of the many children of long-time West Tenth Street residents Carlos George Smith and Violet Ada Jump Smith. Loretta dropped out of high school at 16 to work at Ball Band, starting as an assembly line worker and retiring 46 years later as a supervisor. She married Stanley Joseph Gnivecki in 1945, and the couple moved to a small house on Hendricks Street in 1953.

Much of Loretta's life revolved around the factory and the friends she made there. Nicknamed "Roadrunner," she was known for her energy, her high spirits, and her treating co-workers to doughnuts, Polish sausage, and cabbage rolls. She worked in almost every area of the factory; she sewed auto mats, assembled tennis shoes, and was a quality control supervisor for jet aircraft fuel cells. An avid factory league golfer and bowler with at least one 300 game to her credit, Loretta was active in the United Way and was the factory bell-ringing coordinator for the Salvation Army. She and her husband were long-time parishioners at Saint Bavo's Church. Her friends, though, thought of her most of all as a Notre Dame football fan. For more than thirty years she and her husband Stan kept their season tickets, no matter the ups and downs at the factory. The ND cheerleaders and Leprechaun danced at her retirement party.

On her own after Stan's death in 1999, she kept busy helping neighbors of their Hendricks Street home, snow-blowing up and down the block, and looked after her Siamese cat Mai Ling, whom she would take for long walks. She had to give up the football tickets, but she and her good friend Idella Llewellyn worked as servers for Notre Dame football breakfasts and other events. Her youngest sister Barbara ultimately persuaded her to move to Indianapolis, and when they could no longer manage their shared home Loretta's daughter Loret brought her to Rochester, New York, first to the Rochester Presbyterian Home and then the Rochester Jewish Home. Even as Loretta lost her legendary appetite for sweets and her dementia worsened, she still charmed the staff with her own sweetness and acceptance of life as it came to her. She watched every Notre Dame football game broadcast on TV and cheered on the Fighting Irish through the end of 2021.

Loretta is survived by her brother Richard Allen Smith, of Osceola, her daughter Loret Steinberg and grandson Micah Falkner, both of Rochester, New York, granddaughter Sarah Falkner, of Morlaix, France, their spouses, her step-grandson Paul Steinberg, of Houston, Texas, and many nieces and nephews. Funeral services will be held on Friday, April 22, at 2:00 pm at Chapel Hill Funeral Home, 10776 McKinley Highway, Osceola, with visitation starting at noon until time of service. Burial will follow in Chapel Hill Memorial Gardens. Donations in Loretta's memory can be made in lieu of flowers to the Special Education Resource Program at Mishawaka Catholic School, 223 West Grove Street, Mishawaka, Indiana 46545, attention Tammy Christianson.