Living and dying in Sullivan County, one of Pennsylvania’s most rural counties

Breaking News Lehigh Valley and PA election results: November 2024November 6, 2024 at 2:33 am Shivani Patel closes up the shop at the end of the day June 23, 2024, with husband Manny Patel and son Ekantik, 5, at their Sunoco gas station in Forksville. Pennsylvania's rural population will plummet in coming decades and no county is older than Sullivan. What does the future look like and who will take care of the aging population there? (Tom Gralish/The Philadelphia Inquirer/TNS)

Darlene Fenton, center, a Republican Sullivan County Commissioner, lets Daniel Kieser, 5, choose his prize from the toy bin in a game during a family reunion June 23, 2024, in Forksville. (Tom Gralish/The Philadelphia Inquirer/TNS)

Richard Jordan works his lumber truck in June in Muncy Valley. "What you need is more workers like me or more younger kids in the woods," he said. (Tom Gralish/The Philadelphia Inquirer/TNS)

Mike Stasiunas works the takeout counter June 23, 2024, at Forksville's Big Mike's Steaks & Hoagies, the general store he has owned since 1999. (Tom Gralish/The Philadelphia Inquirer/TNS)

Liam Way, left, and Daniel Kieser, both 5, play on the swing while grownups gather June 23, 2024, during a family reunion in Forksville. (Tom Gralish/The Philadelphia Inquirer/TNS)

Miranda Klein, valedictorian of the Sullivan County High School Class of 2024, and her mother, Lyndeana Stoddard, at Pam's Restaurant in Dushore. Stoddard would love for Klein to come home after college but isn't sure what Sullivan County has for her. (Tom Gralish/The Philadelphia Inquirer/TNS)

Manny and Shivani Patel stand outside their Sunoco gas station in Forksville in June. "It's peaceful and it's beautiful," Manny Patel said. "And we haven't seen as many bears as you'd think." (Tom Gralish/The Philadelphia Inquirer/TNS)