Obituary Stories category, Page 33
Derry Area grad expressed Croatian roots through song, dance
Leann Muchnok Gisvold was strongly attuned to her Croatian roots, a bond she expressed in song. Following the example of her parents, the Derry Township native spent many years performing with the Tamburitzans, a Pittsburgh-based group named after a stringed folk instrument played in Croatia and neighboring Eastern European countries....
New Florence professor had a deep love of model railroads
When Merwin Weed built a train layout, he didn’t mess around — and there was no such thing as a miniature train layout. “That was always a passion for him and his brother,” Bonnie Chovanec, of Blairsville, said of her father. “They shared a bedroom, and they built a train...
Mt. Pleasant woman helped organize girls softball
As Title IX was leveling the playing field for girls in athletics, Florence DeSimone was doing her part for equality in athletics in Mt. Pleasant by helping to organize a softball league for girls in the 1970s. “She played softball, and so did her sister and her daughters,” said her...
World War II vet who trained at Saint Vincent College had to jump from plane over enemy territory
Bernard J. Harrington, a co-pilot on a World War II B-24 Liberator heavy bomber who flew 35 combat missions over Germany, Italy, the Balkans, picked a good spot to land when he and his crew had to bail out their airplane. Mr. Harrington was on his 19th mission when his...
Penn man served community as fire chief
Weslie Wiser grew up in Trafford and served his community, both in the town’s post office and the volunteer fire department, where he rose through the ranks to become chief. “I have never seen a more dedicated individual in the fire department in my time,” said his son, Dennis Wiser...
Belle Vernon woman was 1st female X-ray technician in hometown
Eula Tintori was a woman ahead of her time. Her daughter said the Traverse City, Mich., native became the first female X-ray technician in her hometown hospital when officials there realized the young woman they had hired to assist in the X-ray lab showed great promise. At the time mammography...
Indiana County native, Cold War code-breaker, dies at age 101
Angeline Nanni could have lived her life in relative peace and quiet working at her sisters’ Blairsville beauty shop. Instead, she became part of one of the most important counterintelligence programs of the Cold War. Ms. Nanni and her compatriots in the Venona Project helped decrypt thousands of coded messages...
Former VFW national commander from Robinson remembered as hero
When he became national commander of the Veterans of Foreign Wars in 2015, John A. Biedrzycki said it was time for the group to regain its relevancy. “The old-boys network and the days of the old barroom commanders have come and gone,” Biedrzycki said at the 2015 VFW convention in...
Jim Leavelle, lawman at Lee Harvey Oswald’s side, dies at 99
DALLAS — Jim Leavelle, the longtime Dallas lawman who was captured in one of history’s most iconic photographs as he escorted President John F. Kennedy’s assassin as he was fatally shot, has died. He was 99. Leavelle, distinctive in his light-colored suit and white Stetson, is seen in the photograph...
Unity mail carrier loved trains, Pirates baseball
To his wife, Jerry Gumbita of Unity was a work friend who soon became her loving husband. To his son, he was a happy-go-lucky guy willing to help out anyone. And to his school friends at Saint Vincent Prep School, he was “Speedy Gumbit-y from Marguerite-y.” “He was a fastball...
Skip Beal, retired VND and Trib newsman and voice of ‘The Stroller,’ dies at 81
Skip Beal was a passionate newsman who knew the Alle-Kiski Valley inside and out and wasn’t afraid to spark a little outrage when he wrote The Stroller column in the Valley News Dispatch. “He loved his job, there’s no doubt about it,” said his oldest son, Benjamin Beal III of...
Former Pitt dean Jere Gallagher remembered as ‘beautiful inside and out’
Jere Gallagher devoted her life to caring for others, whether it was her family, her friends or her many students. As an associate dean at University of Pittsburgh’s School of Education, she spearheaded multiple initiatives to improve the lives of children and future teachers while also making sure those closest...
Proud Air Force veteran had ‘sense of patriotism’
Jack Pletcher was proud of his 20 years of service in the Air Force — and it showed in the way he dressed, even when he was out of uniform. “He was pretty organized from being in the military,” said his wife, Mary Ann. Until his health declined in recent...
Matriarch of The Driftwood made it the place to be in Ligonier Township
Growing up with Eliza Bacher as one’s mother was a little like growing up with one’s boss. Mrs. Bacher owned and operated The Driftwood in Ligonier Township with her husband, Fred, for more than 60 years. Together, they attracted a following of faithful local customers, as well as travelers on...
Former Tic Toc waitress from Jeannette loved travel, family
Joan Silvis worked as a waitress in the Tic Toc Restaurant in Kaufmann’s at the Westmoreland Mall from the day it opened until the day it closed, and when she was working, she was all business. That is, until the day her longtime friend, Jackie Chandler of Greensburg, sent a...
Paintertown man volunteered 44 years at fire department
Eric List could be sitting at Christmas dinner, but if a fire call came in he was there. Volunteering at the Paintertown Volunteer Fire Company for 44 years, “his life revolved around the fire department,” his wife Rene List said, adding that he loved the act of firefighting and helping...
Ligonier man was lifelong volunteer, advocate for disabled
Ligonier-area residents may recall seeing Glen Scott manning the local Kiwanis chicken sandwich concession trailer during the town’s annual Fort Ligonier Days festival. Or they may have seen him driving up to local homes to deliver food prepared by the Ligonier Valley Meals on Wheels program. “When he turned 80,...
Scottdale woman ‘got herself involved in every single organization she could’
Vicki Clark of Mt. Pleasant can’t remember her mother ever sitting down to relax. “She would be involved in so much,” Clark said. “She would call every single person in per phone book, she quit her job to babysit our girls. She got herself involved in every single organization she...
North Huntingdon bus driver trekked millions of miles on the road
Driving was a major part of Mark Lazzaro’s life from the time he was a teenager. Whether it was for the Marines or a commercial bus line, Lazzaro took his driving seriously and treated his passengers with care, said his wife, Janice. “He just loved driving ever since he was...
Decorated officer served as diplomat around the world, settled in North Huntingdon
Paul Flebotte’s superior officers often used words like “quiet” and “unassuming” in his performance evaluations. His mild manners didn’t stop him from becoming a decorated officer who served in some of the military’s top diplomatic positions. “He was one of the most humble and dedicated individuals, who never sought accolades,”...
Former Penn Township business owner loved family, motorcycles
Renee Aiken loved to take weekend car rides with her dad, Richard Davis. That is, when he wasn’t on a motorcycle ride or on weekend excursions with his wife, Mary Ann. “He was very outgoing, very adventurous, he loved people, he was very social and very kind and caring and...
Greensburg veteran was a dedicated advocate for the handicapped
Whenever anyone at the Westmoreland County Blind Association’s workshop needed a voice or a hand, Ken Gulisek was there. Mr. Gulisek, whose son, Brett, was born with sight impairments and intellectual challenges, was committed to the workshop. He was grateful to the organization that provided his adult son with a...
Former Irwin police officer loved hunting, fishing, family
Mark Garbin can remember his father, Alfred, coming home for lunch and dinner, Irwin police car gleaming and his uniform pressed. “He was always working,” Mark said of his father’s 27 years with the borough police force. “He loved being a police officer and doing the right thing.” Alfred A....
Wood, glass crafter was drawn to animals in the wild and in art
Clifford Howard loved to make and collect items fashioned from wood, and then give them away. “He made carvings of different waterfowl, and he gave a lot of them to his friends,” said his daughter, Sharon Johnson. “I have a lot of his carved ducks.” In his home wood shop,...
World War II vet caddied on same golf course where his father was killed by lightning
Mel Cirincione caddied at the 1935 U.S. Open, on the same Oakmont golf course where his father was killed by a lightning strike only a year earlier. His father Frank was cutting grass on the seventh tee July 20, 1934, when he was struck and knocked 4 feet back from...
