Unity man was proud of service to country

Even when he was living in Illinois and Ohio, William C. Eversole was a proud Pittsburgh Steelers season ticket holder who made it to every game he could.

“He always managed to either be at the games, or listen to them on the radio,” said his daughter, Jessie Jones.

He took plenty of ribbing when he lived in Browns country, but nothing could dent his loyalty to his favorite team.

William C. “Abe” Eversole of Unity Township died Monday, Oct. 21, 2019 in Excela Health Latrobe Hospital. He was 85.

He was born Jan. 30, 1934, in Johnstown to the late H. William and Martha (Hochstein) Eversole.

He served on a submarine in the Navy during the Korean War.

On a visit home he went on a blind date. It went pretty well, said Ruth Eversole, his wife.

“It worked out for 63 years,” she said.

The couple were married near the naval base in Charleston, S.C. It was a small ceremony, since their friends and family from Pennsylvania couldn’t make the trip.

“Our celebration was, we met the guys from his submarine, and they didn’t have rice so when we went into the room they tore up paper and threw it at us,” Ruth Eversole said.

Mr. Eversole was proud to have served his country, and wore a Navy baseball cap almost every day for the rest of his life, she said.

After his time in the Navy, Eversole worked several engineering jobs, eventually ending up at Kennametal where he would be employed for about 40 years.

He started as a draftsman and worked his way up to vice president of Kennametal subsidiary Erickson Tool Company.

His work took him out of Pennsylvania for several years at a time, to Ohio and Illinois.

Mr. Eversole was outgoing and had many friends, according to his family.

“He was outspoken, but everything he said was in love,” his wife said. “He wanted to take care of everybody.”

He loved his children, and taught them to be self-reliant.

“He made us learn how to change a tire before we were allowed to get our license,” Jones said.

Mr. Eversole enjoyed traveling the world with his wife.

“He made life interesting, there was never a dull moment,” she said.

Mr. Eversole is survived by his wife, Ruth (Ruby) Eversole; children Jessie Jones and her husband Bruce, Stephen L. Eversole, and Janine Eversole; four grandchildren and six great-grandchildren.

Friends will be received from 4-7 p.m. Thursday at Hartman-Graziano Funeral Home, 1500 Ligonier St., Latrobe.

Funeral services will be held 11 a.m. Friday in the funeral home chapel. Interment with full military honors accorded by the VFW Post 33 Honor Guard will follow in Unity Cemetery.

Memorial contributions may be made to the Tunnel to Towers Foundation at tunnel2towers.org.