All Obituaries

Gerald C. “Jerry” "Doc" Purvis, age 61, of Saxonburg, formerly of Mars, passed away unexpectedly of natural causes on Monday morning, January 14, 2019, at his home. Born in Pittsburgh, PA on January 15, 1957, he was the son of the late Darvin Dean and Margaret Fallon Purvis. Jerry was a truck driver for Jay Bird Trucking in Saxonburg. He was a member of St. Kilian Church, a social member of Mars V.F.W. Post 7505 and the Mars V.F.D., now Adams Area Fire...

Virginia S. “Ginny” Bartolac, age 91, of Mars, passed away on Friday, January 11, 2019, at VNA Inpatient Hospice in Butler. Born in Pittsburgh, PA on April 26, 1927, she was the daughter of the late Henry and Emilie Ziegenhein Smithman. Ginny was a member of Mars United Presbyterian Church. She is survived by her daughter, Gini Lee Bartolac of Ft. Pierce, FL, a grandson, Steven Yeager of Ft. Pierce, FL, and several great-grandchildren and great-great-grandchildren. She is...

H. Robert Kennedy, age 61, of Mars, passed away on Saturday evening, January 5, 2019 at Good Samaritan Hospice in Wexford. Born in Pittsburgh, PA on November 27, 1957, he was the son of Harold Kennedy and the late Maryann Arnold Fetzer. Bob was a truck driver for GM Rentals and Sun Belt Trucking. He was a member of the Mars United Presbyterian Church and was a social member of Mars V.F.W.  He enjoyed riding his Harley and hunting. Loving companion of Nancy Cummings of Mars, father...

William J. Stehle, age 65, of Tidioute, PA, formerly of Mars, passed away on Wednesday, January 2, 2019. Born in Pittsburgh, PA on July 31, 1953, he is the son of Audrey Eperthener Stehle and the late Herman Stehle. He was a member of St. Kilian Church and was also active in Mars Area Girls Softball, where he had served as president. Surviving are his mother, Audrey Eperthener Stehle of Mt. Washington; his daughters, Rochelle (Thomas) Bender of Fawn Twp. and Melissa (Charles) Petredis of...

David E. Bell, age 75, of Cranberry Twp., passed away on Sunday morning, December 30, 2018 at St. Barnabas in Gibsonia. David was born and lived his entire childhood in Mansfield, Ohio. After graduating high school, Dave completed his college studies at Bowling Green University where he majored in Public Relations and Business Management. To enhance his interest in music composition and performance, he minored in Piano Performance. His modesty got the best of him, and discovered he could...

Neil D. Rush, age 63, of Adam Twp., Mars, passed away on Thursday, December 27, 2018 at Good Samaritan Hospice in Wexford. Born in East Orange, New Jersey on November 6, 1955, he was the son of Irene Elder Rush and the late Horace Rush. Neil was a Property Insurance Specialist with Chubb Insurance in Pittsburgh. In addition to his mother of Irene of Tom's River, N.J., he is survived by his wife, Cathy Wharton Rush, who he married on June 6, 1981, by two sons, Andrew Rush (Fiancee Jodi...

Jason C. Rominski, age 47, of Butler, passed away on Thursday morning, December 27, 2018 at his home. Born in Cleveland, Ohio on March 25, 1971, he was the son of Darlene Michaels Bucchioni and the late Charles Rominski. Jason served in the U.S. Marine Corps for 20 years retiring as a Master Sgt., having served in Operation Desert Storm. He was a life member of Mars V.F.W. Post 7505. Surviving are a son, Jacob and a daughter, Megan, both of Gibsonia, PA, his mother, Darlene Bucchioni of...

Marjorie E. Rinaman, age 94, of Mars, formerly of Wexford, passed away on Sunday morning, December 23, 2018 at LAS St. John Specialty Care Center in Mars. Born in Gibsonia, PA on February 15, 1924, she was the daughter of the late Joseph and Margaret Norris. Marjorie had worked as a waitress and also worked in the shipping department at Joseph Horne Co. in North Hills.  She enjoyed sewing and was a talented seamstress. She was a member of St. Paul's Lutheran Church in North...

Jessie Mae Purvis Thieleman, of Mars, passed on to Heaven on Saturday morning, December 22, 2018 at St. John Specialty Care Center under the care of Good Samaritan Hospice. She was born in Valencia, PA on December 29, 1922 to Beulah Miller Purvis and Verne V. Purvis. She was a homemaker and a member of Mars Alliance Church, now LifePointe Alliance Church, where she was a choir member and taught Sunday School for more than 30 years.  She especially loved to teach the Old...

John Patrick Donofrio, age 54, of Adams Twp., passed away on Saturday, December 22, 2018 at his home. Born in Youngstown, Ohio on June 23, 1964, he was the son of Ralph Donofrio and the late Margaret “Peggy” McBride Donofrio. John was a CRM Sales Rep for 23 years with St. Jude Medical, Inc. and was currently working as a Principal Mapping Specialist for Boston Scientific.  He had served in the United States Navy. He was a member of Treesdale Golf and...

Thomas F. Wokutch, age 66, of Cranberry Twp., passed away unexpectedly on Wednesday afternoon, December 19, 2018 at his home. Born in Pittsburgh, PA on August 16, 1952, he was the son of Raymond and Lila Morrison Wokutch. Tom worked in substation maintenance for Duquesne Light and was a member of the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers. He enjoyed hunting and was a member of the Northside Sportsmans’ Club and the National Rifle Association. Surviving are his wife, Carol...

Catherine Ryan, age 82, formerly of Avalon, passed away on Friday morning, December 14, 2018 at LAS St. John Specialty Care Center in Mars. Born in Pittsburgh, PA on April 4, 1936, she was the daughter of the late Michael and Catherine McQuaide Ryan. Catherine was a Senior Associate in Credit and Collection for Pittsburgh Corning. She was a member of Assumption Roman Catholic Church and most recently attended Holy Sepulcher Church. Beloved aunt of Kathleen McGraw of Spring Garden,...

Gina Trbusich, age 70, of Mars, died unexpectedly on Wednesday in Conneaut, PA. Born in Lahnstein, Germany on February 13, 1948, she was the daughter of Nadia Niedzwiecka and the step-daughter of the late Gregorius Iwanciki. Gina is survived by a daughter, Joyce Coon of Mars, two sons, John Trbusich (Kristine) of Oil City and Michael Trbusich (Darla) of Valencia, her grandchildren, John, Kristen, James, Cory, Jesse and Tyler, many great grandchildren, a sister, Lydia Barthlow in Ohio and...

Howard L. Meeder, age 100, of Gibsonia, Richland Twp., passed away on Monday morning, December 10, 2018 at St. Barnabas. Howard and his wife had moved to St. Barnabas Retirement Village in 2009. Born in Cranberry Twp., PA on March 11, 1918, he was the son of the late Harry and Angie Beers Meeder. He had served as a Staff Sgt. in the U.S. Army Air Force during W.W. II. He had flown 31 missions over Germany and was a member of the National American Legion. Howard had worked for the United...

Wilma Gray, age 96, of Rockwood, PA, formerly of Mars and Evans City, passed away on Saturday evening, December 8, 2018 at Siemons Heritage Assisted Living in Somerset. Born in Peterson, Iowa on December 1, 1922, she was the daughter of the late Fred William and Grace Hortense Brown. Wilma was a homemaker and member of Mars Alliance Church, now Lifepointe Alliance Church in Mars. Surviving are a son, Denver Gray, Jr. in Oregon, a daughter, Katherine “Kay” Race and her husband,...

Stephen J. Nicotra, age 55, of Mars, formerly of Shaler Twp., passed away unexpectedly on Friday, December 7, 2018 at UPMC Presbyterian Hospital. Born in Pittsburgh, PA on April 5, 1963, he is the son of Samuel J. and Sandra J. Baughman Nicotra. He held a B.S. in Business and Accounting from Pitt and a M.S. in Finance from Robert Morris. Steve was Vice President of Finance and Chief Financial Officer for Oxford Development in Pittsburgh, where he had worked since 1991. Steve adored his...

Donald Lewis Rose, age 94, of Valencia, passed away on Thursday evening, December 6, 2018 in the comfort of his home. Born in Pittsburgh, PA on May 24, 1924, he was the son of the late Harold James and Emma Esther Lewis Rose. Don served in the United States Navy during W.W. II. as an electronics instructor. He was a graduate of George Washington University with a J.D. in Law. Don worked as a Patent Attorney for Reynolds Metals Company in Virginia. He then worked as manager and Head...

William Emory Snider, age 77, of Seven Fields, formerly of Murrysville, passed away on Monday, December 3, 2018 at UPMC Passavant Hospital in McCandless Twp. Born in McKeesport, PA on February 21, 1941, he was the son of the late Elmer and Esther Robinson Snider. Bill worked as a chemist for Exxon Mobile. He was a member of St. Kilian Knights of Columbus Council #14807. He was the beloved husband and best friend to his loving wife, Mary Jane Bowers Snider, who he married on October 21,...

Robert A. Emig, age 79, of Treesdale, formerly of St. Clair, MI, passed away on Monday, December 3, 2018 at Paramount Senior Living in Adams Twp., PA. Born in St. Clair, MI, he was the son of the late Arthur and Adeline Emig. Robert had served in the United States Army. For over 30 years, he was a member of the Masonic Kilwinning Lodge in Cincinnati, OH. He had worked in the food service industry his entire career and was also a member of M.A.F.S.I. for many years. He attended...

Patricia A. Wyzkoski, age 52, of Middlesex Twp., Valencia, passed away on Tuesday, November 27, 2018, at her residence. Born in Pittsburgh, PA on March 16, 1966, she was the daughter of Marjorie McCarty Helbling and the late Robert L. Helbling. Surviving are her son, Lee Wyzkoski (Sarah) of Mars, her mother, Marjorie Helbling of Ross Twp., her sister, Nancy Dugan (William) of Economy, and her companion, Don Lynch. Friends will be received at the McDonald-Aeberli Funeral Home, Inc., 238...