Skook News Obituaries: August 25th, 2026
Obituaries published from the Schuylkill County area.
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Born September 26, 1970 in Dover, New Jersey, the daughter of Georgina (Wright) Rudinsky and the late John Paul Pershing Cramer.
Christine had worked as a home health aide and at Mundy's Pub in Tamaqua for many years. Christine enjoyed doing crafts; however, her greatest role was being a doting nana to her grandchildren.
She is survived by her; son Shawn Ulrich; daughter, Jenna Kachelries; brother John Cramer; grandchildren, Owen, Bentley, Jasper, Piper, Oliver and Parker. Also surviving are her aunts, uncles and cousins.
Arrangements entrusted to the E. Franklin Griffiths Funeral Home & Cremation Services, Inc. 655 East Broad Street Tamaqua, Pennsylvania 18252. (570) 668-2550
A Public visitation will be held from the funeral home on Friday August 28, 2026 from 6:00 P.M. to 8:00 P.M.
Memorial's can be made in care of the funeral home to offset expenses.
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Born on August 20, 1966, in Coaldale, Pennsylvania, he was the son of the late Dolores Garrett. John was raised in Coaldale, where he built the foundation of the simple, hardworking life he cherished.
John was a man who could build just about anything from whatever he had on hand. He found joy in the little things—whether it was playing a good game of pool, watching his beloved Pittsburgh Steelers, or enjoying the excitement of short track racing. Some of his favorite moments were spent fishing and camping, relaxing with a cold beer in the quiet outdoors.
He took great pride in displaying the American flag alongside his vibrant portulaca flowers, grown from seeds passed down from his mother. John also loved to cook, especially during the holidays, where he was known for his homemade boilo and what many considered the best eggnog around.
Though John didn’t have much in material things, he was endlessly generous and would give anything he had to help someone in need. His kindness and selflessness left a lasting impression on everyone who knew him.
John is survived by his sisters, Kathleen Turner of Virginia and Karen Valentine and her husband Kenneth of Quakake ; his companion, Cindy Delp of Tamaqua; his beloved “fur babies,” Squeakers; and many nieces and nephews who meant the world to him.
He was preceded in death by his sisters, Sharon Garrett and Marylou Check ; his mother, Dolores Garrett; and his brothers, Jimmy Garrett and Tommy Garrett.
John was affectionately known as “Buddy” by his friend Christopher, and simply “Mr. John” by his younger buddy, James.
He will be deeply missed and forever loved and remembered by all who had the privilege of knowing him.
Services are private at the convenience of the family.
Arrangements entrusted to the E. Franklin Griffiths Funeral Home & Cremation Services, Inc. 655 East Broad Street Tamaqua, Pennsylvania 18252.
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Born in Pottsville August 20, 1953 she was a daughter of the late Frederick and Dolores (Gilgore) Brobst.
Barbara was a 1971 Graduate of Pottsville Area High School. She enjoyed camping, reading, crossword puzzles and spending time with her grandchildren.
In addition to her parents, she was preceded in death by her husband Theodore “Bud” Starinsky on July 19, 2025; a granddaughter Emma Marx; 2 Brothers David Brobst and Steve Brobst.
Surviving are her children Tanya Shaud widow of Eric, Pottsville; Jessica McDonald and her husband Sean of Seltzer; Mark Starinsky and his wife Yesenia of Palmetto Bay, FL; Astra Marx and her husband Rick of Lake Wynonah; Grandchildren Zachary Shaud, Madeline Shaud, Erin McDonald, Luna Starinsky, Mila Starinsky, Cooper Marx and Ayla Marx. Gary Brobst husband of Midge of Wilmington, DE; Bill Brobst and his wife Donna of Walnut Bottom, PA; Nieces and Nephews
Services will be private at the convenience of the family. Dutcavich Funeral Home & Cremation Care Inc. is in charge of arrangements.
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Born in Ashland, February 1, 1947, he was a son of the late Joseph and Margaret (Padelsky) Pielacha.
He was a 1965 graduate of Minersville Area High School.
Joseph went on to serve in the US Coast Guard.
He retired as a Steel Worker from Bethlehem Steel. He enjoyed watching and rooting for the Green Bay Packers.
In addition to his parents, he was preceded in death by a brother Raymond Pielacha.
Surviving are his wife Janet (Cola) Pielacha; Son Joel Pielacha of Phildadlephia; Brothers Richard and his wife Barbara Pielacha of Branchdale; John “Jake” Pielacha of Minersville; Nieces and Nephews.
Services will be private at the convenience of the family. Dutcavich Funeral Home & Cremation Care Inc., Minersville is entrusted with arrangements.
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Born in Fountain Springs on January 25, 1947, he was a son of the late Elmer B. and Arlene (Paul) McSurdy.
Robert was a 1964 graduate of Daniel Boone High School and served in the U.S. Naval Reserve. He later attended Albright College, where he earned a Bachelor of Science degree in psychology in 1974. Robert worked his way through college while serving his community as a lifeguard, police officer, and deputy sheriff. He continued his commitment to helping others through a career in social work.
Robert gave his life to Christ in 1980, beginning a lifelong journey of devoted service to the Lord. He began his ministry work as a counselor at the Teen Challenge Training Center in Rehrersburg, Pennsylvania, where he served from 1981 to 1986. He then became pastor of Foursquare Gospel Church in Pottsville, serving from 1986 to 1991.
In 1991, Robert returned to the Teen Challenge Training Center as program director, a position he held until 1997. He then joined Glad Tidings Church in West Lawn, Pennsylvania, where he served as associate and missions pastor until his retirement in 2016.
During his time at GT Church, Pastor Rob served as a counselor, preacher, teacher, deliverance minister, and missionary. He led missions trips, organized ministry teams, and ministered in Vietnam, Ethiopia, Zambia, Mexico, and Venezuela. He also coordinated support for missions and missionaries throughout the world.
Following his retirement, Robert continued serving in ministry by helping his daughter and son-in-law with a church plant in Las Vegas. Upon returning to Pennsylvania, he led Bible studies and later began an online ministry through which he shared writings, Bible teachings, and personal messages of encouragement with many people.
Robert published his writings and Bible teachings on his website, www.hisspirit.org, which his family plans to continue as a ministry. Additional writings that he prepared have yet to be published.
Robert was an honorary member of Word of Life Christian Fellowship in Galloway, New Jersey, where his son-in-law serves as pastor. He was also an active and valued board member of Love All Around Ministry, helping to raise funds to support children in Namibia, Africa.
In addition to his parents, Robert was preceded in death by his brother, Gary McSurdy.
Robert is survived by his beloved wife, Nan J. (Longenecker) McSurdy, whom he married on December 4, 1975. Robert and Nan shared a deep and enduring love throughout their 50 years of marriage. He is also survived by his two daughters, Jennifer Cambria and her husband, Russ, of Southern Pines, North Carolina, and Melissa Beauvais and her husband, Jeffrey, of Cape May, New Jersey. Robert loved his daughters deeply and was immensely proud of the women they had become. He was equally grateful for his sons-in-law, whom he loved and respected as wonderful husbands to his daughters. He was proud of Russ’s many years of service with Teen Challenge and shared a close bond with Jeffrey, whose music and pastoral ministry he wholeheartedly supported. Robert is also survived by seven grandchildren, each of whom he treasured dearly. He delighted in his grandchildren and cherished every moment he was able to spend with them: Claire Cambria; and Eliana, Samuel, Ezekiel, Nathaniel, Jaina, and Eva Beauvais.
A Celebration of Life service will be held at noon on Friday, August 28, at GT Church, 1110 Snyder Road, West Lawn, Pennsylvania, 19609. Family and friends are also invited to attend a visitation at the church from 11 a.m. until noon, immediately prior to the service.
In honor of Pastor Rob, donations may be made to Love All Around Ministry to support children in Namibia, Africa:
Love All Around Ministries
656 Seashore Road
Cape May, NJ 08204
Or give online at: www.loveallaround.org
Dutcavich Funeral Home & Cremation Care Inc. Minersville, is entrusted with arrangements.
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Kull-Heizenroth Funeral Home Inc., 901 Centre St, Ashland PA 17921 has been entrusted with the arrangements.
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Born in Pottsville, PA on December 8, 1941, she was the daughter of the late Thomas and Loretta (Foley) Quinn.
Catherine Marie was a graduate of Nativity B.V.M. High School, Class of 1959. She worked as a secretary at Exxon Chemical and was owner and operator of Shamrock Gardens Greenhouse, Port Carbon. Catherine Marie was a member of St. Patrick Roman Catholic Church Pottsville, the former St. Kieran’s Church, Heckscherville, the Ladies Ancient Order of the Hibernians, the Schuylkill County Ceili Group, and the Third Order of the Lay Carmelites. Catherine Marie was an avid Notre Dame fan and proud of her Irish heritage.
In addition to her parents, she was preceded in death by her husband, Thomas James Halpin.
Catherine is survived by daughters: Christine Pfeiffenberger (James) and Susan Drasdis (Joseph); a stepdaughter Diane Luckenbill (Larry); grandchildren: Joseph and Kayla Drasdis and Emily Pfeiffenberger; step-grandchildren: Lorissa and Lyle Luckenbill; a brother Thomas Quinn; sisters: Betsy Farrell (John) and Patricia Wartella (David), and numerous nieces and nephews.
A Mass of Christian Burial will be celebrated at St. Patrick Roman Catholic Church, Pottsville at 11AM on Friday, August 28th, with Rev. John Pendzick and Rev. Jason Stokes officiating.
Relatives and Friends are invited to a viewing on Friday morning from 9:30-11AM at St. Patrick Roman Catholic Church.
Mausoleum Encryptment will be held at Our Lady of Calvary Cemetery Mausoleum, Pottsville.
In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions may be made to St. Patrick's Church Memorial Fund, 319 Mahantongo Street Pottsville, PA 17901.
A special thank you to the staff at Providence Place for their compassionate care and to Dr. Kimberly Hashin, MD.
The Robert A Evans Jr Funeral Home, Port Carbon is in charge of arrangements.
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Tim was born in Pottsville on October 23, 1943, the son of Joseph E. Reddington, a U.S. Navy veteran of World War II and longtime railroad conductor, and Rita (Casale) Reddington. He grew up in the close-knit community of Jalappa with his three sisters, Joanne, Reene, and Marilou. He graduated from Nativity B.V.M. High School with the Class of 1961. Days after graduation, he followed his father into the U.S. Navy, enlisting on July 6, 1961. Trained as a radioman, he was assigned to the destroyer USS John Paul Jones (DD-932) and logged more than two years at sea during some of the Cold War’s tensest hours.
In October 1962, his ship steamed for the quarantine line off Cuba during the Cuban Missile Crisis; a nineteen-year-old radioman from the Coal Region handled the message traffic while the world held its breath. He also sailed with the Sixth Fleet in the Mediterranean and rose to Radioman Second Class before his honorable discharge in October 1964.
On November 12, 1966, at St. Joseph’s Church in Pottsville, he married JoAnn Marie Riotto of Palo Alto. Thus began a 59-year journey through life together and the building of a beautiful family; all rooted in the same corner of Schuylkill County where both of their families had settled generations before.
Tim’s career was an American trades story from start to finish. He began as a union Boilermaker, rose through site management (helping get Three Mile Island back on track), and landed in the executive ranks of the nuclear power industry.
He joined NPS Energy Services when its only office was a strip-mall storefront on Derry Street in Harrisburg with a handful of employees. In the decades that followed he was, as a colleague put it, “Father, Mother, and Brother” to the small team trusted to build the company, helping to grow that storefront operation into what became Day & Zimmermann NPS, an international leader in nuclear power plant maintenance, and eventually serving as President of the company.
When he formally retired on December 15, 2023, a colleague predicted he “wasn’t done yet.” He wasn’t: he continued to consult and mentor in an industry he loved, and he never forgot where he started.
Tim helped pioneer the tripartite partnership among Day & Zimmermann, the TVA, and the International Brotherhood of Boilermakers that became a national model for cooperative outage planning. He served as President of the Associated Maintenance Contractors, the association that administers the General Presidents’ Project Maintenance Agreement with the Building Trades; sat as a trustee of the National Construction Agreement and of the Joint National Industrial Agreement for Instrument & Control Technicians; and served on the National Maintenance Agreements Policy Committee until his retirement.
His advocacy reached all the way to the White House: in 1998, President Bill Clinton wrote to Tim personally to thank him for sharing his thoughts on federal project labor agreements, a letter addressed not to a company but to the man.
Among his proudest legacies, Tim was one of the handful of industry leaders who drew up the guidelines for the Zero Injury Safety Awards, the construction industry’s premier national safety honor, presented annually since 2000 and built on his conviction that every worker deserves to go home safely.
Few people were as trusted on both sides of the labor-management table. “His signature on a piece of paper was not required,” a longtime colleague wrote. “His word was his bond and he kept it.” Tim taught a generation of colleagues that “Labor Relations is really a misnomer… it’s Labor Relationships! You gotta have them, and they have to be good ones.” That passion for people ran through a career that helped shape the national labor agreements governing union construction and maintenance work across North America.
Those with whom he shared a meeting room, a dinner table, or a golf cart knew the rules: the coffee was Dunkin’, never Starbucks; the cup was paper, never Styrofoam; and dinner called for a good glass of Cabernet. A captivating storyteller and born entertainer, he made sure no big industry dinner was complete until he sang “Eh Cumpari,” Sicilian for “Hey, pal!” As one colleague remembered, the song was for the people and for the relationships.
For all his standing in industry, Tim’s compass always pointed home. He was a faithful member of St. Ambrose Roman Catholic Church in Orwigsburg and belonged to the former American Sons of Italy Club in Palo Alto.
An avid golfer and longtime member of the Schuylkill Country Club in Orwigsburg, he kept a regular 8:03 tee time with Tommy Purin, Jim Barbetta, and Phil Pishock; and won tournaments including the President’s Cup, the Member-Guest, and the Member-Member. He carded a handful of holes-in-one, and famously “never met a putt [he] didn’t like”, seeming to sink more 16-footers than anyone who ever played the game. Every round ended the same way: “On the way home, we’ll play those cart numbers straight and box ‘em, we’ll be in!”
At the end of a working day, he looked forward to coming home to a Pepsi and a Camel, and, more importantly, to time with his loving wife, JoAnn, his daughter, Lynne-Darlin’, and his son, Timmy. When blessed with grandchildren, he was a loving Pop Pop who cherished every moment and never missed an opportunity to beam with pride.
Tim is survived by his beloved wife of 59 years, JoAnn Marie (Riotto) Reddington; his daughter, Lynne Reddington, wife of Thomas Abell, of Eugene, Oregon; and his son, Thomas M. “Tim” Reddington of Indianapolis, Indiana. Also surviving are his grandchildren: Craig “CJ” Covell and his wife, Melissa (Mai) Covell, of Cincinnati, Ohio; Nicholas Covell of Springboro, Ohio; Mamie Covell of Boston, Massachusetts; and Madalynne Reddington of Indianapolis, Indiana. He is further survived by his sisters, Joanne Reddington and Reene Reddington, both of Pottsville, and Marilou Wilson and her husband, Robert, of Upper Chichester, Pennsylvania. He also leaves his nieces and their children: Karin (Hollenbush) Moyer and her sons, Joseph and Jonathan Hollenbush; and Annette Hollenbush and her daughter, Bethany Hollenbush. He was preceded in death by his parents.
Family and friends will gather to share stories & memories, and to pay their respects at a visitation from 5 to 7 p.m. on Thursday, August 27, 2026, at the Robert A. Evans Jr. Funeral Home, Port Carbon. A memorial service will follow at 7 p.m. at the funeral home, with Deacon John Matulevich officiating.
In a private ceremony, Tim will be laid to rest with military honors at Fort Indiantown Gap National Cemetery, Annville.
In lieu of flowers, the family requests that memorial contributions be made to the Hillside SPCA, P.O. Box 233, Pottsville, PA 17901.
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Born in Tower City on December 8, 1932, he was a son of the late Joseph and Martha (Brown) Alutius.
Albert was a 1950 graduate of the former Tower City High School. He went on to attend Williamson College of the Trades. He excelled in football and basketball and was inducted into the Williamson Athletic Hall of Fame. Following graduation from Williamson in 1953, he served in the United States Army from 1953-1956. After being discharged from the Army, Albert went back to school, attending the University of New Mexico on a football scholarship. Albert graduated in 1960 with a Bachelor's degree in Industrial Arts from Millersville University.
Albert was a well-respected industrial arts teacher for 33 years for the Owen J. Roberts School District in Pottstown. He was also a successful football coach. Following his retirement, Albert continued to support the Owen J. Roberts Football program.
He was a member of the Tower City American Legion, Holy Trinity Club, Delaware River Shad Society, and was the Vice President of the Boyertown Sportsman’s Club.
He was an avid outdoorsman who could often be found fishing, hunting, and taking in all nature had to offer. He and his wife Bernice enjoyed traveling, always looking forward to their trips to England. He also enjoyed vacations to Alaska to visit his brother, where many memories were made with family and friends. Albert also was an accomplished trumpet player, taking lessons from Ray Brown as a young boy.
Above all else, his family was his world. He spent over 73 years with his beloved wife Bernice, being married for 69. He was a devoted family man, and his children and grandchildren were everything to him.
In addition to his parents, Albert was preceded in death by his brother, Lt Col. Joseph Alutius and his wife Marie.
He is survived by his wife Bernice (Spangler) Alutius; his children, Dee Pettine (Leonard), Brian Alutius (Carol King), Joel Alutius (Nicola), Kris Alutius, and Mark Alutius (Terry Burk); his grandchildren Aaron, Colin, and Evan (Lauren) Alutius, Nathaniel (Gina) and Daniel Pettine, Julie and Charles Alutius, Collin and Brenden (Danae’) King, and Madison Beard; great grandchildren Donovan and Francesca Pettine, Ezra, Kendrick, and Bryson King, and Luke Alutius; a sister Lois Hunter (Clyde).
Following Albert's wishes there will be no formal services.
If you wish to make a donation in Albert's memory, please make it to Williamson College of Trades. Albert was extremely proud to be an alumnus of Williamson, crediting the institution for its impact on his and other young men’s lives.
The Dimon Funeral Home & Cremation Services, Inc., Tower City is honored to serve the Alutius family.
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Obituaries from the past 7 Days
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These obituaries are being brought to by Mark J. Hummel Funeral Home, Frackville
