North Schuylkill honored the life, service and sacrifice of fallen Pennsylvania State Police Trooper First Class Michael E. Pahira Jr. during a moving ceremony Friday night at Spartan Stadium.
The tribute was held before the Spartans’ football game against Mount Carmel Area and brought together Pahira’s family, members of the Pennsylvania State Police and the North Schuylkill community.
Tribute at Spartan Stadium
As part of the ceremony, a game ball signed by the entire North Schuylkill football team was presented in Pahira’s memory by his mom Patti.
Pahira’s father, Michael Pahira Sr., joined the team captains along with his family at midfield and conducted the ceremonial coin toss before kickoff. Pahira’s nieces carried a North Schuylkill Spartans jersey bearing No. 74, the number he wore while playing football in high school.
Pennsylvania State Police troopers stood with the family during the tribute as those inside the stadium observed a moment of silence. The ceremony also included a Pennsylvania State Police helicopter flyover above Spartan Stadium.
North Schuylkill students carried out a Country and Western theme in Pahira’s honor, filling the student section with cowboy hats, boots, flannel and denim.
Remembering Michael Pahira
Pahira, 44, of Ashland, was a 2001 graduate of North Schuylkill High School, where he played football and was a standout wrestler. He later competed in wrestling at East Stroudsburg University before beginning a nearly two-decade career with the Pennsylvania State Police.
Pahira died in the line of duty on July 1 after being struck by a commercial vehicle while conducting a motor carrier safety inspection along Interstate 81 in Cass Township.
Friday’s tribute offered the North Schuylkill community another opportunity to remember one of its own and recognize a legacy of service and sacrifice that will not be forgotten.
