Jerry Przybylek
On April 13, 2017, Gerard T. "Jerry" Przybylek of Cochranton, Pennsylvania, age 83, passed away following a sudden illness. He was born in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, the son of Walter and Marie Miller Przybylek.
A true Renaissance man eternally proud of his Pittsburgh roots, Jerry never stopped learning and never stopped pursuing topics that fascinated him. After graduating from Saint Basil's Catholic High School in Pittsburgh's Carrick neighborhood and training as an artist, Jerry served in the United States Navy on the USS San Pablo, a hydrographic survey ship. Following military service, Jerry then joined the Art Department of Morco, Inc., an advertising specialties products company in Cochranton, where he eventually became Vice President of Marketing and a true mentor to his team. An avid gardener, excellent chef, enthusiastic glass collector, and dedicated fisherman to the point of trout obsession, Jerry was also an opera and music lover whose deep bass voice could be heard singing in many church choirs. This love of singing is what netted Jerry the love of his life, Iris, after they met as part of the Tom Fallon Singers chorus in Pittsburgh's Dormont neighborhood.
Jerry was never one to sit on the sidelines and was very involved in his community. Over the years, Jerry was a member of the Cochranton High School Band Boosters and the Academic Boosters; Trout Unlimited and the North Deer Creek Project; the Three Rivers Depression Era Glass Society, a board member of the Crawford County Federated Library System, and the Cochranton Area Redevelopment Effort (CARE). He was a member of Our Lady of Lourdes Catholic Church (Saint Hippolyte parish), where he served with the parish council for many years, and for which he recently designed a new grotto that will be dedicated this spring.
He is survived by his wife of fifty-two years, Iris Spieler Przybylek; his three children, daughters Leslie and Stephanie Przybylek, and his son David Przybylek and David's wife, Elizabeth Leshi; his brother Daniel Przybylek and sisters Marianne Kramer and Andrea Laxton. He was preceded in death by his parents, Walter and Marie, and his older brother, Ronald "Moose" Przybylek, as well as numerous aunts and uncles.
Viewing hours will be held in two locations: on Wednesday at Boron Funeral Home, Inc., 1719 Brownsville Road in Pittsburgh, PA from 4:00 - 7:00 PM; and on Thursday from 2:00 - 4:00 PM and 7:00 - 9:00 PM at Dickson Family Funeral Home Inc. 123 S. Franklin St. Cochranton. A funeral mass will be held on Friday at 11:00 AM at Our Lady of Lourdes Church in Cochranton with burial to follow at Saint Hippolyte Church and Cemetery in Guys Mills, Pennsylvania.
Military funeral honors will be conducted by the Cochranton American Legion.
In lieu of flowers, donations in his memory can be made to Trout Unlimited, the Cochranton Area Redevelopment Effort (CARE) or the Cochranton Area Public Library.
&