William “Bill” George Rokosky, 67, of Homer City passed away on Saturday, June 10th in Selinsgrove, PA where he spent the past seven months under the loving care of his son Eric and daughter-in-law Kelly.
Bill was born on September 11, 1949 in Indiana to William and Genevieve Wojcik Rokosky. He was raised in Waterman and graduated from Homer-Center High School in 1967. On April 29, 1972, he married Mary Tanner Rokosky. Together they had one son, Eric.
In addition to Eric and Kelly, he is survived by his grandchildren Garrett and Caleb; mother-in law Babe Tanner; brother-in-law Larry (Shirley) Tanner, nephews Kevin (Ellen) Tanner and Craig (Dana) Tanner; as well as several grand-nephews, grand-nieces, and cousins.
Bill and Mary lived in Homer City most of their lives other than for a short time in Hollidaysburg when Bill was employed by Baltimore Life Insurance Company. He also worked for R&P Coal Company at Lucerne #6 for twelve years and has been a member of the UMWA for 39 years. He retired in June, 2011 after working nearly 20 years at IUP.
Bill had a zest for life, the ability to light up any room he walked into, and an unmistakable laugh. He enjoyed sports, and was a long-time season ticket holder for Pitt football with knowledge of every player and recruit. As one of Indiana County’s biggest fans of Pitt sports, he even had his cemetery marker inscribed with “Pitt Is It.” He closely followed Homer-Center sports attending hundreds of games through the years and served as the scoreboard operator at Memorial Field during Wildcats home games. He also was a fan of Pittsburgh’s pro teams and enjoyed fishing and hunting. Bill was a member of the Club Savoy-Sons of Italy in Homer City and started many of his weekends and retirement days with a cup of coffee talking sports and the news of the day.
Bill was inducted as a Lifetime Member of the Homer City Area Athletic Booster Club in 2005. He volunteered in various capacities for over 30 years serving as the treasurer, coaching the club’s baseball and basketball teams, and for many years he officiated elementary basketball games.
Bill was a well respected baseball umpire serving the Indiana County Junior American Legion Baseball League for three decades. His reputation often earned him assignments to umpire many PA American Legion Regional and State Championship contests.
He was preceded in death by his loving wife Mary in November, 2015; his parents, and father-in-law Richard Tanner.
Family and Friends will be received on Thursday, June 15th from 2-4 and 6-8 at the C. Frederick Bowser Funeral Home in Homer City.
A blessing service will be held Friday at 10AM at the funeral home with Father Alan N. Polczynski as the celebrant. Interment will be in Oakland Cemetery in Indiana.
The family suggests that memorial contributions be made to the Homer City Area Athletic Booster Club, P.O. Box 11, Homer City, PA 15748.
To send an on-line condolence to the family please visit, www.bowserfh.com
