Nov 23, 2014 4 min read

Cokeburg Mayor Bernard Luketich has never forgotten his roots.

“You should always remember where you came from,” said Luketich, 83, whose father, Ivan, emigrated from Croatia in 1903 and settled in Cokeburg, where he worked as a coal miner.

In fact, Luketich has spent his life as a tireless crusader for Croatia.

On June 1, he retired from his post as national president of the Croatian Fraternal Union, following a spectacularly successful 36-year run.

During his tenure, the CFU grew in membership and international influence, and Luketich held audiences with U.S. presidents, popes and other world leaders.

Luketich coordinated U.S. efforts to raise money to help Croatian war orphans, played a role in the establishment of the Republic of Croatia as a democratic nation, and traveled across the United States and Canada to promote Croatian history and traditions.

His dedication to the tiny European country and its people has long been recognized and appreciated by the Croatian government.

Earlier this month in Cleveland, Luketich was presented with Croatia’s highest award, Charter of the Croatian, by Croatia’s president, Ivo Josipovic, for “outstanding contributions in promoting the reputation and interests of the country and preserving the existence of the Croatian identity.”

It is the first time the award has been given to a person. Historically, it has been won by institutions.

“It’s an honor. There are those who deserve it more than I do, probably, but it means a lot to me,” said Luketich. “Everything successful that I’ve undertaken has involved a lot of people who worked together to make it happen, and that’s what I’ve enjoyed. I’ve liked the people I’ve met and worked with.”

Luketich worked briefly as a coal miner, and served in the U.S. Army in Korea during the Korean conflict from November 1952 to November 1954. He returned home and became deputy controller of Washington County, a position he held until he joined the CFU National Administration.

Luketich became involved with the CFU at the age of 16, when he was elected president of the Cokeburg lodge.

When he was 19, he attended his first national CFU conference in San Francisco. He was elected to its board in 1959, as treasurer in 1964 and president 14 years later.

The CFU was founded in 1894 to provide death benefits to widows of coal miners. Today, the organization provides insurance, investment and social services for more than 60,000 members in the United States, Canada and Croatia.

Luketich remains president of Cokeburg Lodge 354, which has grown to more than 2,000 members – making it nearly three times larger than the town (with a population of about 770 residents) and one of the largest lodges in the CFU.

“It’s so large because we are an active lodge, and people want to do things,” said Luketich. “We’ve kept young people interested, which is important.”

Interest in the club is fueled in part by the popularity of the Cokeburg Tamburitzans, an ethnic dance and music group that travels to Croatia and to parts of the United States and Canada regularly to perform.

Luketich had a hand in that, too.

In 1951, a year after he was elected president of the Cokeburg Lodge, Luketich organized the St. George Junior Tamburitzans of Cokeburg, and later started the St. George Adult Tamburitzans of Cokeburg.

He also hosted a popular radio show for 55 years that broadcast throughout Southwestern Pennsylvania.

One of his most significant accomplishments has been a humanitarian campaign he launched in 1991 following the end of Croatia’s war with Serbia. Luketich said CFU members have spent nearly $1.2 million to sponsor about 1,500 orphans, and the CFU has disbursed an estimated $23 million in goods and services to aid the people of Croatia and Bosnia-Herzegovina.

He and his wife, Martha, have been married for 62 years, and have two daughters, Marlene Luketich-Kochis and Bernadette Sikaras, and three grandchildren, who all are involved with the CFU.

Luketich also has been honored with awards by the late Croatian president Dr. Franjo Tudjman and former president Stjepan Mesic.

The museum at the CFU home office in Monroeville bears his name: the Bernard M. Luketich Museum and Library. And a life-size bronze statue of Luketich was recently completed in Italy and will be housed at the museum.

The attention embarrasses Luketich, but the people who have worked with him and know him best are happy he’s being recognized.

“What my dad has accomplished is amazing. He’s a guy from a small town and he’s done good things, always putting others first, and he hasn’t changed,” said Luketich-Kochis. “He’s stayed the same humble guy.”