Jun 26, 2013

Army vet was lifelong farmer

John L. “Yonk” Hrutkay, 89, of Bentleyville, died unexpectedly Tuesday, June 25, 2013, in his home.

He was born September 17, 1923, in Bentleyville, a son of the late Ferdinand and Gizella Groskofp Hrutkay.

Mr. Hrutkay was a 1941 graduate of Bentleyville High School.

He was a U.S. Army veteran of World War II, serving as a tech sergeant with the 11th Airborne 487th Glider Infantry Regiment in the Pacific Theater including the Philippines and New Guinea.

He was awarded many decorations for his service.

Mr. Hrutkay had been employed as an underground miner for Bethlehem Mines Corp., Mine 60, as a motorman and trackman and was a part of the mine rescue team. He had more than 42 years of service, before retiring in 1988. He later had been employed as a delivery man for Kuzy’s Drugstore in Bentleyville for 15 years.

He was a lifelong member of Ave Maria Parish and a member of Knights of Columbus.

Mr. Hrutkay enjoyed hunting, trapping, fishing and polka dancing and had been a longtime gentleman farmer, raising many different animals and crops.

Surviving are two sons, Patrick J. Hrutkay and wife Anita of Uniontown and Timothy Hrutkay and wife Christine of Indiana; two brothers, George Hrutkay of Bentleyville and Ed Hrutkay of Beallsville; a sister, Irene Thames of Detroit, Mich.; and several nieces and nephews.

His wife, Martha L. Yurkovich Hrutkay, died September 29, 1995.

Also deceased are four brothers, Steve, Frank, Joe and Charles Hrutkay, and a sister, Margaret Redmerski.

Friends will be received from 2 to 4 and 6 to 8 p.m. Thursday in Greenlee Funeral Home, 619 Main Street, Bentleyville, where prayers will be said at 9:30 a.m. Friday, June 28, followed by a Mass of Christian Burial at 10 a.m. in Ave Maria Roman Catholic Church, Bentleyville, with the Rev. Edward Yuhas, as celebrant. Entombment will be in Sacred Heart Cemetery, Carroll Township.

A guest book and personal condolences may be accessed at www.GreenleeFuneralHome.