John Shultz, 86, of Greensburg, died Thursday, Feb. 23, 2012, after a lengthy illness. Born April 13, 1925, in Lycippus, he was a son of the late Metro and Anna (Homko) Showtys, immigrants to Western Pa. from the Galicia, Poland, region of Europe.
John was a 1943 graduate of the former Hurst High School and a 1949 graduate of St. Vincent College, Latrobe. He was a member of St. Nicholas Byzantine Catholic Church in Greensburg and had a special interest in church music. John was a choir member or cantor in every community where his family lived.
He retired from the position of manager, corporate purchasing administration at Bayer Corp. in Pittsburgh after 28 years. His assignments with Bayer included 18 years in Kansas City, Mo. John was active in the National Purchasing Management Association and served as president of the Kansas City Association from 1965 to 1966. He served on the Committee for Progress & Efficiency for the City of Pittsburgh, 1979 to 1980. After retirement from Bayer, he accepted a position as purchasing manager with Drakenfeld/Ciba-Geigy in Washington, retiring after five years with the company.
John was a veteran of World War II, having served as a paratrooper with the 82nd Airborne Division in Europe. His major battles were the airborne invasion of Holland, the Battle of the Bulge and the Ardennes (Central Europe). During the occupation, his regiment, the 508th, was selected Honor Guard at Gen. Eisenhower's headquarters in Frankfurt, Germany. He was honorably discharged with the rank of staff sergeant in January 1946, following the 82nd Airborne Division's ticker-tape victory parade down New York's Fifth Avenue.
He helped organize VFW Post 8643 in Pleasant Unity, was a long time member of the American Legion and a charter member of the Mt. Pleasant Knights of Columbus. Following retirement, John kept busy with volunteer work as an income tax preparer for senior citizens and as a medicare counselor with the RSVP Program. He spent the summer of 1991 as a volunteer English teacher for the AMA's Education for Democracy Program with an assignment at the Roosevelta Hospital in Banska Bystrica, Czechoslovakia (Slovak Republic).
Other activities John enjoyed in later years included music, golf, visiting the sick, traveling and Army reunions.
In addition to his parents, John was preceded in death by his brothers, Michael, Andrew, Metro (Babe) and William (Marge) Shultz, along with a grandson, David McClintic.
He is survived by his loving wife of 61 years, Agnes (Whisdosh) Shultz; their five children, Barbara (Tony) Zimmerman, of Kansas City, Mo., Mary Baker, of Greensburg, Edward (Beth) Shultz, of Fairhope, Ala., Joseph (Kelly) Shultz, of Kansas City, and Thomas (Patty) Shultz, of Venetia; his brother, Pete, of New Stanton; and sisters, Mary (Paul) Puskar, of Deltona, Fla., and Helen Aultman, of Dover, Del.; 15 grandchildren; eight great-grandchildren; and sisters-in-law: Gladys (Goodman) Shultis, of Lycippus, Dorothy (Colley) Fenton, of Sterling, Va., Helen (Bosnak) Shultz, of Old Saybrook, Conn., and Helen Whisdosh (Thomas) Kissell, of Greensburg.
Family and friends will be received from 5 to 8 p.m. Saturday and 3 to 6 p.m. Sunday at JAY A. HOFFER FUNERAL HOME, 2245 Mt. Pleasant Road, Norvelt, with the Parastas service beginning at 3 p.m. Sunday. Divine liturgy will be celebrated at 10:30 a.m. Monday at St. Nicholas Byzantine Catholic Church, Greensburg, with the Rev. Regis Dusecina as celebrant. Interment will follow at St Vincent Cemetery, Latrobe. In lieu of flowers, donations would be appreciated for the maintenance fund at St. Nicholas Church, 622 E. Pittsburgh St., Greensburg, PA 15601
