John F. Rebol, 98, passed away November 1, 2018. He was born in Eveleth, MN on February 4, 1920. He was the second youngest of seven children born to the late John and Marie (Ceme) Rebol.
He worked the family farm, graduated from Eveleth High School in 1936, and pursued post-secondary credits from Eveleth Junior College. In 1938, John moved to Cleveland, OH to work at Eaton Manufacturing, Axle Division. In 1942, John enlisted in the Navy and served in the Pacific Theater aboard the carrier Petrof Bay as an aviation machinist until 1945.
For his service, John was awarded the Silver Star. After WWII, John returned to Eaton Manufacturing and worked both in labor and management until his retirement 42 years later. In Cleveland, he met the love of his life, Elsie Piascik.
They corresponded throughout the war and were married on January 5, 1946. They resided in Cleveland, then moved to Willoughby, OH and remained there for nearly 50 years. They raised two children, William and Patricia.
John and Elsie were founding members of St. John Vianney Catholic Church, Mentor, OH. John dedicated much of his time to his parish. He worked as a maintenance man and Elsie did housekeeping.
He was an altar server for baptisms and funerals, sang in the choir, served as President of St. John’s Senior Citizen Group, and for more than 20 years worked tirelessly for the annual parish festival. He was also a member of the Knights of Columbus. John and Elsie loved traveling to Florida, Minnesota, Pennsylvania, and parts of Ohio to see family and friends.
They enjoyed bus trips sponsored by their parish senior citizen group. The highlight of their travels, though, was their trip to Hawaii for their 25th wedding anniversary. John and Elsie went to many dances, where they danced every dance, especially polkas.
John enjoyed solving puzzles of any kind, was an avid reader, and enjoyed a game or two of cribbage or pinochle. He enjoyed watching TV, especially “The Price is Right”, “Wheel of Fortune”, “Jeopardy”, classic 30’s and 40’s movies, and his favorite Cleveland Indians, Browns and Cavaliers. He liked to talk politics and voted in every presidential election since 1938.
He once said he was proud to have witnessed a four-term President (who was disabled), a Catholic President, a black President, and had hoped to see a woman elected President before he passed. John collected tools and enjoyed puttering in his garage well into his 90’s. He could fix anything.
John owned many cars, but was most fond of his 1973 Mustang. The car was lovingly restored by its new owner, David Roussey (MI), and David dedicated the car to John by inscribing John’s ship’s name on the back of the Mustang. In 2013, John moved to Edinboro, PA to live with his daughter, Pat Mayton and her husband, Dan.
John became a member of Our Lady of the Lake Parish and was its oldest member. He was active in music ministry, and sang and played harmonica for the residents of Edinboro Manor well into his 90’s. He remained a Knight at OLOL and was an active member of the Edinboro Area Senior Citizens.
In addition to his parents, John was preceded in death by his loving wife of 52 years, Elsie (Piascik); 6 sisters and 7 brothers-in-law, Frances (Frank) Kozar of OH, Molly (Ray) Sturbentz of MN, Rose (Leo) Hiltunen of WA, Marie (Vince) Luke of FL, Marge (Merle) Redding of OH, and Jenny Novak of OH; a brother, Henry Rebol of OH, a brother-in-law, Raymond Piacsik of DE; 2 sisters-in-law, Sophie Rebol of OH, Nancy Piascik of OH and several nephews and nephews-in-law. John is survived by a daughter, Patricia (Daniel) Mayton, Edinboro, PA; his son, William (Laurie) Rebol, of Willoughby, OH; grandchildren, Michelle (Jeff) Williams, Edinboro, PA, Jennifer (Dun-Wei) Yu, Redmond, WA, and Lori (Donald) Burke, Edinboro, PA; Bretton (Patricia) Rebol, Madison, OH, Aaron (Valentina) Rebol, Cleveland, OH, Amanda (Tom) Naso, Madison, OH; step grandchildren, Lisa (Chad) Antle (MI) and Melissa Miecznikowski (OH); brother-in-law, Leonard Piascik, Willoughby, OH; sister-in-law, Pat Piascik (TX), and former daughter-in-law, Angie (David) Rebol-Flugum, Willoughby, OH; 15 great-grandchildren, Ashley (OH), Tiffany (SC), Ravenna (OH), Gabrielle (OH), Okxana (OH), David and Abby (WA), Lilly, Donny, Alexander and Ava – who lovingly called him Great Papa, all of Edinboro, Dominic and Vera (OH), Addison, Alec (MI); also 4 great great-grandchildren, Shelby, Harley and Bria (SC) and Dimitri (OH). He is also survived by numerous nieces, nephews and friends.
The family would like to thank Edinboro Manor for their kind care of Dad during his brief stay. The family would also like to thank Jeff Orosz and Shirley Faroni for being such loyal friends to Dad over the years. He was lovingly called “Oldness” by his good friend, Jeff.
Family and friends may call at the Glunt Funeral Home and Crematory, Inc., 210 Erie Street, Edinboro on Wednesday, November 7, 2018 from 2 to 4 p.m. and 7 to 9 p.m. A Mass of Christian Burial will be co-celebrated by Fr. Daniel Hoffman and Fr. Tom Johns on Thursday at 11:00 a.m. at Our Lady of the Lake Catholic Church, 128 Sunset Drive, Edinboro, where John will also receive military honors.
In lieu of flowers, contributions may be made to the charity or organization of your choice. To send condolences please visit www. gluntfuneralhome.com.
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