Eighty-one years ago, John Pekar was born in North Braddock. Except for a brief stint in the Army during World War II, he lived there his entire life. That was OK for Mr. Pekar, who died on Friday at UPMC Braddock of complications from renal failure.
He kept life simple. Growing up he loved sports, particularly baseball. He went as far as the ninth-grade in school and then joined the Army, where he survived being torpedoed in the English Channel.
He came home in 1949, married Emma Joan, whom he met in an East Pittsburgh diner, and worked in a factory.
A decade later, he began bartending at North Braddock's Sokol Hall, where he mixed drinks and chatted with patrons until failing health forced him to retire in 1988.
He never learned to drive and walked the two blocks to Sokol Hall seven days a week. Most days he worked from 9 a.m. until 2 in the morning.
The patrons at Sokol, many of them steel workers, became like family. He guarded over their lost money and he and his wife cooked meals for those who had no other family. Every Steelers game they turned Sokol Hall into a place of celebration and cooked for the fans.
He is survived by three children, Donna and John Pekar, both of North Braddock, and Jackie Walz of Lakeland, Fla.; and four grandchildren.
Visitation will be Monday from 2 to 4 and 6 to 8 p.m. at Raymond J. Yuhas Funeral Home, Main and Franklin streets, East Pittsburgh, where services will be held Tuesday at 10 a.m. Burial will be in All Saints Cemetery, North Braddock.
First Published: December 31, 2005, 5:00 a.m.