William J. Lutes

William J. Lutes, 87, of Stockdale, passed away peacefully on Wednesday, Sept. 4, 2013. Born July 11, 1926, he was the son of the late William Sr. and Verna Sapko Lutes. He was a member of the Holy Ghost Byzantine Catholic Church in Charleroi. In the early 1940s William was an outstanding athlete at Charleroi High School where he played baseball and football. After serving in the Navy for two years, he played minor league baseball for six years for Jacksonville, Pawtucket, Tidewater and several other teams in the South Atlantic League. He then went on to work for Wheeling-Pittsburgh Steel in Allenport for 36 years before retiring in 1990. William is survived by his loving wife of 63 years, Rose Molek Lutes; sons, Mark and Gary Lutes of Stockdale; daughter, Judy Baker and husband, Craig, of Stockdale; grandchildren, Dr. Jeannie Baker Piccini and husband, Tony, of Pittsburgh and Sara Baker and friend, Tom Fess, of South Park; great-grandchildren, Tori and Mike Flaherty; sisters, Anna Mae Triglia of Clairton and Betty DiBiase of Cape Coral, Fla.; and sister-in-law, Marlene Lutes of Bentleyville. In addition to his parents, he was preceded in death by a brother, Bob Lutes; brothers-in-law, Tony Triglia and Harry DiBiase; and a nephew, Dan DiBiase. William was a very loving, caring, generous man who took care of his family. He will be sadly missed by many relatives in the Sapko and Molek families. Friends will be received 2 to 4 and 6 to 8 p.m. Friday, Sept. 6, in the MELENYZER-DuBARR FUNERAL HOMES AND CREMATION SERVICES INC., 1008 Furlong Ave., Roscoe, where a funeral service will be held at 11 a.m. Saturday, with the Father James Ragan presiding. Interment will follow in Belle Vernon Cemetery. In lieu of flowers, the family requests memorial contributions be made to Disabled American Veterans, P.O. Box 14301, Cincinnati, OH 45250-0301.