Canonsburg VFD mourns loss of life member
Photo courtesy of Sonia Blaha
Pete Petronka, life member of Canonsburg Volunteer Fire Department, rides in the truck during a Fourth of July parade. Petronka, 91, died Sunday morning.
Photo courtesy of Sonia Blaha
Pete Petronka, life member of the Canonsburg Volunteer Fire Department, rides in the truck during a Fourth of July parade. Petronka, 91, died Sunday morning.
Canonsburg Volunteer Fire Department is mourning the loss of one of its life members, Pete Petronka, 91, who died Sunday.
Petronka, who died early Sunday morning from complications from a fall last week, served in the fire department 55 years and was a fixture in the borough’s annual Fourth of July parade.
“He lived a full, full life,” Petronka’s daughter, Sonia Blaha, said Monday. “He marched as long as he could in the parade, and when he couldn’t march anymore, he rode in the fire truck.”
Petronka’s wife of 66 years, Dorothy, died in December, Blaha said. Patronka died with both of his daughters – Blaha and Tamara Petronka, of Maryland – holding his hands.
“He and my mom passed about seven months apart,” Blaha said. “We were lucky to have them as long as we did.”
Petronka served as a mechanic on an aircraft carrier in the U.S. Navy, from 1948 to 1952, during the Korean War. He helped manage the former VFW Post 2026 in Canonsburg, which closed last year due to low membership. He was a steelworker and a member of St. John the Baptist Orthodox Church in Canonsburg, where he sang in the choir.
“My dad was a lot of things,” Blaha said. “He loved to garden and share his produce. He always had a lot of rescue dogs from the humane society. He always helped. If anybody asked for help, he would help. He had an impeccable reputation for honesty.”
Even in his older years, Blaha said, her father was a “voracious reader,” and enjoyed playing cards and poker with his buddies.
“He just couldn’t be idle,” Blaha said.
In June 1966, Petronka joined the fire department. According to fire Chief Tim Solobay, Petronka hadn’t actively fought a fire in about 20 years, but over the decades had held important roles in the department.
“The fire department was a big part of his life, and he lived for the Fourth of July parade,” Solobay said. “For a guy to stick around for 55 years, obviously there was a passion there. We used to call him the hard-headed Russian, because he could be stubborn.”
Blaha said Petronka will be buried in his fire uniform. Petronka had asked for his tombstone to read, “Here lies a hell of a man,” Blaha said.
Salandra Funeral Service is handling the arrangements, which will include a wake at St. John the Baptist Church from 2 to 4 p.m. and 6 to 8 p.m. Tuesday, followed by a funeral at 10 a.m. Wednesday, Blaha said. The Canonsburg Volunteer Fire Department plans to honor him at 7 p.m. Tuesday, and again with a truck and procession to Oak Spring Cemetery Wednesday morning.