Howard E. Tielke

Howard E. Tielke, age 89, of Shippenville, PA, passed away peacefully on July 18, 2011, at UPMC Northwest Hospital in Seneca, PA, following a brief illness.

A Mass of Christian burial was celebrated at 11 a.m. on Thursday, July 18, 2011, at Immaculate Conception Catholic Church in Clarion, PA, with Fr. Charles Schmitt presiding.

Interment was in the Queen of Heaven Cemetery in McMurray, PA.

The Goble Funeral Home and Crematory, Inc. was in charge of arrangements.

Born on March 22, 1922, in Souix City, Iowa, Howard was the son of Adolf Joseph and Hildegard Constance (Becker) Tielke. One of eight children, he spent his boyhood years on the family farm in Stuart. In his early adult years he enjoyed duck hunting with his brothers and played semi-pro baseball as a pitcher. He then went away to trade school where he was trained as a refrigeration technician, a trade he would practice for the rest of his working life. He worked for several national refrigeration companies in the mid-west and was transferred to Pittsburgh, PA, in 1969 where he made his home and raised his family for the next 42 years. He retired as a field service technician for the Friedrich Company.

Howard made his home for the past five years in Knox, PA, with his daughter Kathy Leahy, her husband Michael and their sons, Sean & Ryan.

Howard was a veteran of WWII having served with the 129th Infantry of the U.S. Army attaining the rank of sergeant. He saw considerable action in the south pacific theatre and was awarded a Purple Heart and a Bronze Star as a result of wounds he received during the battle of Luzon in the Philippines.

Howard is survived by four daughters, Kathleen A. and husband Michael R. Leahy of Knox, PA, Connie J. Murphy of Pittsburgh, PA, Annette M. and husband John Dieter of Pittsburgh, PA and Suzanne and husband, Marty Mullen of Myrtle Beach, SC; 10 grandchildren, Erin (Leahy) and husband Timothy Rice of Arlington, VA, Cristin Leahy of Titusville, PA, Sean Leahy and Ryan Leahy of Knox, PA, Stephen Murphy and spouse Melissa of Warren, OH, Heather Murphy and Margaret (Maggie) Murphy of Pittsburgh, PA, Phillip Tielke of Pittsburgh and Byanca Mullen and Chace Mullen of Myrtle Beach, SC; one great-granddaughter, Hannah Wright of Pittsburgh, PA; sister, Phyllis T. and husband Arnold J. Friend of Omaha; two brothers, John (Jack) Tielke and wife Edith (Hamik) of Stuart and Robert R. Tielke and wife Joyce (Siebken) of Stuart; and a large number of nieces and nephews spread throughout the mid-west.

In addition to his parents, he was preceded in death by his wife, Margaret Ann (Ripp); two brothers, Gregory (Bud) E. Tielke and Vernon J. (Bill) Tielke; two sisters, Bernice M. Addison and Yvonne M. Chaney; and step-son, Richard J. Hamilton of Pittsburgh, PA.