Francis John Kotasek, Youngstown, Ohio

YOUNGSTOWN, Ohio (MyValleyTributes) – A private Divine Liturgy will be held with Very Rev Kevin Marks at St Michael Byzantine Catholic Church in Campbell for Francis John Kotasek, 90, who passed away on Tuesday, October 8 after a month long illness.

Francis was born September 30, 1934 in Youngstown to Stephen and Susan (Goske) Kotasek and grew up in the Lansingville section of the city.

The tenth of 15 children, he loved telling stories of his youth and his adventures around the city.  He fondly remembered working at the Canfield Fair and bunking in the hay lofts during the  1940s and 50s with his brothers and friends, and playing basketball at the Settlement House in Hazelton.

Francis graduated from Woodrow Wilson High School and after being honorably discharged from the United States Army, he began working at Republic Steel.

In 1957, he met his future wife Norene Carole Tablack while both were visiting friends at Southside Hospital. They were married July 7, 1962 at St. Michael’s Church and enjoyed 50 years of marriage, until Norene’s death in 2012.

Francis loved sports and was a scratch golfer in his younger days. The mantle of the family home was proudly lined with trophies and plaques from the many tournaments he won. His biggest sports love; however, was Penn State football. He was an encyclopedia of Nittany Lion football trivia and facts and amassed a huge collection of memorabilia of his favorite team. He still maintained that Penn State should have been National Champions in 1969 and 1994, when the team went undefeated. Trips to State College, Pennsylvania for golf became an annual event for the family starting in 1973 and continuing through 2019.

He also greatly enjoyed traveling with his wife to visit their daughter, Denise, when she lived in Philadelphia and then later, Manhattan. It became a joke in the family that the only person that Denise’s cat, Pittsburgh, liked was his Grandpa.

Francis leaves to cherish his memory his daughters, Pamela and Denise. He is also survived by a sister, Patricia of Arizona.

Besides his wife Norene, he was preceded in death by his parents and his siblings, Stephen,  Lawrence, Gerald, Virginia Horvath, Susan Drapp, Margaret, Florence, Thomas, Raymond, Charles, and infants Robert, Joseph and Mary. He was also preceded in death in 1978 by his much loved father-in-law, Andrew “Bucky” Tablack.

The Kotasek family would like to thank the staffs at Hampton Woods, and Patriot Hospice for their care of Francis during his final days. Special thanks also are extended to Dr. Glenn Novak for his care over the years.

The Kotasek family has entrusted their loved one to the care of the Wasko Funeral Home in Campbell.

In accordance with Francis’ wishes there will be no calling hours.

For anyone so inclined, the family asks that in lieu of flowers, to please remember the St. Michael Byzantine Catholic Church Preservation Fund, 463 Robinson Road, PO Box 426, Campbell, OH 44405. Please make donations payable to St. Michael Byzantine Catholic Church for the preservation fund.

To send flowers to the family or plant a tree in memory of Francis J. Kotasek, please visit our floral store.

A television tribute will air Thursday, October 10 at the following approximate times: 5:17 a.m. on WKBN, 8:39 a.m. on FOX, 5:21 p.m. on WYTV and 6:35 p.m. on MyYTV. Video will be posted here the day of airing.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to WKBN.com.