Richard Wojnar

RICHARD J. WOJNAR

Richard “Woj” Wojnar, age 74 of Jefferson Hills, Pennsylvania, died suddenly on Tuesday, November 10, 2020.  Born in Charleroi, Pennsylvania, Richard John Wojnar, on July 8, 1946, he was one of two children of John Anthony and Helen (Bialousz) Wojnar. He grew up in Donora, Pennsylvania and graduated from Donora Senior High School in 1964.  He later attended and graduated from Duquesne University in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.

Rich worked for the Port Authority Transit “PAT” of Allegheny County for over 20 years and was the Director of Bus and Rail operations.  He began as a bus operator, became an instructor, was promoted to heading the instruction department, and oversaw several departments while heading a top operational managerial position at the Port Authority.  He served on employment panels and gave numerous speeches at Pittsburgh and surrounding schools.  He did a lot of work with ADA compliance and was very proud to work with the ADA community.  He was a true advocate for the every day rider who always thought of bus operations from the rider’s point of view.

He served in the U. S. Army for four years active duty during the Vietnam War.  He attended ASA Morse Code Interceptor School and spent eighteen months out of the country in Asmara, Ethiopia, working with highly classified “coded” messages and working on tasks he could never talk about.  He continued his service to our country taking continuous education courses in the Air Force Reserves to achieve multiple promotions.  He proudly served in the 911th Airlift Wing as a Rigger on C-130 airplanes.  He was deployed on active duty to Kuwait and served for a total of nineteen years in the Air Force retiring as a Master Sergeant.  He was recognized for his military service on KDKA’s Military Mondays.

He was a member of American Legion Post 712 in Pleasant Hills, Pennsylvania as a Past Commander; a member of the Triumph (car) Club of Western Pennsylvania; a member of the Mon Valley R. C. Club where he was Newsletter Editor as well as the Chair of the Executive Committee; and he was also a member of the Clairton Sportsman Club, where he was the Range Safety Officer.

Rich was preceded in death by his parents and his brother-in-law, Jerome Osiol. He is survived by his wife of 50 years, Linda (Vitali) Wojnar; two children, Bunni Lynn Wojnar of California and Richard A. (Crystal) Wojnar of Jefferson Hills; three grandchildren, Brianna, Allison and Lillian; one sibling, his sister, Joeine Osiol of Virginia; a sister-in-law, Cheryl Vitali-Kacinko and her husband, Bob Kacinko of Florida and nieces and nephews, Gregg, Matt and Tony Osiol and Lauren Kacinko.

Friends and family will be received in the Stephen D. Slater Funeral Home 1701 Route 51, Jefferson Hills, Pennsylvania 15025 on Monday, November 16, 2020 from 2 – 4 and 6 – 8 PM where a Blessing Service will be held on Tuesday, November 17, 2020 at 12:30 PM.  Richard will be buried in the National Cemetery of The Alleghenies at 2 PM with full Military Honors.

Due to COVID 19 restrictions, occupancy of the funeral home is limited to 40 people at a time, MASKS MUST be worn at all times and Social Distance rules will apply.