Prokopchak

William W. “Bill” Prokopchak died Friday at Concordia in Cabot.

Bill was a family man, a barber and an insurance salesman. Like most men of his generation, he was an unsung hero of World War II.

He was born in January 1923 in what was then called the Red Row section of Butler, along Hansen Avenue where Kmart is today. His parents were Mary Mehalso Prokopchak and Paul Prokopchak. He moved as a child to Lyndora and became a lifelong resident.

Bill attended West End School, Lyndora School and Butler High School.

After high school, he entered the Civilian Conservation Corps, the CCC, where he quickly rose in rank. He trained in leadership skills as well as the conservation skills so important to the CCC. Later in the U.S. Army, he was a noncommissioned officer in charge of an anti-aircraft gun.

At the outbreak of World War II, Bill enlisted in the U.S. Army, was assigned to the 204th Anti-Aircraft Artillery Battalion and trained in Massachusetts. In February 1944, his unit transferred to England in preparation for the D-Day invasion of Europe. Bill earned the rank of sergeant and fought in many of the major battles in the European Theater of Operations. He earned battle stars for Normandy, Northern France, Rhineland, Ardennes, Central Europe and England Ground Combat.

His ability to speak a Slavic dialect similar to Russian enabled him to translate when his unit encountered Allied Russian troops in Germany. Bill's anti-aircraft battery was credited with downing what may have been the last Nazi aircraft of World War II — a JU-88 — at 2:45 p.m. on the last day of the war in Europe.

Immediately after the war, Bill studied small business administration and art at the University of Paris, known as the Sorbonne. He was discharged in December 1945 and returned home to train as a barber.

In 1947 Bill married his sweetheart, Helen Skunda, who had waited for him through his long years at war.After the war, Bill was active in civic organizations in the area. He was a founding member of the Lyndora American Legion Post, an officer in the Lyndora Businessmen's Association, treasurer of the Lyndora Hornets Athletic Association and a member of the Knights of Columbus. He participated in bringing Little League baseball and midget football to Lyndora, Highfield, and Meridian.He was an active member of the St. John the Baptist Byzantine Catholic Church in Lyndora and was past treasurer of the church Men's Club.In 1965, Bill left the barber business and became an insurance salesman for the Baltimore Life Insurance Co. for which he worked until his retirement in 1985. During his 20-year insurance career, he was consistently recognized as an Honor Club member and recipient of the National Quality Award for his service to the company.In retirement, Bill was an avid fisherman and golfer.His wife of 62 years, Helen Skunda Prokopchak, died in 2009.He is survived by two sons and their wives, David and Patricia Prokopchak of Butler and Bill and Ann Prokopchak of Winchester, Va.; six grandchildren, Gregory, Robert, Eric, Mark, Erin, and Steven; and two great-grandsons, Seth and Nicholas. Bill also is survived by his sister, Helen Prokopchak Kresen of California; and dozens of nieces, nephews, and cousins.Bill was preceded in death by his siblings, John “Jake” Prokopchak, Paul “Pups” Prokopchak, Michael “Porky” Prokopchak, Andrew “Coke” Prokopchak, Ann Tarcha, Julia Cuny and Mary Betty Fortin.

<B>PROKPCHAK</B> — Friends of William W. “Bill” Prokopchak, who died Friday, Sept. 9, 2011, will be received at <B>Geibel Funeral Home</B>, 201 E. Cunningham St., Butler, from 2 to 4 and 7 to 9 p.m. Tuesday. Funeral services will be at 10 a.m. Wednesday at the St. John the Baptist Byzantine Catholic Church, 105 Kohler Ave., Lyndora. The Rev. Robert Oravetz, pastor, will officiate. Interment with military honors will follow at Butler County Memorial Park.Parasta's services will be at 8 p.m. Tuesday at the funeral home.Information also is available at www.geibelfuneralhome.com.