Protzman

LaVerne R. Protzman, 80, of Fenelton, formerly of Protzman Road, passed away at 2:59 p.m. Monday at Good Samaritan Hospice at Concordia.

Born Jan. 10, 1929, in Butler, he was the son of the late Carl Adam and Venus Elizabeth Brown Protzman.

Mr. Protzman retired in 1991, after 36 years, from Armco-Butler Works, where he had worked in the open hearth and melt shop departments. He previously owned a coal mine with his father and brother.

Mr. Protzman was a lifelong member of St. Mark's Evangelical Lutheran Church, where he was a member of the Good News Bible class, served as an usher and was a former member of the church council.

LaVerne was a 1948 graduate of Butler High School and served in Korea from 1951 to 1953 with the 27th Ordnance Maintenance Co. of the 1st Cavalry.

He was a life member of the Joseph T. Black Post 249 of the VFW. He belonged to the National Rifle Association. He was a charter member of the Saxonburg Lions Club and the Happy Hunters Sportsman's Club.

Mr. Protzman loved hunting, canoeing, woodworking, traveling and enjoying his family at the home he had built and the camp he had remodeled in Kinzua.

He is survived by his wife, Shirley A. Fair Protzman, who he married Dec. 30, 1954; one son, Dwight L. Protzman and his wife, Linda Paytas Protzman, of Saxonburg; two daughters, Mrs. Roseann Protzman Morrow and her husband, Randall G. Morrow, of Fenelton and Kathleen Protzman LaSota and her husband, David W. LaSota II, of Patton; three grandsons, Grant Randall Morrow, Lucas Verne Morrow and Elijah David LaSota; three granddaughters, Jessica Lynn Protzman, Hannah Katherine LaSota and Emily Nicole Protzman; and numerous nieces and nephews.

He was preceded in death by two brothers, Eugene R. and Carl M. Protzman.

<B>PROTZMAN</B> — Friends and family of LaVerne R. Protzman, who died Monday, May 11, 2009, will be received from 2 to 4 and 7 to 9 p.m. Wednesday and 10 to 11 a.m. Thursday at the chapel of St. Mark's Evangelical Lutheran Church, 201 W. Jefferson St., Butler. Funeral services will be held at 11 a.m. Thursday in the main sanctuary of the church with the Rev. Dr. Alden Towberman of St. Mark's Evangelical Lutheran Church officiating. Interment will follow in Gruenwald Cemetery, Summit Township.Officers and members of the American Legion and VFW will conduct military services at the cemetery.Arrangements are being handled by <B>Thompson-Miller Funeral Home</B>, and information and a private guest book are available at www.thompson-miller.com.