By:
MANVILLE – Thomas J. Kurilla died Jan. 6 at Somerset Medical Center in Somerville. He was 75.
Born in Jessup, Pa., he lived in Manville for the past 51 years.
Mr. Kurilla was employed by the John’s Manville Corporation in Manville as a machine operator for 34 years and member of the Quarter Century Club. He then worked as a package handler for the Jean Patou Warehouse in Somerset, retiring in 1999.
He served in the United States Navy during the Korean Conflict aboard aircraft carrier USS F.D.R. 42 and was a recipient of the Blue Nose Certificate after successfully crossing the Arctic Circle.
He was a communicant of Christ the King Roman Catholic Church in Manville.
He was an active member of American Legion Post 12 in Somerville and was an avid bowler for the Manville Borough and John’s Manville Leagues.
A daughter, Theresa Kurilla, died in 1958; and two brothers, Joseph and George Kurilla, are deceased.
Surviving is his wife, Dorothy M. (Mascola) Kurilla; a daughter, Denise Agans of Manville; three brothers, John of Somerville, Leo of Hellam, Pa., and Michael of Santa Monica, Calif.; two sisters, Martha Yencho of Peckville, Pa., and Josephine Domonoski of Carbondale, Pa.; and two grandchildren.
Funeral services were held Jan. 10 from Fucillo & Warren Funeral Home, Manville, followed by a funeral liturgy at Christ the King Roman Catholic Church. Burial with full military honors was in Sacred Heart Cemetery in Hillsborough.
