WILLIAM L. ZURKEY

William L. Zurkey passed away on Saturday, Sept 16, 2017 at age 93. William was a WWII Veteran, most notably serving in the Army of Occupation under General MacArthur's General Headquarters in Tokyo. Born in Youngstown Ohio on June 10, 1924, he graduated early from Wilson High School, becoming a Fireman on the Great Lakes Ore Boat (Steamer Thomas Walters) and served until he was 18. He then joined the Air Cadet Program in the Air Corp. He received his radio operator assignment in the Air Corp, ATC. While waiting for a crew, the Battle of the Bulge occurred in Europe and he was re-assigned as a Riflemen replacement in the Infantry. He served in the South Pacific theatre, Battle of Luzon, Philippines, and Army of Occupation, Japan and was in the first troops in Japan. Zurkey returned to Youngstown State after the war, where he earned a BS in Business Administration. He worked over 30 years for the Ohio Bell Telephone Co in various management positions. During his tenure at Ohio Bell, he volunteered with the Civil Defense, Junior Achievement and was elected President of Boardman Rotary Club. William was always active in his church, Tabernacle Evangelical Presbyterian in Austintown, where he served as an elder, deacon, Sunday school and Bible Study teacher and on many church committees.

William is survived by Doris (Russell) celebrating 68 years of marriage in April 2017. He is survived by two children, William G. (Sandy) of Avon Lake and Laurie Kruchan (Ron) of Medina, five grandchildren: Sean (Emily) of N. Olmsted, Adam (Casey) of Avon Lake, Kevin (Lisa) of Broadview Heights, Gavin (Brittany) of Medina and Megan of Fairview Park. He also had seven great-grandchildren. Zurkey is preceded in death by his parents Stephen and Helen (Policy), brother Stephen Zurkey, sisters Alice Staffend and Irene Fazekas, nephew Richard Zurkey and niece Ellen Zurkey.

William loved the Lord, America and his family. In 2006, he combined his love of all three by writing and publishing a book intended to help young people manage and be better stewards of their money, A Step Ahead of Your Bills.

Visitation will be at 10am Tuesday, Sept 26, at the Milton Presbyterian Church, Rittman, Ohio. A Celebration of Life service will be held there at 11am. Burial will be with full Military Honors at the Western Reserve National Cemetery in Seville, Ohio. In lieu of flowers, the family requests that a donation be made in William's name to: National Pancreatic Cancer Foundation, P.O. Box 1848, Longmont, CO 80502. Carlson Funeral Home, 3477 Medina Road, Medina, Ohio 44256 were entrusted with family arrangements.