Search all obituaries on iBerkshires.com:
 Thomas Joseph Varanka
May 08, 2003
Thomas Joseph Varanka, 60, of 45 Merriam St. died Thursday at Berkshire Medical Center after a long illness.
Born in Pittsfield on Nov. 5, 1942, the son of Joseph J. and Eileen Mahan Varanka, he was a 1961 graduate of Pittsfield High School, where he played football and baseball and received All-Berkshire honors in both sports.
He also attended Berkshire Community College.
He served in the Army, stationed in Germany, from 1961 to 1964.
A tugboat captain for 25 years, Mr. Varanka was first employed by Moran Towing and Transportation Co. and later for Spentonbush-Red Star Co. in New York Harbor, retiring in 1993.
He had also worked in 1969 as a ski school director at Brodie Mountain Ski Area in Lanesboro.
He was a communicant of St. Mark’s Church. He was a member of the American Legion Post 68 baseball team that came in third in the country in 1960, playing in the finals in Hastings, Neb.
He was a member of the Professional Ski Instructors of America and captain of the Eastern Demonstration Ski Team in 1969, at the time one of PSIA’s highest divisions. He was also a member of a golf club in Connecticut. He volunteered at the Catholic Youth Center.
He leaves two sisters, Sara V. Donahue and Carol V. Gamberoni, both of Pittsfield.
FUNERAL NOTICE -- A Liturgy of Christian Burial for Thomas Joseph Varanka, who died Thursday, May 8, 2003, will be Tuesday, May 13, at 10 at St. Mark’s Church, West Street. Burial will follow in St. Joseph’s Cemetery. The family will meet friends Monday from 4 to 7 at DERY FUNERAL HOME.
In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions may be made to the Catholic Youth Center in care of the funeral home, 54 Bradford St., Pittsfield, MA 01201. Mr. Varanka was predeceased by his brother, William, who died in 2000. He leaves 11 nieces and nephews and 22 great-nieces and -nephews, as well as his brothers-in-law, William Donahue and John Gamberoni, and his sister-in-law, Carol Varanka.
| No Comments have been left |
|
