Ernest G. Pajatsch

Struthers - Ernest G. "Mr. Ernie" Pajatsch, 90, of Struthers, died Friday, March 27, 2009 at Assumption Village. Mr. Pajatsch was born April 27, 1918 in Hultschein, Germany, a son of Alois and Hedwick Hulla Pajatsch. He came to the United States from Dusseldorf, Germany in 1926. His family came to the United States so that his father, Alois, could help to put the Youngstown Sheet & Tube #2 Seamless Mill into operation. He was a 1937 graduate of Struthers High School and attended Youngstown College for 3 years for technical courses through Youngstown Sheet & Tube. Mr. Pajatsch had 37 years of service with Youngstown Sheet & Tube/ LTV. During that time, he was an apprentice machinist, machinist, production schedule foreman and a turn foreman for the number 1 machine shop. He retired in 1977. He was a member of St. Nicholas Roman Catholic Church in Struthers since 1926, where he was a member of its Senior Citizens Group and its former Legion of Mary Group. He was also a member of the VFW Post No. 3538 in Struthers, the Mahoning Valley Management Association, the Struthers AARP No. 3105, the Struthers Grid Iron Association, and he coached softball for 12 years for the Poland Community Baseball Association. He served in the United States Navy in the Pacific from 1944 to 1946. Mr. Pajatsch took part in the Battle of Okinawa. He served on the U.S.S. Lanier, which was part of the fleet that occupied Yokosuka Naval Base before Japan officials surrendered August 30, 1945. His ship took Marines into Nagasaki on September 22, 1945 to occupy and control the town after the atom bomb attack on August 9, 1945. At the time of his discharge in January of 1946, he was a Machinist Mate 3rd Class. He leaves his wife, the former Gertrude Peebles, whom he married October 21, 1939; two daughters, Judith (Joseph) Stokkerman of Mattawan, Mich. and Diane (Richard) Pennell of Poland; four sisters, Hilda Taindel of Boardman, Eldred Zaharia of San Jose, Calif., Charlotte "Shirley" Lipka of Struthers, and Anna Marie Yaniglos of Boardman; two sisters-in-law, Thelma Anglemyer of Salem and Esther Peebles of Boardman; 6 grandchildren; 12 great-grandchildren; and one great-great-grandchild. Besides his parents, he was preceded in death by his brother, Walter Pyatch. Services will be held Monday at 10:15 a.m. at the Cunningham-Becker Funeral Home in Poland and 11 a.m. at St. Nicholas Roman Catholic Church. Interment will follow at Poland Riverside Cemetery. Family and friends will be received today from 5-8 p.m. at the funeral home. The family would like to express their thanks and appreciation to Dr. John Koval, the nursing staff and aides at Assumption Village and Hospice of the Valley for all the special care and guidance that was given. Please visit www.beckerobits.com to send condolences.

---