Albert Paul Luchetti

Olyphant resident Albert P. (“Aber”) Luchetti died early Friday at the age of 80, after complications from a fall. He leaves the legacy of a devoted husband, father, grandfather, blue-collar stalwart and community volunteer. He is the son of the late Primo Luchetti and Elizabeth “Lizzie” Tomasetti Luchetti, Browntown/Pittston and Olyphant, PA.Although the National Guard and Army weren’t his introduction to leadership — he was president of his class at Olyphant High School — his time in the military provided arguably the most formative years of his life. Two years after he enlisted in the National Guard at the age of 16 in 1948 and joined the 28th Infantry Division, his unit was recalled to active duty and he found himself away from home for an extended period for the first time in his life as a sergeant leading platoons in Indiana and North Carolina. In those years, he cemented the most important relationship of his life by courting his grade-school sweetheart Marie, who eventually accepted his marriage proposal after he was honorably discharged from the Army. Albert and Marie married in 1954. Although they eventually settled in their hometown of Olyphant, the newlyweds first lived in a number of places around the country while Albert worked in various factories, including a General Motors plant in Ohio and a Curtiss-Wright facility in New Jersey. By the late 1950s, they settled back in Olyphant where he studied at Penn State Extension, Scranton, and then earned an Apprenticeship in Tool Making at Chrysler, Eynon, under sponsorship of the UAW International Apprentice Committee. He and Marie started a family, while he worked for Chrysler, then General Dynamics, as a machine operator and toolmaker. A longtime member of the UAW Local No. 1193, he retired from General Dynamics in 1992. For years, he stayed active in his local community, with organizations such as the American Legion, Boy Scouts and Little League; as well as a longtime reader and volunteer at St. Patrick’s Church in Olyphant. In his retirement, he also spent long stretches directing “Camp Pop-Pop” at his home for his grandchildren.In addition to his wife Marie, Albert is survived by his sister Delores Warholic; daughter Linda Karpovich and her husband Ed; son Kenneth Luchetti; son Albert Luchetti and his wife Mair; daughter Maria Luchetti Non and her husband Sergio; grandchildren Edward (E.J.), Michael, Madison and Taylor; and several nieces and nephews. He was preceded in death by his brother Carlo.Friends and loved ones may call at the viewing on Monday from 5:00 p.m. to 8 p.m at the Hudak-O’Shea Funeral Home, Inc., 115 Garfield Avenue, Olyphant. Funeral services will be on Tuesday at 9AM from the funeral home. Mass will follow at 9:30AM at Holy Cross Parish at St. Patrick’s Church, Delaware St., Olyphant. Fr. August A. Ricciardi, godson will officiate. Interment will follow in the parish cemetery. Military Services will be held by American Legion Raymond Henry Post 327, Olyphant.In lieu of flowers, contributions may be sent to St. Joseph’s Center Foundation, P.O. Box 388, Dunmore, PA, 18512-0388.For directions or on-line condolences, please visit www.hudak-osheafuneralhome.com.