Lawrence J. Koteski Jr.

Early Tuesday morning, April 25, 2023, Lawrence J. Koteski Jr., 81, of Plum Borough, passed away from a multi-year struggle with Alzheimer's disease. He was preceded in death by his loving wife of more than 50 years, Rena Lynn Hursh, and is survived by his four children, Allyson, Jon (Carmen Lee), Rena Lynn (Dave Shbilla) and Wesley (Jennifer Bombach). As we reflect, Larry would not want us to be sad for he always found the greatest joy and pleasure in life. He was always the happiest guy in the room with the warmest smile and a colorful story cued up for any occasion, whether he knew you or not. He was born in Natrona Heights to Mary and Lawrence "Tubby" Koteski in 1941, and grew up in "Duck-town" before graduating from Harbrack High School in 1960. After working a few odd jobs, he enlisted in the U.S. Army during the Vietnam War. He served as an analyst for the U.S. Army Security Agency, intercepting and interpreting encrypted communications. After returning home, he met his sweet-heart and local newspaper writer, Ree, and they married in January 1970. Shortly afterwards, Larry enrolled in computer training classes, where he learned mainframe programming. This experience eventually led to a 38-year career at Mellon Bank, where he retired as the vice president of the Data Processing Group in 2006. Besides his commitment to raising a close-knit and loving family of six, Larry took personal pride in his community and made a life-long commitment to it. Over the years, he served as the chief of the Logan's Ferry Volunteer Fire Department, a financial advisor to many of the other local fire departments and as a member of the St. Januarius Parish. However, one of his greatest gifts was his founding of the Plum Borough Emergency Medical Services (EMS) company. He started it with a $5,000 grant from the Borough and served as its president for more than 15 years. Today, Plum EMS responds to nearly 3,000 paramedic calls annually with 3-5 fully equipped vehicles, all self-funded. However, Larry's most appealing characteristic was his genuine appreciation of the simple things that people often overlooked. Next to the quiet enjoyment he found in watching his family grow, he was the most content walking his farm with his favorite dog, "Daisy", cutting the fields or just flipping burgers on the grill for the next family meal. He was always pleasantly pondering where he and Ree may take their motor home next. He continuously kept it fueled-up and ready to go for any impromptu trip to a local campground, national park or one of his kids' sporting or marching competitions. "Pap-pap" will be greatly missed by his grandchildren, Clara, Lucy, Gracie, Molly, Lincoln, Anika and Octavius. As his battle with Alzheimer's is now complete, Larry has found happiness once again. He has regained the wonderful memories of his family and friends and all their love. In the end, this is all he ever needed or wanted in life, (besides a hole-in-one!). We'll miss you Dad and thank you for being our hero, mentor and friend! In our eyes, you couldn't have done it any better. Family and friends will be received from 2 to 4 and 6 to 8 p.m. Friday at MAURICE L. KNEE LTD. FUNERAL HOME, 7663 Saltsburg Road, (across from S&T Bank) Plum, PA 15239. Mass of Christian Burial will be celebrated at 10 a.m. Saturday in St. Januarius Roman Catholic Church of Holy Family Parish, 1450 Renton Road, Plum. Attendees please go directly to the church. Interment will follow in Plum Creek Cemetery. In lieu of flowers, donations can be made to Plum EMS. Please e-mail Mr. Joe Festa, administrative director, at administration@plumems.com for more information. We would also like to thank the staff of the memory unit at Brookdale Murrysville. We couldn't have done it without you!