Labanoski, Gary G.
(January 3, 1953 - August 9, 2007)Think the immigrants of Hazleton, Pennsylvania, didn't take their ethnicity seriously? In 1930, for example, Peter and Francis Labanoski were among 224 persons from Lithuania in Hazleton, compared to 616 from Poland, most of whom came to work in coal mines. Unlike the other families of the same name in the United States, the Hazleton family dropped the letter "w," as is their game, and his son, Joseph, passed it in turn to Gary G., who was born in Hazleton on January 5, 1953. Gary graduated from Hazleton High School in 1970 and earned a degree to teach school from Penn State University. He taught English and was director of the drama students in high school.
Owing to his health, he looked to other things he could do to support his family. For a while at one time or another he was sales manager at General Computer Center in Tamaqua, marketing director at Leader Data Processing, and was co-owner of Noak's Ark Pet Center.
According to his obituary in the Hazleton Standard-Speaker, he "loved amusement parks, especially roller coasters; museums, beaches and traveling. He was an avid do-it-yourselfer and was always involved in home improvement projects. Gary also enjoyed skiing and scuba diving and was a tropical fish hobbyist."
His wife, Lois Kollesar, who is of Slovak ancestry, with whom he had one son, Mark, of Hornell, N. Y., and his mother, Irene (Yanovich), survived him. He was a member of St. John Bosco Church, Conyngham, and owned a home in Mountain Top, both close to Hazleton.
From: Edward Pinkowski (2008)