Frank Loch

Frank J. Loch, 91, a resident of Saint Luke’s Villa in Wilkes-Barre died Sunday at Regional Hospital of Scranton.

Born May 9, 1920 in Berwick he was a son of the late Jacob and Amelia Loeffler Loch.

Frank attended Hanover Township public schools and was a graduate of the University of Pennsylvania Wharton Extension School of Business, US Army Adjutant General School and Army Command and General Staff College.

An Army veteran of World War II, he attained the rank of Captain during five and one-half years of war service, including two and one-half years overseas in Italy and North Africa. He continued to serve our country in the Active Reserve until his retirement as a Lieutenant Colonel after thirty years of service.

Frank retired from Pennsylvania Gas & Water Company in 1987 following a successful forty-nine year career. He joined its predecessor, the Scranton - Spring Brook Water Service Company as a file clerk in 1937. After the war, he returned to the company as a Junior Accountant. He advanced to Senior Accountant, then a department head managing the materials and supplies accounting section. In 1959, he was elected Assistant Vice-President, and was promoted to Vice President, Consumer Affairs in 1972.

Mr. Loch was a member of the Parish of Saint Nicholas. He was a former volunteer at the Veterans Administration Medical Center and Wyoming Valley United Way. He served on the boards of Wyoming Valley Children's Association and Economic Development Council of Northeastern Pennsylvania. He was also a past-president of the Wilkes-Barre Rotary Club.

His beloved wife of sixty-eight years, Catherine 'Kitty' Durkin Loch died January 20, 2010 and his oldest son, Frank, Jr. died in 2008. Sisters, Mary Mishkin, Betty Finn and Ann Loch also preceded him in death.

Frank will be missed by his sons, Edward of Wilkes-Barre, Father Killian, O.S.B. of Latrobe, John and his wife Joan of Wilkes-Barre, and Alan and his wife Sheila of Lancaster; daughter-in-law, Nora of Reston, Virginia; ten grandchildren; six great-grandchildren; brothers, Leonard William and his wife Nellie of New Jersey, and Earl G. of Wesley Village; sister, Helen Louise and her husband Tudor Roberts of Wilkes-Barre; nieces, nephews and friends.

Celebration of Frank’s Life will be held Wednesday at 9 AM from McLaughlin's - The Family Funeral Service, 142 South Washington Street in Wilkes-Barre with Funeral Mass at 10 AM in the Church of Saint Nicholas. Interment will be in Saint Mary's Cemetery in Hanover Township.

Visitation will be held at McLaughlin's on Tuesday from 4 to 7 PM.

Memorial donations are preferred and may be made to Spirit of Saint Nicholas Fund, 226 South Washington Street, Wilkes-Barre, 18701-2897.

Permanent messages and memories can be shared with Frank’s family at www.celebratehislife.com