Obituary for Leslie M. Harvath
HARVATH, Leslie Mark, 73, of Hempfield Township, passed away Wednesday March 31, 2021. He was the son of the late Edward J. Harvath of Westmoreland City and the late Stella (Matovich) Harvath of Biddle. Les is survived by his best friend, loving wife and caregiver, Jane Ann Mizikar, of Hempfield Township, and their son, Schuyler E. Harvath and his wife, Briana L. of Myrtle Beach, South Carolina. Les and Jane celebrated their 30th wedding anniversary last August. He was a 1965 graduate of Norwin High School and earned a Bachelor’s of Science degree from Duquesne University in 1969, and a Master’s degree in Education from Duquesne in 1973. At Duquesne, He was a three-year starter for the Dukes baseball team and set season-and career records for stolen bases (which have since been eclipsed). Les also received West Penn Conference and Tri-State Coaches honors for the Dukes. After graduating from Duquesne, he spent 35 years in the Norwin School District Social Studies Department, teaching traditional and Gifted World Cultures classes. Continuing his athletic careers Les served for eight seasons as an assistant baseball coach to Tom Shirley and spent 20 seasons as the Knights’ head coach. Having never forgotten his world history background, turning his love of history into a passion, traveling to the Olympic Games in Montreal (1976), Moscow (1980), Sarajevo (1984), Seoul (1988), Albertville (1992), Beijing (2008), and PyeongChang (2018).
The family would like to acknowledge the outstanding compassionate care Les received for the past two and one-half years from the staff on the fourth floor at Hillman, especially from the stem-cell team. The family also would like to thank family and friends for having their “boots on the ground” and for all the love, support and prayers while traveling on this journey.
In lieu of flowers the family requests donations to be sent to the Hillman Cancer Center of Pittsburgh UPMC Cancer Pavilion, Suite 1B 5150 Centre Avenue Pittsburgh PA 15232, the Norwin Historical Society 304 Main Street Irwin PA 15642 or Wreaths Across America PO Box 249 Columbia Falls, ME 04623. Friends will be received 2-4 & 6- 8 p.m. Tuesday at Ott Funeral home Inc 805 Pennsylvania avenue Irwin. A Mass of Christian Burial will be celebrated 9:30 a.m. in Blessed Sacrament Cathedral Greensburg. Interment will follow in St. Vincent Cemetery Latrobe.
The family would like to acknowledge the outstanding compassionate care Les received for the past two and one-half years from the staff on the fourth floor at Hillman, especially from the stem-cell team. The family also would like to thank family and friends for having their “boots on the ground” and for all the love, support and prayers while traveling on this journey.
In lieu of flowers the family requests donations to be sent to the Hillman Cancer Center of Pittsburgh UPMC Cancer Pavilion, Suite 1B 5150 Centre Avenue Pittsburgh PA 15232, the Norwin Historical Society 304 Main Street Irwin PA 15642 or Wreaths Across America PO Box 249 Columbia Falls, ME 04623. Friends will be received 2-4 & 6- 8 p.m. Tuesday at Ott Funeral home Inc 805 Pennsylvania avenue Irwin. A Mass of Christian Burial will be celebrated 9:30 a.m. in Blessed Sacrament Cathedral Greensburg. Interment will follow in St. Vincent Cemetery Latrobe.