Obituary of Gregory Puskar

Gregory Paul Puskar, 62, of Morgantown, WV formerly of Mt. Pleasant, PA, passed away October 23, 2018 at UPMC Montefiore Hospital, Pittsburgh, PA. He was born July 11, 1956 in Mt. Pleasant, PA a son of the late Joseph A.  and Mercedes Galley Puskar. He was a member of the St. Mary’s Roman Catholic Church, Star City, WV.

Greg graduated from Mt. Pleasant High School and then from WVU with a BS in Physics, an MBA, and was hired immediately  by the Department of Physics and Astronomy where he remained for thirty nine years and eventually became the Academic Laboratory Manager for the department. He also was the owner of Envirocheck Inc., where he did environmental testing services. In 1984, he became a member of the American Association of Physics Teachers and a life member in 2007 and served on the executive board as chairman of the section representatives and numerous committees. Greg received the Distinguished Service Citation Award in 2006 and was named a Fellow in the association in 2014. He worked passionately to promote effective, safe, and well managed physics laboratory programs and his advice and knowledge was sought by many in the organization.  Greg was a founding member of the Mountaineer Chapter of BNI in 2004 and remained an important figurehead until his passing.

In his private time, he was an avid reader, enjoyed the New York Times crossword puzzles, collected stamps, liked traveling and following sports, and always had a thirst for learning.

Greg is survived by his wife, Sharon Zubal Puskar, his brother in law, John Zubal, many aunts, uncles, cousins, and many friends and colleagues. 

Visitation will be Tuesday, November 20, 2018 from 11-1 p.m. with a memorial celebration of life at 1:00 p.m. at Dering-Henson Funeral Home, 156 Foundry St., Morgantown, WV with Fr. Gary Naegele as celebrant.

Donations may be made in Greg’s memory at www.aapt.org or AAPT, 1 Physics Ellipse, College Park, MD 20740 Condolences online at www.dering-henson.com

Caring services are provided by Dering-Henson Funeral  Home.  Local arrangements have been entrusted to the  Galone-Caruso Funeral Home, 204 Eagle St., Mt. Pleasant, PA.   www.galone-carusofuneralhome.com