A Mass of Christian Burial will be celebrated on Wednesday (2-03-10) for George J. Kranich, 7263 Joy Rd., Brookfield, Ohio; formerly of 1041 Plum St., Sharon, who passed away at 11:35 p.m. Friday (1-29-10) in the O'Brien Memorial Nursing Home, Masury. He was 85.

Mr. Kranich was born April 30, 1924 in Sharpsville a son of the late Paul and Anna Zvonik Kranich.

He was a 1942 graduate of Sharpsville High School and attended Seton Hall University, S. Orange, NJ.

Mr. Kranich served as a Seabee with the US Navy during WW II and was stationed in Guam.

He retired in 1984 from the former Sharon Transformer Division of the Westinghouse Electric Corporation where he was employed for more than 40 years.

His wife of 60 years, the former Lee M. LaRay, whom he married on October 22, 1949, passed away July 11, 2009. They initially lived in Sharpsville and later moved to Sharon where they resided until moving to Brookfield in 2001.

George was a member of St. Joseph Church, Sharon. He was an avid sports fan all of his life and a fierce competitor in his day. George was a standout basketball and baseball player; as well as a speedster on the track for Sharpsville High School. Following his playing days, he continued his love for sports as a referee for basketball and as an umpire on the baseball diamond. He was a member of the F.H. Buhl Club in Sharon where he enjoyed swimming. He also enjoyed golfing and planting his vegetable garden in the spring.

Surviving are: three daughters, Barbara Joyce and her husband Thomas P. Joyce, formerly of Sharpsville, now living in Pittsburgh; Nancy Mueller and her husband Peter Mueller, Los Angeles, CA; and Marcy Kirila and her husband Jerry 'Tweet' Kirila, Brookfield; a son, George W. 'Biff' Kranich, Dallas, TX; eight grandchildren, Maureen, Madi, Peter, Katie, Kurt, Josy, T.J. and Brooke; two brothers, Paul Kranich and his wife Viola; and Bill Kranich and his wife Connie, all Sharpsville; and a sister, Olga Cotter, San Diego, CA.

Besides his parents and wife, George was preceded in death by two sisters, Emma Begala and Mary Chizmar.

The family suggests memorial contributions be made to the American Parkinson's Disease Association, 135 Parkinson Ave., Staten Island, NY 10305.

Calling hours will be from 4-7 p.m. Tuesday (2-2-10) in J. Bradley McGonigle Funeral Home and Crematory, Inc., 1090 E. State St., Sharon.

Friends may email condolences by visiting www.McGonigleFuneralHomeandCrematory.com.

Mass of Christian Burial will be 10 a.m. Wednesday (2-3-10) in St. Joseph Church, Sharon, with Rev. J. Thomas Dugan, senior associate, as celebrant.

Interment: St. Rose Cemetery, Hermitage, with military honors rendered by the West Middlesex VFW, Post 6233 and Wheatland American Legion, Post 432, honor guard.