Peter A. Kurtas Sr.

January 31, 1937 - September 24, 2019

Peter Anthony Kurtas, Sr., age 82, died Tuesday, September 24, 2019 in the Berkshire Center, Reading, PA. Born at home in Pottstown, PA, he was the son of the late Frank and Johanna (Verva) Kurtas. The youngest of 15 children born to the couple, he attended schools in the Spring-Ford School District, but, with redistricting, became a member of the first class to graduate from Owen J. Roberts High School. From 1960-1962, he served in the US Army in Germany. He had a talent for building and woodworking, and worked for several private companies until his employment in the tire building division of Firestone Tire and Rubber Company. When Firestone began closing its Pottstown operations in 1981-1982, he returned to his first avocation, opening a small painting/handyman business. He was devoted to serving his elderly clients who found it difficult to secure professional painters/repairmen for small jobs in their homes. He is survived by his wife, Alice (Haffey) Kurtas and their three children: Peter Jr., his wife Joyce and their two children, Samantha and Evan (Pine Forge); Alyson Maree and her fiance, Ken Hall (Parker Ford); local attorney Patrick Kurtas; one brother, Stephen Kurtas (Pottstown); two sisters-in-law, Josephine Kurtas (Limerick) and Nancy H. Pendleton (Boulder, CO); and numerous nieces, nephews, and great nieces/nephews. A Mass of Christian Burial was celebrated by Reverend Gregory Hickey in St. Gabriel of the Sorrowful Mother Roman Catholic Church in Stowe, PA on Friday, September 27. Burial followed in St. Aloysius Cemetery. In keeping with the express wishes of Mr. Kurtas, all services were private.