Edward J. Orokos

Edward John Orokos, of Owego, passed away September 25th 2014 at the age of 82. Ed is survived by: his wife of 57 years, Joan (Battista) Orokos; son Edward and wife Debra, of Richmond, VA, and their children, Nicole (Daniel), Kristen, and Michael; son Donald of Clifton Park, NY and his children, Christina (Robert) and Geoffrey (Andrea); son Anthony (Brad) of New York City, NY; great grandchildren, Andrew Hingley, Jacob and Chelsea Lifshey, Colton and Carter Orokos. Several nieces, nephews and very close friends also survive. Born on October 17, 1931 in Dunmore PA, he was the son of the late John and Anna (Kesa) Orokos and was also predeceased by his 11 siblings. Following graduation from Dickson City High School, he was drafted into the United States Air Force and served in Korea near the 38 parallel from 1950-1951. The remaining three years he was based in Georgia and was honorably discharged as a Staff Sergeant in December 1954. He enrolled at the University of Scranton and graduated with a BS degree in History; continued his education and received his Masters degree at SUNY- Cortland; and from 1959 until his retirement in 1991 he was the beloved and admired 11th and 12th grade Social Studies teacher at Newark Valley High School. In addition to teaching, he coached Junior Varsity and Varsity Baseball, was the ticket manager for sport activities and was Junior and Senior Class Advisor and Yearbook Advisor. As a devout Catholic, Ed was a parishioner at St. John the Evangelist Church in Newark Valley for over 50 years and volunteered extensively there during that time. He was also an active member of the V.F.W. Post 1371, Owego and served on the Board of Directors for the Tioga Historical Society. In his retirement, he enjoyed spending most of his time traveling between Richmond, VA, Albany, NY and to the annual family gatherings in Ocean City, NJ. Poppy was the family photographer and so enjoyed watching his grandchildren grow and mature into beautiful young adults. He was very proud of each of them. An avid runner, you likely passed Ed on one of the local roads where he ran 5 miles a day for over 30 years.Eds family would like to thank the staff at Riverview Manor Nursing Home in Owego and Lourdes Hospice for their compassionate care and support.Friends are invited to gather at the MacPherson Funeral Home in Newark Valley to celebrate Eds life and share memories with his family on Sunday afternoon, Sept. 28th from 2-5 PM. A Mass of Christian Burial will be celebrated by Fr. Brian Carpenter at 10 am Monday, at St. John the Evangelist Church. Military Honors will be accorded there following Mass. Burial will be in St. Catherines Cemetery, Moscow, PA on Tuesday afternoon at 1 PM. For those wishing, kindly consider directing memorials to Alzheimers Assoc. (www.alz.org) or Lourdes Hospice, 4102 Old Vestal Rd. Vestal, NY 13850 in memory of Edward J. Orokos. Condolences and memories may be written in Eds guest book at macphersonfh.com