Pride in his work, love of his church and country, and most of all, devotion to family, were foremost in the life of Richard VanHalanger. “He left a great legacy for my brother, my sister and me,” said his son, David VanHalanger. “He and my mother showed us with their actions how to love and work together.” Richard C. VanHalanger, of Monroeville, formerly of Turtle Creek, died Thursday, Sept. 28, 2006, at Forbes Regional Hospital in Monroeville, Mr. VanHalanger, who suffered from congestive heart failure, was 84. “He certainly was a representative of what they say was the Greatest Generation,” said his other son, Richard, recalling his father’s pride in his service in the Army Air Corps during World War II. Mr. VanHalanger’s distinguished look in uniform first caught the eye of Eleanor Pagani, who was to be his wife for 56 years. “They lived on the same street and he cut such a striking image in uniform that it caught her interest,” Richard VanHalanger said. Mr. VanHalanger was born and raised in Turtle Creek, attended St. Colman School and graduated from Union High School in 1940. After attending Carnegie Tech in Oakland, he went to work for Westinghouse Electric Corp.’s East Pittsburgh plant before entering the Army, returning after the end of the war. In all, he spent more than 40 years at the East Pittsburgh facility, where he worked as an industrial engineer. Those skills served him well at home, as well as on the job, David VanHalanger said. “He was a jack of all trades, who could do almost everything around the house.” His daughter, Valerie Warning, said she fondly recalls the comfort her father gave her when she was starting first grade at St. Colman. “He said everything was going to be fine,” she said, recalling how her father visited her at school often during that first year to have lunch with her. Mr. VanHalanger’s devotion to his parish, St. Colman Catholic Church, extended beyond merely attending daily Mass, relatives said. There, he served as a Eucharistic minister and an usher, and volunteered to operate a camera that broadcast the service on a local TV channel. Sports played a role in his life, whether it was as a volunteer coach or spectator for his children and grandchildren or his long relationship with the Turtle Creek Athletic Association. In retirement, he devoted himself to “his gardening, his golf and his grandkids,” his daughter said. Mr. VanHalanger is survived by sons, Richard VanHalanger, of Cottage Grove, Minn., and David VanHalanger, of Athens, Ga.; daughter, Valerie Warning, of Monroeville; sisters, Rose Genevieve, Clara VanHalanger and Anne Maringo, all of Turtle Creek, and Patricia Barbarino, of Forest Hills; and 10 grandchildren. He was preceded in death by his wife, Eleanor M. (Pagani) VanHalanger; a brother, Robert; and sister, Edith. Friends will be received from 2 to 4 and 7 to 9 p.m. today at the Patrick T. Lanigan Funeral Home Turtle Creek/Monroeville Chapel, 1111 Monroeville Ave., Turtle Creek. A Mass of Christian Burial will be at 10 a.m. Tuesday in St. Colman Church, followed by burial with military honors in St. Joseph Cemetery. Memorial donations may be made to the church, Triboro Highway, Turtle Creek, PA 15145.

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