Box bundler Stanley B. Puzausky was such a hard worker that when he raced with the machine brought in to do his job, he won. He kept his job for 39 years.
"He was very fast doing it," said his elder son, Stan Puzausky. "One day they got the automated machine -- he beat the machine."
Mr. Puzausky, of Crafton and formerly of Sheraden, died Saturday, June 5, 2004. He was 90.
Born in 1913 in East St. Louis, Ill., Mr. Puzausky lost his hearing after contracting scarlet fever as a toddler. He lost his father at age 8.
When the family settled in Sheraden, Mr. Puzausky briefly attended Langley High School. He was the only deaf player on the school's baseball and basketball teams.
He was so good at basketball that when he completed his education at the Western Pennsylvania School for the Deaf, where he had transferred, he made the All-American for the deaf. At the school for the deaf, Mr. Puzausky met his future wife, Bertha Lorenc.
"We were introverted growing up, because we knew they were different," said Puzausky, who described his father as being "strict -- when he had to" and kind.
Mr. Puzausky never taught his sons sign language. Instead, he communicated his work ethic by example. He spent his entire career with the Kress Box Company in Lawrenceville and never took a sick day.
Mr. Puzausky was a member of the Pittsburgh Association of the Deaf.
Mr. Puzausky is survived by his sons, Stanley M. of Coraopolis and Robert F. of Windgap; two sisters, Theresa Sevcik, of Wilmington, Del., and Geraldine Freshwater, of Cheswick; and several grandchildren and great-grandchildren.
He was predeceased by his wife.
Visitation will be from 2 to 9 p.m. today at McDermott Funeral Home, 1225 Chartiers Ave., McKees Rocks. A Mass will be celebrated at 10 a.m. Tuesday in St. Mary Church, 1011 Church Ave., McKees Rocks.
Donations may be made to DePaul Institute, 2904 Castlegate Ave., Pittsburgh, PA 15226, or the Western Pennsylvania School for the Deaf, 300 E. Swissvale Ave., Pittsburgh, PA 15218.
