At an age when many are looking forward to relaxing, 65-year-old Victor Katz earned a black belt in Tang Soo Do.
And in his early 70s, Mr. Katz starred in an instructional video titled "Black Belt Vic: Karate for Seniors," giving him a chance to display his skills on "The Today Show."
Mr. Katz, of Wilkins, founder of Dapel Jewelers in Monroeville, died of lymphoma on Tuesday, April 24, 2007, at UPMC Shadyside. He was 81.
Mr. Katz was a founding member of the Parkway Jewish Center in Penn Hills.
Born and raised in Homestead, Mr. Katz and his twin sister, Kitty, worked in their father Jacob Katz's jewelry and watch repair store while attending Homestead High School.
In those years, said his wife, Greta Katz, the steel mills were operating 24 hours a day and the Homestead business district was a busy place.
After graduation from high school, Mr. Katz entered the Army Air Corps and served as a navigator and gunner on a B-26 bomber during World War II. For missions over North Africa and Germany, he earned an Air Medal with two Oak Leaf Clusters and two Bronze Stars.
Greta Katz said her husband was proud to serve his country, but lamented the loss of so many of the men in his outfit.
After his discharge from the military, Mr. Katz rejoined his father at the jewelry store.
The Katz family later operated Victor Jewelers in the Clark Building, Downtown, before establishing a store on Carson Street on the South Side.
In 1950, Mr. Katz married Greta Lieberman, a resident of East Liberty, whom he met on a blind date. "At the time we met, I was working in the office of Max Azen's (furrier) in downtown Pittsburgh.
"I didn't think I was going to like him, but I was sure I was going to marry him," she said.
In 1978, Mr. Katz moved his business to Monroeville, and it now is operated by his son, Paul Katz.
"There was nothing false about Victor," his wife said. "He had as repeat customers many of the customers from their previous locations. They trusted Victor. They knew what he sold them was of the highest quality."
Mrs. Katz said her husband "was quite a good dancer. When we attended a wedding or a bar mitzvah or a family affair, everyone wanted to dance with him."
Mr. Katz is survived by his wife, Greta Lieberman Katz; three children, Marcia Katz Sussman, Paul Katz and Ellen Katz Edery, all of Monroeville; seven grandchildren and one great-grandchild; and a sister, Kitty Mayer, of Squirrel Hill.
Services were conducted Thursday at Ralph Schugar Chapel Inc. in Shadyside. Interment took place in Adath Jeshurun Cemetery.
