March 13, 2008

  • Rest in Peace, Pap Bressler

    WILLIS O.“WOODY” BRESSLER

    IRVONA – Woody Bressler, 80, passed away Monday, March 10,
    2008, due to complications following heart surgery. He was born on June 5, 1927,
    to the late Willis and Elzada (Ogden) Bressler. 

           He married the former Vivian J. Lippert of
    Curwensville on February 27, 1948, who survives. This year marked their
    60th year as a married couple.   

           After more than 30 years, Woody retired from the
    Ironworkers Union Local 772. He also taught in their Apprentice School for
    several years.

        Woody was a talented and skilled marksman. He held a
    Masters card with the NRA and was a member of the Green Mountain League. He was
    also a gunsmith who created and designed some masterpiece custom rifles. He
    loved the outdoors and was an avid hunter, fisherman and camper.

         He was his children’s most avid sports fan.  From the
    time they were in Little League and through their college years, he never missed
    a football game, a wrestling match or a baseball game in which his children
    participated.  In later years, the same held true for his grandchildren. If he
    couldn’t be there in person, he was certainly there in spirit.

        In his retirement years, Woody built a house on top of a
    mountain where he raised horses and became an avid gardener. He was also a
    woodworker, a builder, an inventor, and a mechanic. Woody has always been known
    for his ingenious engineering skills, his strong work ethic, his perfectionism,
    and his love of a good joke.  He was loved by many and will be missed by all who
    knew him.

          Left to cherish his memory are his wife, Vivian
    Bressler, his children, Elwood Bressler, and his wife, Andrea, of Curwensville,
    Les Bressler and his long-time companion, Karen Purvis, of Waterville, Wendy
    Baranak and her husband, Matt, of Smithfield, Virginia, Larrie Kim Bressler, of
    Curwensville, and Lance Bressler and his wife, Beth, of Curwensville. His
    surviving grandchildren are Mary Leigh Sellers, Brad, Markay, and Ashley
    Bressler, (Elwood),Terry Bressler, (Les), Chase Baranak (Wendy), Hannah and Sam
    Bressler (Lance), and adopted grandchild, Ben Reinhart. Eleven
    great-grandchildren survive him. Also surviving are his brothers Gerald Bressler
    of Curwensville, Merle Bressler of New Millport, and Ardell Bressler of Glen
    Richey.

    He was preceded in death by his parents, siblings Audrey
    Brown, Lila Spath, Roy Bressler and grandchild, Shawn Bressler.

       A memorial service will be held on Saturday, March 15,
    2008, at 4:00 at Chidboy’s Funeral Home in Curwensville.  A Celebration of Life
    Ceremony will follow immediately at the Curwensville Presbyterian Church on
    Locust Street.