LEMONT — In an emotional ceremony, a Centre County bridge was named in honor of a local U.S. Navy veteran and Pennsylvania Department of Transportation worker who died on the job more than 50 years ago.
The ceremony was held on June 15 in the parking lot of the Mount Nittany United Methodist Church in State College. The nearby bridge crosses Spring Creek on East Branch Road in Lemont. It will now be known as the Petty Officer John W. Coble Memorial Bridge.
Coble was a native of Lemont. He was a PennDOT mechanic in Centre County who was killed in a garage accident while working on a piece of equipment. He died on June 19, 1972, so getting the bridge named was many years in the making and was just four days away from the 51st anniversary of his death.
PennDOT District 2 Executive Thomas Prestash talked about the significance of getting Coble’s name on the bridge.
“From today forward, the citizens of Centre County and members of the traveling public and all who cross through Lemont will see the signage honoring John and his service and sacrifice, a fitting tribute to a hometown hero and an honor that will be in place for generations to come,” Pretash said.
The 57-foot bridge was replaced in 2002. It carries an average of about 7,800 vehicles each day, according to a PennDOT news release.
Coble served in the Navy during World War II and was honorably discharged in November 1945. Shortly after returning home, he went to work for PennDOT and continued there until he died on the job.
A large contingent of Coble’s family and friends were on hand for the event.
“It’s so nice to see family and friends here to honor John,” Prestash said. “I would like to thank John’s family for being here today and for sharing his story and making this day possible.”
According to Prestash, Coble is one of five District 2 PennDOT employees who have lost their life in the line of duty. A total of 90 PennDOT employees have died throughout the commonwealth in the line of duty.
Coble had six children. His daughter, Kay Meleshenko, represented the family during the ceremony.
“He was very proud to be employed by the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation,” Meleshenko said. “His tragic death shocked his family and he is greatly missed. To have this bridge in Lemont named after our father, the same town in which he was born, is a great honor.”
She became emotional as she talked about her father.
“Our father taught us the love of God, the love of family and the love of country,” Meleshenko said. “He gave us great joy.”
After being approached by the Coble family, state Rep. Kerry Benninghoff (R-Bellefonte), whose district formerly included Lemont, worked for years to have the bridge dedicated. In November, the bill sponsored by Benninghoff to name the bridge for Coble was approved by the General Assembly and signed by then-Gov. Tom Wolf.
The process was slow, Benninghoff said, but he was glad to finally have a day to “celebrate and honor” Coble’s service.
“Sadly, it’s been 51 years … to get something like this done. But it’s never too late to make those honors. I was pleased to get this legislation through. … At the end of the day, it’s about what’s really important in our communities,” Benninghoff said.
Pennsylvania has 25,000 state-owned bridges, and only 480 are legislatively named. In the nine-county District 2, the Lemont bridge is the sixth to be legislatively named.
