John Marcus Kello of State College died Wednesday, July 13, 2016 at his home. He was eighty-eight. Born in Butte, Montana on October 9, 1927, John was a professional engineer and U.S. Army veteran. He was a graduate of Butte High School and a “Golden B” honoree as a member of its1944 football team. John served in Japan at the end of World War II. He earned a B.S. degree in mechanical engineering from Montana State University, and also studied at Tohoku University in Sendai, Japan and the Montana School of Mines, paying his way by working as a journeyman member of the United Association of Plumbers and Steam Fitters of America. John began his engineering career at the Hanford Nuclear Project in Washington and eventually turned to institutional physical plant management, holding positions with Dartmouth College, Elmira College and Penn State University. He also maintained an engineering consulting practice specializing in energy management systems automation.
The eldest of four children of Nick and Margaret Kello, John wed Patsy Ann Robinson in 1954 and enjoyed 56 years of marriage before her death in 2010. John is survived a brother, Joseph Kello; sister, Clarice Black; his children, Katherine Driscoll, Nicholas Kello, James Kello and Teresa Garti; and grandchildren, Maureen, Caitlin, Matthew and Nika. His youngest brother, James, preceded him in death.
An avid reader of history and biographies, John himself was quite a raconteur among family and friends. His audience never tired of hearing his hilarious tales of life on Butte's hardscrabble East Side, a bustling and diverse place built on copper mining, but hobbled by the Great Depression. To his children's chagrin, over eight decades he never lost his Depression-era sensibilities regarding thrift with the maxim “Do I need it? Can I afford it? Can I get by without it?”
Friends are invited to join the family for a memorial service on Saturday, August 13, 2016 at 10:00 a.m. at Upper Spruce Creek Presbyterian Church, located at 2620 Spruce Creek Road, Pennsylvania Furnace, PA 16865, followed by interment at the neighboring Graysville Cemetery.
Arrangements are under the care of Koch Funeral Home, State College. Online condolences and signing of the guest book may be entered at www.kochfuneralhome.com.