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James Wayne Piggford, Jr.

Paul E. Bekavac Funeral Home

Obituaries | The Tube City Almanac | August 20, 2022

James Wayne Piggford, Jr., died peacefully at Grandview Estates of Elizabeth on Thursday, August 18^th. He passed away while holding the hand of Helen Kuzma Piggford, his beloved wife of 71 years, in the presence of his daughter Teresa Mae Buchina of Elizabeth Township, and after praying with his sons James Wayne Piggford III of Simpsonville, SC, and George Alan Piggford, C.S.C., of North Easton, MA. Wayne, as he was known to family and friends, was born in the Braum building in Elizabeth Borough on November 18^th, 1929, to Minnie (Braum) and James Wayne Pigford, Sr. He grew up in Elizabeth and West Elizabeth, and he graduated from Elizabeth High School, where he played varsity football and baseball. He enlisted in the Navy and received orders to serve as an engineman assigned to the U.S.S. Gilmore in Key West, FL, and was later assigned to the Nautilus submarine program in New London, CT. He was honorably discharged at the rank of Petty Officer, Second Class. After he and Helen moved to their current home on Blaine Hill in 1960, he first worked at Continental Can in West Mifflin, PA, then devoted his career to the U.S. Post Office in Elizabeth, first as a mail clerk and later as a rural carrier in Elizabeth and Forward Townships. He happily retired in 1984. Wayne’s 92-year life was a strong thread woven through the lives of many in the Elizabeth area and at Sts. Joachim and Anne parish (formerly St. Michael’s parish). He was a bingo caller for many years, a firefighter and ambulance driver for Blaine Hill Volunteer Fire Co., an active member of the VFW and American Legion, an usher at St. Michael’s, a little league coach, a card player, and a seasoned traveler—although only by car—to South Carolina, Florida, and anywhere else his children were residing. Wayne was passionately devoted to Helen, his wife. He deeply loved his children Teresa, wife of Steven Buchina; Wayne III, husband of Laura; and George, a Roman Catholic priest in the Congregation of Holy Cross. He doted on his grandsons, who are both U.S. Marines: James Connor, husband of TJ, and Alexander Ryan. Wayne is survived by his sisters Ruth Ann Chomas of Elizabeth Township and Helen Louise Wivagg of Forward Township. His brother Charles passed away in 1990. He loved his nieces and nephews, grandnieces and grandnephews, and other relatives, and he enjoyed sharing jokes, stories, poems, and prayers with family, friends, neighbors, and random strangers. In addition to family, the Eucharist was the center of his life, and he quietly prayed for the “unborn, the born, the dying, and the dead” every day of his life. Friends will be received in the Paul E. Bekavac Funeral Home, Elizabeth on Monday, August 22, 2002 from 2-4 & 6-8 PM. Mass of Christian burial will take place on Tuesday, August 23, 2022 at 10 AM in St. Michael’s Church with his son, Rev. George Piggford officiating. Burial to follow in Round Hill Cemetery, Elizabeth Twp. The family recommends donations in the name of James Wayne Piggford, Jr., to Boys Town (https://www.boystown.org/Pages/how-you-help.aspx) and Disabled American Veterans (https://www.ihelpveterans.org). Offer condolences at www.bekavacfuneralhome.com

Originally published August 20, 2022.

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