KUFFNER, FRANK
BLUEFIELD, Va. — Frank Kuffner, 83, of 2040 Lee Ave., Bluefield, Va. 24605, passed away Saturday afternoon, Sept. 23, 2006 at his home with his family at his side.
Born June 5, 1923 in Maybeury, he was the son of the late Anton and Yelka Kuffner.
He was a 1941 graduate of Northfork High School. He was a veteran of the U.S. Navy serving in World War II in the Pacific Island Campaign. He was a Pharmacist Mate 2nd Class/Corpsman attached to the 1st Marine Amphibious Corps.
He was a member of the Bluefield Moose and the Rotary Club of Keystone. Frank had a lifetime love of sports and enjoyed bowling and golf with his friends. He played baseball with KeyEck in the Coalfield League. Frank was an avid fan of WVU, the Northfork Blue Demons, and was his grandson Matt’s Number 1 fan in all sports from grade school through college. He was of the Catholic faith.
Frank began his work career in the Keystone Mines and after moving to Chicago for a few years, he returned to the area and worked for Kentucky Central Life Insurance Company until he retired. Frank filled his retirement years by working first as a volunteer on the grounds crew for the Bluefield Orioles, eventually becoming the Baby Bird’s Head Groundskeeper. Frank was also a big supporter of the Baby Birds and was a leader of the vocal group of fans known as the “Rail Birds.”
Frank was a devoted husband and active in the lives of his daughter and grandson.
He was preceded in death by his parents; by his brothers, John Kuffner, Steve Kuffner, and Tony Kuffner; and by sisters, Helen Seaman, Mary Vaglienti, Josephine Kwiatkowsky and Tracy Roman.
Left to cherish his memory are his wife of 53 years, Arlene Anderson Kuffner; daughter, Virginia (Ginger) Dishner and husband George and grandson Matthew of Mechanicsburg, Pa.; sister, Annie Vitosky of Chicago, Ill; and many loving nieces and nephews.
Funeral services will be conducted Wednesday morning at 11:00 a.m. at the Dudley Memorial Chapel in Bluefield, Va. with Father William Matheny and the Rev. Bob Johnson officiating. Burial will follow in the Maple Hill Cemetery in Bluefield, Va. Pallbearers will be nephews, Tim Anderson, Louis Paulich and Bill Vaglienti, and friends, Robert Wohlford, Arnold Smith and Louis “Mac” McCarty.
In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to the American Cancer Society, 1808 Jefferson St., Bluefield, WV, American Heart Association, P.O. Box 12110, Charleston, WV or to Total Home Care Hospice, P.O. Box 661, Grundy, VA.
Friends may call today from 6 to 9 p.m. at the Dudley Memorial Mortuary in Bluefield, Va.