William E. “Bill” Slosky, 94, of California, Pa., passed away on Nov. 10, 2021, at The Residence at Hilltop in Monongahela. Bill was born on April 5, 1927, to Mary Ballant and Edward Gottlieb Slosky in the village of Philipsburg, which is now the location of the main campus of California University of Pennsylvania. He graduated from East Pike Run High School and proceeded to serve in the U.S. Navy at the end of World War II as a coxswain with his assignment in Navy security. He used to joke that his primary job in Navy security involved bringing back drunken sailors who were still at the bars at port who had violated their liberty passes. Bill’s family worked in the mines during the Depression, but saw value in higher education. It is remarkable that Bill, along with his sister, Marilyn Pupilli and brother, Eddie, all found paths to a college education in the 1950s. Bill received his Bachelor of Education degree from California State College and his Master of Education degree from Penn State. His parents and siblings preceded him in death. Bill taught school and coached sports at Southwest Greensburg High School, Sewickley Township High School and at Bellport High School in Bellport, Long Island, N.Y. Although he and his family loved living near the ocean, he could not pass up the opportunity to return to Pennsylvania to join the Vulcans football coaching staff at California State College in 1969. He then joined the faculty in 1970 as an associate professor of Biology and Environmental Science. His love of the outdoors was a perfect complement to his role as educator, where he taught classes such as ornithology and wildlife techniques. He took great pleasure in taking his unsuspecting students on field trips in the most dismal weather to band birds so bird migration patterns could be tracked or to follow deer tracks in the snow to understand seasonal deer populations. After his retirement from Cal U, Bill continued to serve the community as a director and president of the Washington County Conservation District. He was very proud when the district won the state Goodyear Conservation Award in 1996. He was also a longtime member of the Centerville Sportsmen Club. He hunted and fished well into his 90s. Bill is survived by his wife of 69 years, Elizabeth “Libby” Jarsulic Slosky; and son, Ed. Private interment with military honors will be conducted at the National Veterans Cemetery of the Alleghenies. Bill played a role in increasing the circulation statistics at the California Public Library by his love for reading mysteries. If you wish to make a memorial donation in his name, please do so to the California Area Public Library, 100 Wood St., California, PA 15419. Funeral arrangements have been entrusted to MARISCOTTI FUNERAL HOME INC., Anthony N. Mariscotti, supervisor, 323 Fourth St., California, PA 15419.
