John Joseph Dropcho
John Joseph Dropcho
July 25, 1932 - September 1, 2021
AAP member John Joseph Dropcho passed on September 1, 2021. You can find his obituary below or by clicking here:
John Joseph Dropcho, age 89, of Indiana, PA, beloved and devoted family man, educator, and artist passed away peacefully in his home on Wednesday, September 1, 2021.
John was born on July 25, 1932, in Nanty Glo, PA, to John E. and Ann Dropcho. John and his brothers, Bernard, Syracuse, NY, and James (deceased) grew up to love that small town, which in the 1940's was one of the largest coal mining centers in the entire country. John attended St. Mary's Catholic School, and then graduated from Nanty Glo High School in 1950. He was an avid artist and reader from the beginning, and he also enjoyed playing baseball for the Cardiff baseball team as a second baseman, where he earned the nickname "Scoops".
After graduation, John worked for United States Steel in Johnstown and the John J. Soyka Construction Company in Ebensburg. Drafted during the Korean War, John honorably served as a corporal in the United States Army from 1953-55.
During John's military service in 1953, he married his hometown sweetheart, Helena Soyka, and lovingly stayed by her side for 62 years until Helena's passing in 2015. Together, John and Helena raised five children in Pittsburgh and Indiana.
After his military service, John graduated with a Bachelor of Science in Art from Indiana State Teachers College (now IUP) in 1958 and then earned a Master of Education in Art from Penn State University in 1962. He did post-graduate work at the University of Pittsburgh and Carnegie Institute of Technology (now Carnegie
Mellon University).
John landed his first teaching job as an art instructor at Crafton Junior-Senior High School in Pittsburgh in 1958. In addition to teaching, he was also active as a school and community boys' basketball and baseball coach. John was appointed to the Art Department at Indiana University of Pennsylvania in 1966, where for 25 years, he taught painting, drawing, theater design arts, and woodcrafting at the graduate and undergraduate levels. He also served as a thesis advisor for the M.ED and M.FA degree candidates until his retirement in 1991. During his tenure, John was awarded the Distinguished Faculty Award for Creative Arts and given the title of Professor Emeritus upon his retirement.
John continued to teach by invitation at the Tennessee Arts Academy in Nashville, TN, and in Lucca, Italy, in an exchange program with IUP's Art Department. He also taught about both art and history with adults and high school students through the Nant-Y-Glo Tri Area Museum and Historical Society's lecture series. His colleagues, fellow artists, and some of his former students formed a strong circle of friends. A few of those students, and some of his own family, were influenced by John's insights and creative teaching style to become teachers themselves.
John was an active member of Associated Artists of Pittsburgh, and he exhibited his artwork at juried and invited shows at galleries and museums throughout the country. His work is owned by many private and corporate collectors such as US National Bank, the McDonalds Corporation, Copperweld Corporation, the Roadway Corporate Collection, and the Ward Foundation.
John was a founding member and a past president of the Nant-Y-Glo Tri Area Museum and Historical Society, where he worked to bring the society's Liberty Museum to fruition. The Historical Society paid tribute to John and Helena (who was also a founding member and a former president) by dedicating the first completed
room of the museum in their honor.
John and Helena enjoyed traveling together throughout the United States on hunts for antiques, visits to art museums, public gardens, and jazz performances. The couple also traveled extensively to Italy and Slovakia. John was a sports enthusiast, both as a participant and a fan, an avid reader, especially of history, and is fondly remembered for never failing to stop, read, and discuss a historical road marker.
John was loved and is greatly missed by his five children: Stephanie (Brian), Indiana; J. Gary (Jan), Wexford; Janine (Stan), Rural Valley; Ronald (Nina), Blackhawk, CO; Michael (Cynthia), Indiana; ten grandchildren: Neil (Jennifer), Duncansville; Marissa, Altoona; Clayton and Claire, Milwaukee and Kenosha, WI; Natalee, New York, NY; Marcus, Pittsburgh; Kevin, Indiana; Malia, University Park; Corey and Meghan, both of Indiana, and three great-grandchildren: Rylan, Adalai, and Grayson.
Friends and family are cordially invited to attend a memorial service to be celebrated by Mark Altrogge at Saving Grace Church, 921 Hospital Road, Indiana, PA at 11 a.m. Saturday, October 2, 2021. A luncheon and celebration of John's life will follow at Rustic Lodge in Indiana. Bowser-Minich Funeral Home, Indiana, has been entrusted by the family with arrangements.
The family sincerely thanks Dr. Ruth Woolcock, Dr. Matthew Klain, the team at Concordia-IRMC-VNA Hospice for their kindness and compassion, and Cindy Shields for her years of selfless, devoted care to both John and Helena.
Memorial contributions may be made to the Nant-Y-Glo Tri Area Museum and Historical Society, 929 Roberts St., Nanty-Glo, PA 15943.