Obituary of Russell Paul LaBarca

Russell Paul LaBarca, 100, of State College, passed away peacefully on Saturday, March 16, 2019, at Mount Nittany Medical Center. Born January 21, 1919, in Brooklyn, he was the son of the late Joseph and Angela LaLena LaBarca. On February 7, 1953 he married Jean Earla Hyatt, who passed away on October 20, 2017. He is survived by two sons, Joseph E. LaBarca and his wife, Katherine, of Rochester, NY and Robert R. LaBarca and his wife, Cindy, of State College; four grandchildren, Irene Battaglia and her husband, Devon, Jean Lin and her husband, Steven, Russell LaBarca and his wife, Lauren and Christy Klenke and her husband, Jeremy; seven great-grandchildren, and a half-sister, Rose Jensen of New Jersey. Russ was an amazing man: a loving and caring husband, father, and brother, grand and great grandfather. But he was also an artist, baker, caregiver and mentor, among many other talents. Russ did not have an easy childhood growing up during the depression and he worked in the Civilian Conservation Corps in his late teens and early twenties. This built character and helped form the man we knew and loved. Russ served in the United States Army during World War II, seeing action in the Philippines. After the war he received an Associate's Degree from NYU in Business and worked in sales and marketing for Macy's in New York City, where he met Jean. Russ continued in sales, making use of his artistic talents and fondness of talking and working with people, at the S. K. Smith Company and later Metal Décor, where he sold custom designed specialty book and award items. Russ was a Renaissance man and mental gymnast, always staying up to date and embracing new technology. He loved crosswords, cryptograms, palindromes, Spoonerisms, and other mental brain teasers, and he worked to the end to stay mentally sharp and physically fit. He embraced physical exercise, computers and tablet devices. On his 90th birthday he declared a goal to live to 100 and he exceeded his goal! Russ continued his artwork in pastels until late 2018 and he was reading, watching classic movies, and surfing the web even beyond his 100th birthday. His recollection of the army days, travels together with Jean, and past and current events was amazing. He was an inspiration to all. As a father, Russ was mentor to his children and grandchildren for over 65 years; as a husband he was partner to Jean in child raising, travel, dancing, and grand parenting. Later, he was Jean's caregiver and worked hard to keep her mentally and physically active as long as he could. Russ's mantras are lessons for us all: "My age is only a number, ask me how old I feel, not how old I am", "My body takes care of my brain and my brain takes care of my body", and finally, "Never, never, never, give up!" Visitation will be Tuesday, March 19, 2019 from 2-3pm at Good Shepherd Lutheran Church, 851 Science Park Rd, State College, PA 16803. A Funeral Service will follow the visitation at 3pm with the Reverend Brian Spang officiating. Memorial Contributions can be made to the American Heart Association, donatenow.heart.org and the National Kidney Foundation, kidney.org/donation 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 or visit us on facebook.