Richard Frena loved children so much so that he and his former wife, Dorothy Marie, were foster parents to 41 over many years.
“He wanted to help them out,” said his sister, Elizabeth Mizikar of Mammoth, Mt. Pleasant Township. “They would take in the children and care for them.”
Richard E. “Dick” Frena of Mt. Pleasant, formerly of Mammoth, died Tuesday, June 25, 2019, at Excela Frick Hospital, Mt. Pleasant. He was 81.
He was born Nov. 22, 1937, in Mammoth, a son of the late John and Katherine Kendi Frena.
After graduating in 1956 from Hurst High School in Norvelt, he did not follow his father into the area coal mines, Mizikar said.
Rather, he remained above ground, working in a variety of positions for L.E. Smith Glass Co. from 1956 to 1992.
He also volunteered for many years at the Mt. Pleasant Food Bank.
Mr. Frena was a big supporter of the Democratic Party and enjoyed going to the party rallies that were held in local clubs, Mizikar said.
He was a member of St. Florian Church, United.
Mr. Mizikar was an avid poker player with his friends.
He was preceded in death by four sisters, Agnes C. Frena, Margaret Mash, Catherine Karfelt and Mary Polinelli, and a brother, John Frena Jr.
Mr. Frena is survived by his two adopted children, John and George, both of Mt. Pleasant; four grandchildren; three sisters, Elizabeth Mizikar of Mammoth, Virginia Sternick of Greensburg and Dolores Moximchalk, of Latrobe.
Friends were received in the Jay A. Hoffer Funeral Home, Norvelt. A funeral Mass was celebrated Saturday in St. Florian Catholic Church, United. He was buried in St. Florian Cemetery, Trauger.
