Obituary of Nick Oliver

S/Sgt. Nick Oliver, 88, of Morgantown , formerly of Belle Vernon, PA, son of the late Theresa (Iaquinta) Tiano and Antonio (Scarcelli) Oliverio, passed away early Saturday morning, Feb. 5, 2011, at his residence, after a long battle with aggressive prostate cancer. Nick was born in Belle Vernon, PA, on Sept. 23, 1922, and attended Belle Vernon High School, where he was graduated as the valedictorian of the Class of 1940. In 1943, while Nick was in his sophomore year at Penn State University , he enlisted in the U.S. Marine Corps, where he was trained in airborne radar. He went on to serve in World War II. During the war, S/SGT Oliver served on the islands of Peleliu and Okinawa as part of Torpedo-bomber Squadron 134, where he participated in air strikes against the enemy. At the end of World War II, his squadron was deployed to China for a year to assist Gen. Chiang Kai Shek in the effort to prevent the spread of Communism throughout their country. Following his tour in China , he was honorably discharged in 1946. After his discharge, Nick enrolled in electrical engineering at West Virginia University, where he was a member of Etta Kappa Nu honorary. He graduated with honors in 1949. Nick was the first-born of a set of twins. He preceded the birth of his twin brother Joseph by 5 minutes. In May 1932, he and his brother Joseph accompanied their father, Antonio, a World War I veteran, on the famous 1932 Bonus Army March to Washington , DC , to petition the U.S. Congress to appropriate money to pay World War I veterans the bonus authorized in 1924. Nick and Joe, at age 6, learned how to box. They put on scores of three-round exhibitions for the veterans in the encampment at Anacondia. When their father passed the hat, they always got a dollar or two. The twins were called by their father "my bread and butter boys"! In July 1932, President Hoover mentioned to Col. MacArthur that the World War I veterans were a blight on the beautiful city of Washington , DC, and he wished they would go away. MacArthur took that as an order and, in July 1928, he and his troops from Camp McNair drove the veterans out of Washington . The bonus was eventually paid to WWI veterans in 1936, when Roosevelt was president. Nick enjoyed a fulfilling 50-year career in electrical engineering and worked for six different companies. His first job was with CONSOL Coal Co. as general maintenance foreman for Pursglove mine No. 15. Then, he relocated to Detroit and was employed by Chrysler Missile Division, where his primary job was testing of two of their missile weapons systems: the Redstone Missile System, a short-range system, and Jupiter Missile System, a long-range system. Following his time with Chrysler, Nick worked for RCA in Riverton , NJ , on the Ballistic Missile early warning system. For one year, his work took him to Alaska to oversee the building of a radar site that could monitor a specific sector of Russian activity. Then, he went to Greenland to continue in the same field of work for RCA for a year, before transferring to England for two years. There he worked on a third radar site that monitored a large sector in the former Soviet Union to detect the presence of any enemy missiles intended for the U.S. After his travels, Nick moved back to the United States and worked for Wheeling Pittsburgh Steel Co. as a staff engineer, making steel products. From there, Nick moved to Belle Vernon and began working for U.S. Steel Corp. in steel-making. He worked for a short stint of time in Volta Redonda , Brazil , as an electrical engineer, and was involved in building a new steel-making facility. Finally, Nick took a position with the U.S. Department of Energy in Bruceton, PA, as the manager of Engineering and Construction. He remained in this job for 20 years, and retired in February 1992. Some of Nick's accomplishments following retirement were the establishment of a VFW post in Belle Vernon, working as a building inspector for the city of Westover, and as an instructor of electrical technology at the Monongalia County Technical Education Center in Morgantown . Nick enjoyed the title of Veteran of the Year 2010 for Monongalia County . He was awarded this honor on July 4, 2010, by the Celebration of America Committee. Nick is survived by the love of his life of 62 years, Mary Theresa Silletta, to whom he was married in 1948, at St. Mary's Roman Catholic Church in Star City, by the late Rev. Father Peter Flynn. Surviving in addition to his wife are three children: Daniel Anthony, an attorney, husband to Alisa Liston, Marcia Oliver Dillon, a CPA, and Diana Oliver Frum, a dentist, wife of Robert Frum. Nick was blessed with six grandchildren: Nicklaus Oliver, Natalie Oliver, Robert Dillon, Oliver Frum, Julianna Frum and Miles Montgomery, and four great-grandchildren, Angelina "Nina", Natalie Grace Oliver, Cate Montgomery and Ava Montgomery. His surviving siblings are his two sisters, Ida May, and Joan, and five brothers, his identical twin Joseph, Thomas, John Rudolph, Paul Roland and Theodore. Nick was preceded in death by four brothers, Guy, Cozy, Mark Anthony, and Phillip. Family and friends will be received at Hastings Funeral Home, 153 Spruce St .,Morgantown, from 2-8 p.m. Tuesday, Feb. 8. A Scriptural Wake Service will be held at 8 p.m. Tuesday in the funeral home, to conclude the visitation. On Wednesday, Feb. 9, Mr. Oliver will be moved to St. Mary's Catholic Church, Star City, where visitation with the family will continue from 11 a.m. until 12 noon, the time of the Mass of Christian Burial with Father John V. DiBacco as celebrant. Entombment will follow at St. Mary's Peace Garden Mausoleum, where full military honors will be accorded by members of the Marine Corps League 342 of Morgantown and VFW Post 9916 of Westover.