Louis I. Mandich of Kennett Square

Louis I. Mandich, 96, died Thursday, March 9, 2017.

He was the husband of Elizabeth McCorkle “Cork” Mandich, with whom he shared 67 years of marriage at the time of her passing in 2012.

He met her at Lukens during WWII, while she was a chemist and he was a metallurgist.

Born in Youngstown, Ohio, he was the son of the late V. I. and Olga Plotzer Mandich.

Lou was a 1942 graduate of Penn State University with a B.S. degree in Metallurgy. He was the first of three generations to graduate from Penn State.

He was an Officer in the U.S. Navy in WWII from 1944-1946 and in the U.S. Navy Reserve until 1953. He served on the USS LST 17 in the Pacific Theater.

Lou was with the former Lukens Steel Company for 38 years and a member of management, retiring in 1981.

He and Cork moved to the Kennett Square area in 1960. He served on the Unionville-Chadds Ford School Board and continued to be active in the Coatesville area. He was a member of the Olivet United Methodist Church, Brandywine Goddard Lodge #383, F. & A.M., a life member of the Penn State Alumni Association, a member of the Lukens Veterans Guild and the Croatian Fraternal Union of America.

Beginning in 1965, he and his wife made 30 trips to Halekai on Maui in Hawaii.

Above all else, he was a devoted husband and father to his children, grandchildren and great grandchildren.

Surviving him is a son, Louis I. Mandich, Jr. and his wife, Barbara Lampley Mandich of Lincoln University; a daughter, Kathryn Eileen Aikman and her husband, Reilly S. Aikman of West Chester; six grandchildren; and six great grandchildren.

Funeral services will be held at 11 a.m., Friday, March 17 at Harris-Mountain Funeral & Cremation Service, 1030 E. Lincoln Highway, Coatesville, where family and friends may call beginning at 10 a.m.

Interment will be in Fairview Cemetery, Coatesville.

In his memory, contributions may be made to the National Iron & Steel Heritage Museum, 50 S. 1st Ave., Coatesville, PA 19320 or a charity of one’s choice.

Online condolences may be made at www.harrismountain.com.