John D. Sekela, 80, Windber, passed away February 24, 2026 at Windber Hospice.
Born March 8, 1945 in Windber, he was the son of the late Andrew Sekela and Dolores (Reed) Mehok.
John was preceded in death by son, Michael Andrew Sekela; and brother, George Sekela.
He is survived by loving wife of 57 years, Linda K. (Shaffer) Sekela; son, Todd Sekela married to Lori; grandchildren, Kayla Davis, Tori Sekela and Charlotte Sekela.
John was so proud to be called “PaPa” and “Pepaw” by his beautiful granddaughters.
He was a 1963 graduate of Windber Area High School and a 1967 graduate of Clarion University. John taught science at Laurel Valley Middle/High School for 35 years.
While coaching football at Laurel Valley from 1968-1983 he developed a successful junior high football program with a 70-27-1 record. This included a 16-game winning streak, a 37-3 run between 1975-1980 and 4 undefeated seasons that included 5 conference championships. John also coached and managed Windber Little League baseball for 12 seasons from 1979-1991.
He was honored to be inducted into the Windber Hall of Fame in 2005. His love for all sports included spending many evenings attending Windber Rambler sporting events with his best friend Bill.
Besides sports John also enjoyed fishing and reading. Summer afternoons were often spent with buddies Herb and Frank at the Windber Rec pool. He also liked catching up with his friend Lynn better known to John as “Entire”.
Family will receive friends 3 to 7 p.m. Friday at Meek & Dalla Valle Funeral Home of Windber. Funeral service will be held 10 a.m. Saturday at Good Shepherd Lutheran Church, Windber. Interment to follow at Rummel Cemetery, Windber.
Memorial contributions may be directed to Good Shepherd Lutheran Church or Windber Hospice in honor of John.
The post John D. Sekela appeared first on exploreJefferson.
Read the full story here: https://www.explorejeffersonpa.com/obituaries/2026/03/02/john-d-sekela-173642/
