John D. Sterbank

John D. Sterbank, of Kersey, born to John and Priscilla Rigard Sterbank, passed away peacefully at the age of 82 after bravely battling cancer. He was surrounded by friends, family, and loved ones.

He is survived by his beloved wife of over 60 years, Veronica; his children, Theresia Rae, John Sterbank, and Chris Sterbank; their partners, Dave Rae, Katie Crandall, and Kim Taylor; and his six grandchildren—Elijah, Marty, Emily, Lily, Cora, and Iris—who were the light of his life.

He is also survived by his siblings: Cathy Wendel, Dan Sterbank (Jane Sterbank), and Joe Sterbank (Mary Pat Sterbank); his in-laws, Ed Kuntz, Kathleen Gutowski, Mary Joe Gutowski, Mike Gutowski (Cathy Gutowski), and Mary Carbonara (Ron Carbonara); as well as many nieces and nephews, with whom he loved spending time—often figuring out how to get a TV and a movie hooked up so the family could gather together, sometimes in the smallest of spaces.

John was predeceased by his parents; his sister, Carol Kuntz; and his brothers-in-law: Dick Wendel, John Gutowski, and Dave Gutowski.

A legendary fly fisherman, John took pride in tying his own flies and cast his line all over the world—from the Salmon River in Pulaski, NY to Canada to New Zealand—often with his friends, brothers, children, grandchildren and sometimes even alongside former presidents.  His favorite fishing spot was the Clarion River, where he spent many days at the family camp hosting bonfires and barbecues, stocking the pantry with sweets, telling jokes, creating art installations, and metal detecting the trails with his grandchildren in search of “loose change the other fishermen dropped.”

John was also an enthusiast of nature and space, pursuing his other favorite hobby—photography.  He modestly took thousands of photos of every plant, star, animal, and person he encountered. He often signed his photographs as “1 in a million,” because he treated every moment as special.

With a passion for cars and tinkering with how things work, John earned a degree in mechanical engineering from Penn State.  After graduation, he moved to New Jersey to work at Bell Labs, where he helped develop cutting-edge technology on the Telstar satellite program, one of the world’s first communications satellites.

He later returned to Elk County to start a family with Veronica and co-founded Eastern Sintered Alloys, which helped pioneer the powdered metal processing industry. He proudly ran ESA with the intention of providing as many jobs as possible to support his hometown community.  John remained president until his passing.

John loved traveling across Pennsylvania, Ohio, and New York with Veronica and family—searching for elk, exploring state parks and roadside attractions, and visiting flea markets, where he always managed to find something that delighted him.

John had a love for life and a charismatic, positive attitude that put a smile on the face of everyone who met him.

A Mass of Christian Burial will be held in St. Boniface Church on Wednesday, August 27, 2025 at 11:00AM with Rev Chris Beran, Pastor, celebrating. Burial will follow in the St. Boniface Cemetery.

Visitation will be held in the St. Boniface Gathering Space from 10:00AM until 10:45AM on Wednesday, August 27, 2025.

Memorial donations, if desired, may be made to Hahne Cancer Center, 100 Hospital Avenue, DuBois, PA 15801.