Norbert Soltys' Obituary
Norbert Soltys, 97, died May 22 in Rochester, NY, surrounded by family. He was married for 60 years to his beautiful wife, Irene, who pre-deceased him in 2013.
Norbert is survived by his children, Peter (Connie) Soltys of West Chester, Ohio, Dr. James (Mary) Soltys of Victor, New York, and Mary (Andrew) Wood of Queenstown, Maryland. He is mourned by them as well as his grandchildren, Alison, Elizabeth, John, Gabrielle, Scott, Rachel, James, and Lindsay, and his great-grandchildren, Jack, Lily, Ella, James, Alessandra, Amelia, and Katya.
Born on November 25, 1927, in Detroit, Michigan, Norbert lived a big, full life, and enjoyed many successes. Joining the U.S. Merchant Marine at age 17, he literally travelled around the globe on the S.S. United States Victory, a troop transport, and the S.S. Marine Runner, a freighter. After leaving the Merchant Marine, he joined the U.S. Navy where he served in the medical corps for two years. He never spoke much about his experiences there, but he was a proud Navy veteran, and his trip on an Honor Flight in 2016 to Washington D.C. was a highlight of his later years.
Following his honorable discharge from the Navy, he attended Alliance College in Cambridge Springs, PA and majored in mathematics. He also played football in college as a guard, tailback and then linebacker. It was following one of these games where he scored what was to be the game-winning touchdown that he met the love of his life, Irene Chrzan, also a student there. They married in 1952, after a short career playing semi-pro football for the Detroit Tars.
After graduation, Norbert went to work for Harbor High School in Ashtabula, Ohio, where he taught math and physics and served as the assistant football coach. The following year he accepted the head coach position, and eventually led the Harbor High Mariners to huge successes on the gridiron. He managed to turn the program around, and over the course of his nine-year tenure there, his teams compiled a record of 50-17-3 (nine of those losses coming in the first two seasons), orchestrated seven straight winning seasons, produced undefeated seasons in 1956 and 1958 and claimed four Western Reserve League championships. In recognition of his outstanding coaching, he was selected and inducted into the Ashtabula County Football Hall of Fame in 2006.
In addition to teaching and coaching, he continued to pursue his own education, attending both the Case Institute of Technology (Cleveland, OH) and Purdue University. In 1959, he earned his Master’s Degree in Applied Statistics from Purdue University.
His time in Ashtabula occupied a large space in his heart. He stayed in touch throughout his lifetime with many of the colleagues and students he came to know there, and he attended many class reunions as an honored invitee.
In 1961, Norbert and his family moved to Alliance, Ohio where he accepted a position as a research statistician with the Babcock and Wilcox Company, an industrial leader in steam boiler, coal, and nuclear energy components. During his 32-year career with the company, (later to become the McDermott Corporation), he provided assistance and consultation to all the corporate divisions, co-authored articles for professional publication, and co-invented and was awarded a patent for “Method of and Apparatus for Analyzing a Chemical Composition.” An active member of the American Statistical Association, he served on various national committees, chaired two committees and served as the President for the Cleveland Chapter in 1974. He was also a Senior Member of the American Society for Quality Control. He retired in 1993.
Retirement allowed Norbert to pursue his many passions: golf, travel, wine-making, and sports, primarily football and baseball. An ardent Cleveland Guardians (nee Indians) and Cleveland Browns fan, he also followed his college football favorites: Purdue, Ohio State, Penn State, and Mount Union. While he enjoyed watching the action on the gridiron and at the ballpark, he loved the sport of golf and was frequently found playing a round. He was an active member of the Alliance Country Club where he served a term on the Board of Directors. Many a divot flew from the fairways in Alliance where he formed great friendships and not a few skills as a golfer. He won more than a few tournaments at the Country Club.
In 2015, Norbert moved from Alliance, Ohio to Canandaigua, New York, to live closer to family.
Norbert shall be remembered by many for his love of golf and football, his great sense of humor, and his love for family and friends. He was a natural leader and organizer, from his days as a coach, through his active membership in professional associations, to his later years as floor representative in his senior living community. A coach at heart, he always sought ways to encourage, inspire, and improve his community. It is no mystery to those who knew him that he gravitated toward math early in his career. Numbers were his second language. (Online passwords, however, were not. He made losing and forgetting his password into a competition sport.) He will be greatly missed.
Knowing how being late to anything caused him great stress and anxiety, his family is confident he arrived by his wife’s side promptly and without delay.
Private services will be held.
Memorial contributions are suggested to Regina Coeli Endowment Fund, 663 Fernwood Blvd. Alliance, OH 44601.
You are invited to view Norbert's tribute wall, offer condolences and share memories at www.sharerfuneralhome.com. Arrangements are by the Sharer-Stirling-Skivolocke Funeral Home.
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