Russel Sheridan Bitner Jr.

Russel Bitner and Ethel Stange were married on January 1, 1942 at Trinity Lutheran Church in Connellsville, Pennsylvania. Their home was near Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. They had five children, Thomas Bitner; James Bitner; Daniel Bitner; George Bitner; Sally O’Henley (nee Bitner), nine Grandchildren, twelve Great-Grandchildren and four Great-Great-Grandchildren.

After just a couple years of marriage, during World War II, Russel served in the US Navy as a Refrigeration Mechanic at Kaneohe Bay Hawaii. After discharge, he went to work for Anchor Hocking glass plant where he worked till 1983, achieving the position of Machinist Superintendent. During his working career he also started a couple private enterprises; one was a photography studio, another interesting venture was ownership in several coke ovens, using coal to manufacture coke for the steel industry. The largest of his entrepreneurial ventures was the Bitner Block Company, where cement blocks and prefabricated concrete stairs were manufactured and delivered.

The career with Anchor Hocking also involved moving his family to California in 1963. He lived in Paramount till 2007, when health reasons necessitated a move to an assisted living facility called Park Terrace; this is located in Rancho Santa Margarita. While there, he maintained an active social life, including developing friendships at the local Senior Center, where he enjoyed dining.

He was an active member in Lutheran Churches where they lived, including serving as the Church Treasurer for a number of years. He was active with Gideon’s International and was a volunteer worker for LA County Probation Departments, Protestant Chaplains Office.

Dad’s pastimes included golf, where he would hit the links no matter the weather, or sometimes the light of day. He was a good skier, both on the water and the snow, and the water skiing was closely tied to the cabin he built on the lake in Pennsylvania. There were also the many camping trips he took with family and friends, from church, to Salton Sea, and Glamis in California and Lake Powell in Arizona to name a few.

Russel was preceded in death by his wife Ethel and son George

Funeral services at Westminster Memorial Park on Sunday March 26th at 3:00 pm.

Arrangements under the direction of Westminster Memorial Park Mortuary ~FD1030, Westminster, CA.