Richard D. Orsen Obituary - Visitation & Funeral Information

Richard D. Orsen, 74 of Aliquippa passed away unexpectedly, with his family by his side, on April 17, 2018 after recovering from an extended illness. He was born October 24, 1943 in New Brighton and was the son of the late Joseph and Alice (Moch) Orsen. Rich was also preceded in death by his mother-in-law and father-in-law; Attilio and Lillian Ramunno, a sister-in-law, Lorraine (Ramunno) Rutkowski, a brother-in-law, Thomas Smith, Sr., a niece, Robin Palko and two nephews; Ed Palko and Thomas Smith, Jr. Rich was a faithful member of St. Titus Roman Catholic Church where he served as a Eucharistic minister and volunteered for various jobs around the church. He was honored with the Marcus O’Brien award for his dedication and countless hours of service to the church. He was also a member of the Holy Name Society at St. Titus. Rich retired from J&L Steelworks where he worked in the Bi-product department and the Tin Mill. He was a proud veteran of the U.S. Army having served during the Vietnam War. Rich did not let his duty to other veterans end when he was discharged from the Army. He continued to help those veterans who were less fortunate than him by driving disabled veterans to Dr. appointments. He respectfully honored those veterans who had died by serving as a member of the Vietnam Veterans Chapter 862 honor guard where he and fellow comrades performed military honors at cemeteries for funerals. Rich proudly accepted the award of Vietnam Veteran of the Year and the John Namath Award for his service to other veterans. Rich is survived by his beloved wife of 53 years, Elena (Ramunno) Orsen. A brother and sister-in-law, Joseph and Carol Orsen, a sister and brother-in-law, Portia and Jim Ulinski, his nieces and nephews; Joseph, Jonathan, Jason, Daniel, Amy and Andrew. Two sisters-in-law; Annette Smith and Thelma Palko, nieces and nephews; Mark, Bob and Maureen and Deena and numerous great nieces and great nephews. Rich is also survived by special friends; Linda and Paul Cupp. Visitation will be Friday from 2-4 & 6-8 pm in the Anthony Mastrofrancesco Funeral Home Inc. 2026 McMinn Street, Aliquippa 15001 724-375-0496. Departing prayers will begin at 9:30 am Saturday in the funeral home followed by a Mass of Christian burial at 10:00 am in St. Titus Church with Fr. Paul Householder officiating. Entombment will follow at Mt. Olivet Cemetery. The Vietnam Veterans Chapter 862 will conduct full military honors for Rich at the cemetery. In lieu of flowers donation may be made in memory of Rich to St.Titus Parish Share or Vietnam Veterans of America Chapter 862. The Orsen family would like to thank the nurses and staff in the CCU department at Heritage Valley Beaver for the kindness extended to Rich and the Orsen family. A special thank you to Rich’s godchild, Breoni for her unending support. St. Titus Holy Name Society will recite the rosary at 7:30 pm in the funeral home on Friday.

Richard D. Orsen

October 24, 1943 - April 17, 2018