John J. Niemiec Jr., 87, of Oil City, PA. ,died at 4:10 P.M. June 23, 2017 at Oakwood Heights in Oil City after a period of declining health.

Born on June 12, 1930, he was the son of the late John & Caroline Nalepa Niemiec.

He attended Assumption B.V.M. Grade School, and Oil City High School leaving his junior year to join the Navy.

John served with the second marine fleet division at Camp Lejeune, N.C. where he played football, basketball and softball for the Medical Battalion.

He played softball for the Polonians and basketball for Pulaski Club and the “:Y” Travelers

John worked at Hunter-Wilson Cooperage.

He married Helen Marie Hanton on Nov. 26, 1953 at St. Joseph Church in Oil City, while attending Alliance Technical Institute in Cambridge Srpings, PA.

During his employment years he took day and night classes at Citrus College, Azusa, CA, Pasadena College, Pasadena, CA , San Fernando Valley College in San Fernando, CA and Mitchell College in New London, CT. He also attended Diablo College in Pleasant Hills, CA.

After graduating from Alliance Technical Institute he worked for Sylvania in Warren, PA. designing transistor sockets and contacts for the military. He left and started working at Joy Manufacturing as a tool designer, then 5CM mower in research and development on the push button mower and in the conveyor division.

He left Joy Mfg., and went to work for Lockheed Aircraft Corp. in Burbank, CA. He worked on computerizing electrical harnesses for testing the Polaris Missile, and had secret clearances.

He then started working for Hughes Aircraft Missile Division in Culver City, CA on guidance systems for the Phoenix Missile and electronics packaging for the T.O.U. Missile. John then went to work for General Dynamics in Groton, CT as a field liaison on the Polaris submarines., assigned to San Francisco, CA. , where he worked on field design for submarines.

He started then to work at Boeing in Seattle on the 59 Transport, later on the first 74th Aircraft and in design on the multi-faced array radar MFAR for the Navy.

He worked on design in the machinery room for Lockheed shipbuilding in Seattle, WA and was laid off and returned to Oil City, PA. He job shopped in Pascagoula, MS for Ingalls Nuclear shipbuilding doing design and on LHA landing helicopter attack ship, APL American Presidential Lines, oil tankers and nuclear submarines. Later he did design work on D.E.’S for the U.S. Navy and Bath Iron works in Bath, Maine. John left there and did design work on Nuclear Power Plants in Detroit Edison at Bechtel’s Construction Co at Ann Arbor, MI. John job-shopped at Calgon in Elwood City, PA and was hired at Pennzoil Engineering and Construction in Oil City where he worked on design at the facilities in Pittsburgh, WV, IL and in Rouseville, PA.

He retired in July of 1986 as construction supervisor. Following retirement he did design work independently for Pennzoil, Penreco and at Wodzanski and Smith Consultant Engineers for nine years.

In the late 1950’s and early 60’s he was part of the core team at St. Stephen’s Church, led by Fr. Griffin which established the Legion of Mary in Northwest PA.

He was a member of the Assumption Church and served on Parish council, was a Eucharistic Minister and served on the Finance Council and more recently St. Stephen’s Church.

He was an avid golfer and played Canada and 13 states in the U.S.

John had scored three hole-in-one’s over his golfing career and had played at Spy Glass, which was tougher than Pebble Beach.

Was a past member of the Pulaski Club and the PNA and more recent the Knights of Columbus and the V.F.W.

He is survived by a son, Jan & his wife Sandra of Tacoma, WA; two granddaughters, Shelby and Mollie; and a niece Patricia Ann Pac of Oil City; a nephew Theodore Desanti of Erie and grandnieces and grandnephews.

He was preceded in death by his parents, a brother Joseph Matthew and sisters Mary, Bernice, Nellie and Rose.

Friends will be received from 6-8 P.M. Friday in the Reinsel Funeral Home.

Mass of Christian Burial will be celebrated at 11:00 A.M. Saturday in the Assumption B.V.M. Church with Fr. John Miller Presiding.

Interment will follow in Calvary Cemetery.

Condolences may be sent at www.reinselfuneralhome.com.