Samuel J. Gentile, Jr.

 
Samuel Joseph Gentile, Jr., 91, of the Tower View Apartments, formerly of Lykens, passed away early Saturday morning, November 2, 2024.

Sam was born on Wednesday, December 7, 1932 in Lykens, a son of the late Samuel Sr. and Barbara Breit Gentile.

He was retired from the Reiff & Nestor Company, Lykens where he was a machinist for over 31 years.

Sam was a member of Our Lady Help of Christians Parish, Lykens.

Sam was a true sports enthusiast, whether it was baseball, football, or golfing. In his younger years, he played football for Harrisburg’s minor-league team and baseball for the City-Suburban League; and since he didn’t own a car, he often hitchhiked the many miles to practices and games. Sam’s legacy truly
was his passion for baseball. He was well known in the Lykens Valley for coaching hundreds of athletes from Millersburg, Upper Dauphin Area, and Williams Valley school districts. He coached Little League, Teener League, and high-school boys and girls, as well as American Legion Baseball. If he wasn’t coaching, he was refereeing or working the chain crew for 25 years at the Upper Dauphin Area Trojans’ football games. When not participating in live sports, he was cheering on his beloved football teams, the Notre Dame Fighting Irish or the Philadelphia Eagles, and his favorite baseball teams, the St. Louis Cardinals and the Cleveland Guardians. Sam took up golfing in his 50s and, true to form, he was a great competitor to anyone on the course. He thoroughly enjoyed this sport later in life and formed strong friendships over the years, playing regularly in a league at the Hidden Valley Golf Course. Sam also displayed his competitive spirit when playing Euchre, one of his chosen pastimes. His wife, Joye, was his favorite Euchre partner, and they played many tournaments and hands with friends at the Lykens Firehouse. After she passed away, he continued his appetite for the game with friends and family any chance he got.

In addition to his parents he was preceded in death by his wife of 54 years, Joye M. Shutt Gentile, 2006, a granddaughter, Angela Gentile Snyder; a son-in-law, Gregory Hoover;  a brother, Eugene (Gino) Gentile; and a sister, Regina (Jean) Raudenbush.

Surviving are his six children: John Gentile of Selinsgrove, married to Wendy Talhelm Gentile; Debra Hoover of Mifflinburg; Samuel Gentile, III, of Elizabethville, married to Carmen Collier Gentile; Donna Gentile Wierzbowski of Middletown, married to William Wierzbowski; Anthony Gentile of Elizabethville, married to Stephanie Scheidler Gentile; and Diane Gentile Klimovsky of Mechanicsburg, married to Bob Klimovsky. He also has 13 grandchildren, 14 great-grandchildren, and 1 step great-grandchild.

A Mass of Christian Burial will be Celebrated on Friday, November 8, 2024 at 11:00 am from Our Lady Help of Christans Parish, Lykens with Rev. Michael Opoki, AJ as celebrant.  A luncheon and time of fellowship will immediately follow Mass in the church social hall.   A viewing will be held on Thursday, November 7, 2024 from 6-8 pm from the Chapel of the Dimon Funeral Home, Inc., Tower City and also on Friday, November 8th, from 10-11 am from the church.   Sam will be laid to rest beside his wife in the Maple Grove Cemetery, Elizabethville following the luncheon.

Memorial donations in his memory can be made to Our Lady Help of Christians Parish, 732 E. Main Street, Lykens, PA 17048.

The Dimon Funeral Home is honored to serve the Gentile family.  To send condolences visit www.dimonfuneralhome.com

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