James Siehl

Our father and brother, Jim Siehl, passed away peacefully the evening of Jan 6th as a consequence of heart failure. Among many loving and admiring friends and relatives, he leaves son Douglas of Johnstown, son Daniel and daughter-in-law Corinne Guerrette of Menlo Park, CA, brother Ronald and sister-in-law Doris Siehl and brother Matthew, all of Johnstown. Jim was born in Johnstown to Matthew E. and Helen (Reese) Siehl on May 21st, 1929, and was preceded in death by wife Lois, daughter of George and Anna (Smith) Cuppett.

Growing up in Hornerstown and Moxham, the family attended Christ E.U.B (now United Methodist), where Jim met two influential people. One was Jim Krider, city editor of the evening Tribune-Democrat, who facilitated his career as a reporter at that paper. The other was Lois Cuppett, who was the love of his life for 62 years. In his 44-year career, Jim reported on local sports, wrote obituaries, reported on the Johnstown police court and wrote feature articles, including one on the devastation in Tanneryville in the 1977 flood, for which he won an award from the PA Newspaper Publishers Association. In retirement, Jim contributed many feature articles to the local papers. Most were about friends and family members who he admired and who brought joy to his life, but also diverse items such as his experience of viewing footage of the Immaculate Reception from a new angle, from which he concluded that the famous play was legitimate. In sports, he was part of three championship seasons with the Christ EUB Green Wave in the Moxham Sunday school basketball league, and was named league MVP in 1952. His Kiwanis Club baseball team appeared in several AAABA tournaments. His enduring sporting passion, however, was tennis. After retiring from the T-D in 1991, he and Lois moved to Schellsburg, where the contacts he made playing tennis soon resulted in him becoming the coach at Bedford High, where his Bisons were frequent District 5 champions.

Our dad would most want to be remembered as a devoted child of God, whose word was the guiding light of his life, and as a dedicated father and husband. He consciously decided that approaching people with kindness, trust, honesty and forgiveness is the easy way to have enriching relationships and a happy life. His positive outlook, bolstered by his faith, made him persistently bright and pleasant to be around. Though he greatly missed Lois, who passed in 2012, he continued to live fully. Prior to being stricken eight weeks ago, he was living independently at home, teaching tennis at Bedford High and singing in his church choir. He will be overjoyed at being re-united with his dear Lois.

A funeral service will be held on Wednesday, January 13, 2016 at 10:30 AM at the Bedford United Methodist Church with Rev. Jeff Welsch officiating, burial at Cuppett Cemetery. A luncheon will be held at the church after the graveside service.   Friends will be received on Tuesday from 3 to 7 PM at the Timothy A. Berkebile Funeral Home, in Bedford and 1 hour prior to the service on Wednesday at the church.  In lieu of flowers, a donation to CARE would make Jim smile. (CARE, Gift Center, P.O. Box 7039, Merrifield VA 22116-9753; http://www.care.org/donate).  Our online guest book is available at www.berkebilefuneralhome.com.