Obituary of William A. Spitzig

William A. Spitzig, Age 89 of South Fayette Twp., on May 23, 2021. On this day, God called home William to be with his awaiting wife of 55 years – Marilyn J. Spitzig. A Father that was a pillar of strength and a selfless, generous provider to Andrew (Cheryl) Spitzig, Laura (John) Mayer, William (Renee) Spitzig and Dawn Hauck. Cherished grandfather of Daniel, Elizabeth, Angela, Rachel, Becca and Emma, and great-grandfather to Jackson Mayer. William was an only child for most of his life. His dad died when he was a child and his mother remarried many years later. He was blessed with a brother, August Kehn when he was already an adult. As a young man, he developed a keen and lifelong interest in physical fitness and competed in the Junior Mr. America bodybuilding competition. He joined the US Coast Guard and served on the USCGC Mackinaw ice breaker on the Great Lakes. William was the first person in his family to pursue education beyond high school, perhaps strongly influenced by his future wife Marilyn. He went on to obtain a Bachelors Degree at Fenn College and a Master degree and PhD at the Case Institute of Technology, all in Metallurgical Engineering. He was a research scientist at US Steel for a good majority of his career in Monroeville, PA and went onto finish out his later career years with a dual role at Iowa State University and Ames Laboratory working as a Professor of Metallurgical Engineering at ISU and Research and Development at Ames Laboratory. He developed numerous patents and published many articles over his career. His final professional stop was the National Science Foundation in Washington, DC where he retired at the age of 65. Friends received Thursday, 4-8 pm, at the WARCHOL FUNERAL HOME, 3060 Washington Pike, Bridgeville, PA 15017 (412-221-3333). A Mass of Christian Burial will be celebrated Friday, May 28th at 1 pm, at Holy Child Church of Corpus Christi Parish, 212 Station Street, Bridgeville PA 15017. Family requests in lieu of flowers, memorial donations may be made to the St. Vincent DePaul Society of Corpus Christi Parish.