Louis J. Cherneski, 86, of Kulpmont, passed away on March 27, 2026, at Mountain View Nursing & Rehabilitation Center.

He was born in Kulpmont on August 24, 1939, to his parents, Joseph "Padge" and Bertha (Poplaski) Cherneski.

On May 29, 1965, he married the late Reginia (Jean) Shalongo of Shamokin.

He proudly served in the United States Army during Vietnam as a welder/blacksmith, attaining the rank of PVT E-1, and later served in the Army National Guard in Danville, PA.

Louis was a lifetime member and third-generation parishioner of St. Mary's / Church of the Holy Angels and a proud resident of Kulpmont.

He was known for his talent in sports as a Wildcat at Kulpmont High School, Class of 1957, where he was a member of the football and basketball teams. He and his brother, Tom, continued to sponsor their adult softball league team, as well as Kulpmont Little League, in the 1970s.

As the years went by, he continued coaching CYO parochial basketball for the St. Mary's Panthers. One of his proudest accomplishments came in 1976 when his team won the Mt. Carmel Deanery championship. He was so proud of his daughter, Michele, who was a member of the cheerleading squad that year, proudly cheering on her father's team. He was also proud to coach his nephew, Tom, making the championship season an even more memorable family experience.

Louis was one of three brothers, Joe "Slug" and Tom, of Cherneski Brothers Gift Store, which was open from 1965 to 1976. Their store had hardware, paint, sports supplies, guns, gifts, religious items, flower arrangements, wedding invitations, small appliances, and more. In addition to the store, they owned the franchise for the newspapers through The Cherneski News Agency, which sold the daily and Sunday papers. They employed many local school kids to do home deliveries. They also owned and operated Cherneski's Wrought Iron business. Their ironwork is still holding up strong on porches and church railings in local homes and businesses throughout the surrounding counties. During those cold winter months, you may have called one of them to thaw your pipes with their welding machines. Their business closed in early 1991 when his brother passed away. Louis continued to assist his wife, who kept the wedding invitation division open, which was then renamed Jean's Invitations and remained open until 2001.

Once the family business closed, he was employed by Shamokin Packing in Coal Township until its closure. From 1984 to 2004, he was employed at St. Mary's/Church of the Holy Angels as a custodian engineer and helped prepare for the annual Holy Angels Picnic. For most of Louis's life, he helped the Church on Tuesdays by volunteering at Bingo from the early 1970s until it closed during COVID in 2020. Never accepting retirement, he took on a side job assisting C. J. Lucas Funeral Home Inc. of Kulpmont and Mt. Carmel, which he loved and took pride in, until he needed to help care for his wife of 54 years.

Louis was a lifetime member of East End Fire Company No. 1, the American Legion, VFW, Jan Sobieski Polish Club, Lithuanian Club, Holy Name Society Club (past president), and was a proud Democrat.

Louis could most often be seen smiling. He was known to be a family man and was a dedicated father who was even more proud of his grandkids. He would never miss a holiday Charlie Brown cartoon, he loved his garden, and loved to tinker in his "shandy" making wood cutouts for Jean to paint. He always made time for the birds and squirrels, but he tried to stay away from the black bear who would make annual visits to try to get into the house. He loved going to the Bloomsburg Fair just to get on WNEP live and yell that he was from Kulpmont. He enjoyed singing songs and sometimes even made up his own words to sing to the grandkids.

Louis was the last survivor of his generation of the Cherneski family of Kulpmont. His grandparents, Joseph Sr. and Mary Cherneski, were among the first to settle in Kulpmont shortly after the town was established, as well as becoming members of St. Mary's Church after emigrating from Lithuania.

Louis was so dedicated to his two daughters and was so thankful for their guidance and care for his well-being as he fought his battle with Alzheimer's. They visited him daily for the past six years after he lost his wife, whom he missed dearly, often talking about her and worrying about her well-being even in his final days.

Louis proudly accepted the dedication of the USS CHERNESKI, owned and operated by the U.S. Army since 1992 as part of the Dredging Series. It was named in honor of his brother, Joseph "Slugger" Cherneski, who was chosen because of his longtime dedication while employed as a civilian with the Army Corps of Engineers. The vessel remains in operation in the Philadelphia District, working in the Delaware River, Chesapeake Bay, and C&D Canal. This was an honor Lou treasured and shared with others throughout his life, especially since his brother never knew of the recognition, as candidates are considered only after their passing.

Lou had many talents and enjoyed sitting out in the shandy making wood cutouts and listening to oldies and country music, perhaps with a brew while listening to the crickets. He especially liked going to weddings, knowing he would be out there dancing. He liked to socialize and, back in the day, go to his local clubs to play the pulls. He loved feeding the birds and squirrels and, let's not forget, his nose-to-nose visits with the bear. He loved watching the NY Giants and the St. Louis Cardinals. When he was younger, he would play jump rope and Chinese jump rope in the house when Mom was out bowling. Even if he didn't like something, he found an interest in it if it was important to his daughters or grandchildren. One thing he was determined to do was make sure he raised his daughters to be independent and passed on what he knew to his grandchildren so they would be ready for this crazy world when he was gone.

He is survived by his two daughters, Michele and her husband, Joe Lynch, of Elysburg, and LouAnn-Cherneski Tamborelli and her husband, Keith Tamborelli, of Kulpmont.

His grandchildren were his pride and joy. E-5 Sailor Briana Tamborelli is serving in the U.S. Navy and is on track to retire, and he was never afraid to wear Navy merchandise as an Army Veteran. He created a daycare for her dolls in his family room and played store with her. Louis also enjoyed attending his grandson Dominick Tamborelli's high school musical performances and watching his talent as a drummer in the Mt. Carmel Area and Bloomsburg University bands. Not to forget all the trips to Dollar Tree and the best story of the trip to the mall with Briana and the grocery cart, which he continued to laugh about right up until the week he passed away.

Andrew and Lillian Lynch brought him joy as he listened to them play the flute and trumpet, enjoyed their visits to the house, and attended Southern games. Although it was cold, he was amazed by the talent they both had on the ice playing hockey. Sundays were always best for game day. Most of all, he always made sure that wherever he was with the grandkids, he had enough snacks in the Ziplock bag for everyone and a soda in his pocket.

Lou was a great family man who kept everyone together for years. He is survived by his only niece, Linda (Cherneskie) and Rick Neff of Pottstown, who made him an uncle first; his nephew, Robert and Jenny Cherneskie of England, missed you guys. Bob was his sidekick to dance "Shout". A nephew, Dr. Joseph Cherneskie, CT, who was like a son and grew up in the family business. Despite the demands of his career, he would make the countless road trips with his kids to oversee Uncle Lou and Aunt Jean's health conditions, more so as their health was declining, and most often would take time for phone visits. A nephew, Dr. Thomas Cherneskie, NY, who was also raised in the family business and who Lou missed and would send video messages to. A nephew, John and Kirsten Cherneskie of Pottstown, who made trips down to see Uncle Lou with the kids. Go Philly! A sister-in-law, Edie (Todd) Shalongo; grand-puppies, Zia, Oisin, Shalia; cousins, Rosemarie Dunick, Victor Boris, and Vince Poploski, all of the coal region; lifetime friends, Junnie Gard, Micheal Benedetto, and Dennis Klock Sr.; extended relative, Spencer (Dyllan Connell); as well as many nieces, nephews, great-nieces, great-nephews, great-great-great nieces, and great-great-great nephews.

Lou was proceeded in death by his parents; his wife, Jean in 2020; and her mother, Verna (Moleski) Shalongo; siblings, Joseph "Slugger" Cherneski, Thomas and his wife, Julia (Worhaz) Cherneskie, Robert and Margie (Jazwinski) Cherneskie, Robert Shalongo; and a sister-in-law, Connie (Shalongo) and Dominick Yascavage.

Lou's family would like to thank the staff who cared for our Dad and Pop at Mountain View Nursing & Rehab, Serenity Gardens, COMPASS Hospice, Timberwood, Geisinger-Shamokin Area Community Hospital, Area Services Ambulance Co., and Dr. Jeffrey Greco. We also extend our heartfelt gratitude to all the staff members, including housekeeping, laundry, maintenance, dietary, and support personnel. We deeply appreciate everything you have done for our family and for helping make Lou's life as full and comfortable as possible until his final breath.

Funeral Mass will be held on Monday, June 8, 2026, at noon with Father Andrew Stahmer officiating in the Church of the Holy Angles, 855 Scott St., Kulpmont. Burial will follow in St. Mary's Cemetery, Kulpmont. Visitation will be held in the Church on June 8, 2026, from 10 a.m. until the time of the Mass. Arrangements are in care of C J Lucas Funeral Home Inc., 1053 Chestnut St., Kulpmont, PA 17834. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made in this name to Mt. Carmel Area HS Band, 600 W. Fifth St., Mt. Carmel, PA 17851, Att: Chris Stella, or to Southern Columbia Area Music Dept. Boosters, 800 Southern Dr., Catawissa PA, 17820. To send condolences to the family, please visit www.cjlucasfuneralhome.com