Memorial service set Saturday for YSU planetarium official

YOUNGSTOWN — Rick Pirko was known as a passionate educator who spent three decades providing science outreach as the producer/technician at the Ward Beecher Planetarium at Youngstown State University.

A memorial service honoring his life will be at 10 a.m. Saturday in the Ward Beecher Planetarium, and his friends at the university are raising funds to build the Rick Pirko Memorial Sundial as a tribute to him. Pirko liked sundials and did classes on them, particularly incorporating them into the planetarium’s weekend Skywatch programs.

In addition to his public and school programs, Pirko supervised and mentored numerous college students, providing them with one of the most important educational experiences of their lives.

Pirko, 55, died Oct. 15 after suffering a heart attack a week earlier.

He is survived by his wife, the former Victoria Patterson, his mother and four brothers.

For the complete story, see Wednesday’s Vindicator and Vindy.com.