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Former Canfield councilman, current fire board member Andy Skrobola to be laid to rest today
By ROBERT CONNELLY
CANFIELD
Services and burial of Andrew Skrobola, former councilman and active community member, will be this morning.
Skrobola died Wednesday at his home, his family wrote in a Vindicator Tribute. He was 78.
A Mass will take place at 10 a.m. today at St. Michael’s Catholic Church here, followed by interment at Resurrection Cemetery in Austintown.
He served eight years on Canfield City Council and was a current board member of the Cardinal Joint Fire District. Skrobola would attend city council meetings on occasion and talk about the city’s finances. In fact, he was in attendance at last Wednesday’s council meeting.
“It floored all of us. Everybody was in disbelief the next day when we heard he passed away,” said Joe Warino, Canfield city manager. He said Skrobola “was a very active council person” and “very involved in the budgeting process of the city and will certainly be a loss.”
He was preceded in death by his wife of 52 years, Marie, who died in April 2014.
His calling hours took place Monday night, and a CJFD board Monday afternoon meeting was canceled. He was the at-large representative on the five-member board. The board will select his replacement in the coming weeks.
“Andy is going to be very tough to replace in the community because he was so involved,” said Marie Cartwright, Canfield Township trustee who served with Skrobola on the fire board.
“He also was extremely involved in the [Canfield] Lions’ organization, Canfield Community Care Net as well as several of the churches in the area that he did the financial work for. He just contributed in so many ways that it will be truly hard to replace him. It is a great loss to our community as a whole.”
“Andy was a rock in our community. He was a giver of his time,” said Bill Kay, former Canfield mayor and Skrobola’s friend. “He went out and tested kids for sight at the elementary schools, not just in Canfield but in the county.”
Kay continued, “I will miss him a great deal as a true friend.”
The family asked that in lieu of flowers, memorial contributions be directed to Canfield Community Care Net, P.O. Box 393, Canfield, OH 44406.
According to its website, Canfield Community Care Net provides assistance to people living in the Canfield School District by providing help to those who are coping with financial difficulties.