Park reflects R.J. Sokol’s love of N. Belle Vernon

By TAYLOR BROWN

tbrown@yourmvi.com

R.J. Sokol was a fighter.

For his friends, for his family and for his community.

The former North Belle Vernon councilman was 64 when he died Friday after a battle with COVID-19.

His greatest legacy for the borough sits in the 700 block of Graham Street, where families, friends, teams and residents from throughout the region gather to create memories at North Belle Vernon Community Bank Park.

The park was the dream of Sokol, who began tearing up the former Graham Street Park with the help of Mark Frederick several years ago.

After three years of work, North Belle Vernon Community Bank Park held a grand opening in 2016. It has been Sokol’s pride and joy ever since.

The park has a soccer field, dek hockey rink, playground, pavilion and walking track.

In the past five years, it has become a regional attraction thanks to work by Sokol and countless volunteers who bring seasonal events, birthday parties and other celebrations to the facility.

Before Sokol contracted COVID-19, he had no plans to slow down with helping his community, even though he resigned from his position as a councilman.

“He wasn’t done,” said his wife, Lynn. “Making this town a better place was something he planned to do for the rest of his life, and is what he was passionate about until the day he died. The only thing he ever wanted was to make this a better place.”

Lynn was in his corner throughout all his projects, some of which people thought he couldn’t pull off, She worked behind the scenes, making sure things ran smoothly.

Now she doesn’t know what to do without her husband.

“It’s like I lost my right arm,” she said. “He was the love of my life and I am not sure what to do without him.”

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