St. Andrew the Apostle’s Puskar Award celebrates dedication to service

It was introduced this week at a Food Honors banquet and presented to Christine Janney.

The most meaningful work in a church rarely happens at the microphone.

It happens in quiet phone calls, in prayers offered without being asked and in service given with no expectation of thanks.

That spirit is what the Rick Puskar Award was created to honor.

The award was presented for the first time Monday at the Food Honors banquet at St. Andrew the Apostle Parish in Charleroi, where donors, partners and volunteers gathered to be recognized for their work fighting hunger in the community.

Business manager Joe Caruso announced the creation of the award during the ceremony.

“The Rick Puskar Award honors spirit,” Caruso said. “We’re recognizing the individual whose service to the community, humility and unwavering commitment really represent what this whole night is here for.”

The award bears the name of a man whose life reflected those values long before they were formally recognized.

Richard “Rick” Puskar died Sept. 8, 2025, following an eight-year battle with amyloidosis, multiple myeloma and a brain tumor. While amyloidosis ultimately took his life, those closest to him say the disease never defined it. Instead, Puskar was known for a life lived with love, kindness and compassion, always ready to help, listen or share a laugh, and guided by a deeply held Catholic faith.

That faith was not abstract.

After his diagnosis in 2017, Puskar invited people to send him prayer requests, which he shared via text message with others of faith. Over time, the group he affectionately called his “Prayer Warriors” grew exponentially, connecting hundreds through shared intention and belief.

His prayer life and chaplet ministry sustained him during years of illness and became a source of strength for countless others.

Father Jerry Mikonis, a retired priest of the Diocese who lives in residence at St. Andrew, walked closely with PUSKAR •A2

“He lived out that love in the way he treated people, the way he served and the way he led.”

MIKE PUSKAR Puskar during the final years of his life.

“For over eight years, I got to know him,” Mikonis said. “He affected me personally in my spirituality. He is one of the holiest individuals I’ve met in my life.”

Mikonis spoke candidly about the reality of Puskar’s condition.

“Throughout these eight years, he was suffering,” he said. “And he taught me what it was to care for other individuals.”

Even as his health declined, Puskar found ways to serve.

“He developed a prayer line for people in his parish and even people outside his parish,” Mikonis said. “If a person couldn’t do something, if a person was very sick, what he could do was pray.”

Mikonis said that commitment shaped the broader parish community.

“Collectively, everyone here prays for those in need,” he said. “We pray for each other. My friend taught me spirituality. Through his sickness and even his dying, he still cared for people. He still prayed for people.”

Family was always at the center of Puskar’s life.

He married his high school sweetheart, Lora Kolar, in 1988, a partnership many described as rooted in unconditional love and support. During nearly eight years of illness, Lora remained at his side, caring for him with unwavering devotion. Puskar often referred to her as his “angel on earth.”

His greatest joy was raising his son, Michael.

They spent years together traveling, playing sports and sharing everyday moments, with Puskar never missing a hockey, basketball or baseball game.

Mike, surrounded by his mother and fiancée, Elle Eutsey, became emotional as he looked around the room.

“Tonight marks a very special moment for our family and for this ministry,” he said. “For the first time, we have the privilege of presenting an award that carries the name of someone that meant so much to us, my dad, Rick.”

He described his father as a man whose faith and work ethic were inseparable.

“He loved the Lord. He loved this church. He loved the people at this church and this food bank ministry, those helping those in need,” Mike said. “He lived out that love in the way he treated people, the way he served and the way he led.”

Rick Puskar never believed in doing things halfway.

“Mediocrity definitely wasn’t in his vocabulary,” Mike said. “He was a very fierce competitor, and he hated to lose. He’d do everything possible to be the best at what he did.”

That drive shaped every part of his life, from academics and athletics to his professional career and service.

“Whether it was school, sports, business, coaching, mentoring, raising kids or donating to the food bank and the church, he never did something just to get it done,” Mike said. “He put his whole heart and soul into it.”

Even illness did not slow him. “In the midst of all his health struggles, he never gave up,” Mike said. “It brought him comfort to pray, to pray for and help others.”

Mike shared one of his father’s favorite sayings.

“If he or anyone around him became tired, he’d say, ‘You always got something left in the tank. You just got to find it.’” Beyond personal achievement, Mike said his father believed leadership meant showing up for others.

“He had a gift of bringing people together, lifting them up, inspiring them, and helping them become the best version of themselves,” he said. “I believe he was the very best of all of us.”

As Mike transitioned from honoring his father to presenting the award, he tied those values directly to the reason the honor was created.

“When you look at everything celebrated here tonight, the impact, the compassion, the sheer amount of work poured into this ministry and food bank, there’s one person who really stands out,” he said.

He described someone who loved the Lord and the church, served the less fortunate with humility and joy, and gave tirelessly without ever seeking recognition.

“So much of what you heard about tonight,” Mike said, “every program, every distribution, every detail, is orchestrated by this one remarkable individual.”

When Mike called Christine Janney’s name, she stood with tears in her eyes and immediately hugged each of Rick’s family members.

Janney’s reaction was immediate and heartfelt.

“I really didn’t expect this,” she said. “I was hoping Joe would give it to somebody else. There are so many people in this room that do more than I do.”

Janney spoke about meeting Puskar and the impact he had on her faith.

“He was a godsend to me,” she said. “He would pray for anybody and everybody and never think about himself.”

She credited him with strengthening her trust in God.

“He gave me such faith and trust in loving the Lord that I can’t do enough to repay him for everything he gave me during the short time that I knew him,” she said.

Again and again, Janney shifted the attention away from herself.

“I can’t do what I do without all of you in this room,” she said. “I’m one person. I make one or two phone calls, and everybody pulls in and gives me the support and help that I need.”

“All of you deserve this award,” Janney said. “Not me.”

The Rick Puskar Award was created to honor service, humility and unwavering faith. On its first night, it reflected a legacy built not on recognition, but on love given quietly and faithfully.

“You can see why Christine deserved that award, right?” Rev. Levi Hartle said. “Because she can’t see how she deserves it.”