Armando J. Zarra

Armando J. Zarra, husband, father, grandfather, of Schuylkill Ave. Tamaqua passed away peacefully on November 6, 2018 at St. Luke's Miners Memorial Medical Center in Coaldale with his family by his side at the age of 86. Survived by his wife of fifty-nine years, Claudette M. (Marinier) Zarra; daughter, Lisa G. Jones wife of Robert of Bel Air, MD.; son, J. Mark Zarra and his wife Marie of Bluffton, SC.; grandchildren, Alexander A. Zarra, Nicholas A. Zarra, Katharine Smith wife of Christopher, and Jennifer Jones. Born September 7, 1932, in Pittston, Armando was the son of the late James A. and Alice (Fabrizio) Zarra.  He was also predeceased by his brother Vincent Zarra and sister, Lillian Burke.   A graduate of Wyoming Seminary in Kingston, Armando served honorably in the United States Army, stationed in Korea during the Korean War.  Armando attended Kings College in Wilkes - Barre, and then entered the Pennsylvania State Police, serving from 1958 to 1968.  He worked at Mar Stripping in Tamaqua from 1968 to 1975, managing the business following the death of his father in law.  In 1975, Armando began to work for the Attorney General's Office with the Department of Justice in Harrisburg and then transferred to the Pennsylvania Consumer Protection Agency in Allentown, retiring in 1994. A member of St. John XXIII R.C.C. of Tamaqua, Armando  was a member of the St. Vincent DePaul Society.  He was past president of the Tamaqua Lions and served as a Lion's District Governor for the state of Pennsylvania.   Armando delivered Meal on Wheel in Tamaqua, and was a member of the former Mahoning Valley Country Club where he satisfied his passion for golf. Funeral arrangements have been entrusted to the E. Franklin Griffiths Funeral Home & Cremation Services, Inc. of 655 East Broad Street Tamaqua, Pennsylvania 18252. (570) 668-2550 A Mass of Christian Burial will be celebrated on Friday November 9, 2018 at 1 o'clock P.M. from St. John XXIII R.C.C. 307 Pine Street Tamaqua, Pennsylvania 18252. Military Honors to be bestowed at the conclusion of the Mass. Friends may call on the morning of services at the funeral home from 11:00 a.m. until 12:30 p.m.  Interment Ft. Indiantown Gap National Cemetery, Annville, Pennsylvania. Memorials in his name to: St. Vincent DePaul Society or St. John XXIII R.C.C online registry and condolences may be signed at www.griffithsfuneralhomes.com