Gerald F. Pistorius, 83, of Slippery Rock, Claytonia, passed away at 5:50 a.m. Saturday at the Butler VNA Inpatient Hospice following a short illness.

He was born July 29, 1927, in Chicora. He was the son late John Pistorius and the late Edith Rodgers Pistorius.

He was a World War II veteran, having served with the U.S. Army.

He had been a butcher at New Castle Meat Packing, and he retired from Volkswagen of America in Michigan.

He enjoyed his family, grandchildren and great-grandchildren. He was an avid woodworker and enjoyed gun smithing.

He is survived by his wife, Bernice Kiser Pistorius, who he married Feb. 26, 1949; two daughters, Linda Tomb and her husband, Fred, of Portersville and Donna Bosley and her husband, John, of Ellwood City; one son, Richard Pistorius and his wife, Loraine, of Koppel; and several grandchildren and great-grandchildren. One brother, Guy Pistorius of Chicora, also survives.

He was preceded in death by one son, Kenneth, and five brothers.

<B>PISTORIUS </B>— Friends of Gerald F. Pistorius, who died Saturday, May 7, 2011, will be received at the <B>William F. Young Funeral Home</B>, 132 Main St., West Sunbury, from 2 to 4 and 6 to 8 Tuesday. Funeral services will be at 11 a.m. Wednesday at the funeral home with the Rev. Robert V. Mathias, a retired Presbyterian minister, officiating. Burial will be in the North Butler Cemetery.