NEW PHILADELPHIA — In an outpouring of respect, firefighters from around the region turned out to mark the passing of one of their own at services on Friday and Saturday.

Thomas J. “Jed” Bartashus Jr., chief engineer of the Good Intent Fire Company in New Philadelphia, died at home on July 18. He was 56.

He was the son of Thomas J. and Judith Bernitsky Bartashus. His father is owner and funeral director at Thomas J. Bartashus Funeral Home in New Philadelphia.

A long line of mourners paid him tribute at a viewing Friday evening in the family’s funeral home.

A large American flag waved near the funeral home, supported by a pair of aerial ladder trucks from Tamaqua and Saint Clair.

Nearby, his turnout jacket was draped, beneath a wreath of flowers, on the front of a Good Intent fire truck. In unison, a delegation of firefighters walked to the funeral home from the fire company, a block away.

An entourage of fire apparatus assembled near the New Philadelphia Little League field Saturday morning.

Show Caption

1 of 4

The hearse for Thomas J. “Jed” Bartashus Jr. makes its way up to Sacred Heart Cemetery in New Philadelphia, Saturday, July 26, 2025. (MATTHEW PERSCHALL/MULTIMEDIA EDITOR)

Expand

Led by Good Intent’s trucks, the column escorted the hearse to Sacred Heart Cemetery after a funeral Mass at Holy Cross Catholic Church in New Philadelphia.

Msgr. William F. Glosser, a longtime firefighter and former chaplain at West End Fire & Rescue Company No. 5 in Mahanoy City, celebrated the Mass.

Interment with military honors followed in Sacred Heart Cemetery, New Philadelphia.

A U.S. Navy veteran of the Gulf War, Jed served aboard the USS Sterett, a guided missile destroyer, for five years.

He was employed as a bricklayer foreman at LMB Industrial Services, Pottsville.

Originally Published: July 26, 2025 at 11:23 AM EDT