Val Jansante

Valerio R. (Val) Jansante, 88, of Bentleyville, died unexpectedly Wednesday, October 1, 2008 in the emergency department of the Monongahela Valley Hospital.

He was born September 27, 1920 in LaBelle, a son of Germanio and Pauline Diacenzo Jansante.

A veteran, he served with the U.S. Navy during World War II.

He was a member of Ave Maria Parish.

Mr. Jansante was a two way starter for the Pittsburgh Steelers from the very first day he stepped onto the field in 1946. His career lasted six seasons with the Steelers in which he was named First Team and Second Team All- Pro. Jansante held the reception record for a while and was among the top 10 pass catchers for a number of years. Val was the first Steelers in history to catch 10 passes in a single outing in a 1949 game against Philadelphia. In 1950, he led the entire NFL in quarterback sacks with 8.5.

Mr. Jansante held the Steelers leading consecutive receiving record of 5 years (1046-50) until current star, Heinz Ward, made it six in 2007. This was quite an accomplishment considering that Pittsburgh did very little passing out of the old single wing formation. Val played for conservative Steelers' coaches Dr. Jock Sutherland and John Michelosen. In high school, Val played football under Alex Ufema at Bentleyville High prior to becoming one of Buff Donelli's star pupils at Duquesne University. Val also played football at Villanova University and attended Harvard University in Massachusetts during World War II. Val's last year of college football was played for the unbeaten 1945 Navel Base Fleet City in the state of California.

Mr. Jansante had the distinction of being on the All Time Greatest Steelers Ballot as one of 6 receivers in 1983 and again in 2007 for the Steelers' 75th anniversary. He was honored in 2001 when the first Steelers' playoff team of 1947 was present during the Heinz Field Inaugural Season. He was again honored in 2007 as a Steelers star player of the 1940's decade.

After retiring from football, Val was a teacher and Head Football Coach at Central Catholic High School in Pittsburgh, Mon Valley Catholic and Bentworth High School. He has been honored by being placed in the Duquesne University Sports Hall of Fame, the Pennsylvania Sports Hall of Fame, the National Italian American Sports Hall of Fame and the Mon Valley Sports Hall of Fame.

Surviving are his wife, Germaine Sloan Jansante; nine children; Chris (Linda) of Greensburg, Val (Sue) of Nebraska, Tim (Rose) of Bentleyville, Cindy Carter of California, Pa, Kevin (Sandra) of Port St. Lucie, Fl, Zeb (Sandy) of Bethel Park, Jill Wales (Ron) of Canonsburg, Dion (Lori) of Bentleyville and Maureen Helinski (David) of Canonsburg; grandchildren, Jeremy, Amanda, Timmy, Derek, Jason, Brittany, Carmen, Luke, and Grant Jansante, Catrina, Alisha, Waugh Carter; Riley and Glenna Wales, Joseph and Connor Helinski; great-grandchildren, Isaiah Thomas, Brendan Shuly, Maceo Carter and Jayden Jansante; a sister, Virginia Scorza of Charleroi and several nieces and nephews.

Deceased are three children, Valerie, Jeffrey and Ricky; a brother, James Jansante; four sisters, Lillian Babirad, Eva Gust, Cecilia Morris and Evelyn Gordon.

Friends will be received from 7 to 9 p.m. Thursday and 2 to 9 p.m. Friday at the Thompson-Marodi Funeral Home, Inc., 809 Main Street, Bentleyville (724-239-2255), where a prayer service will be held at 9:30 a.m., Saturday, October 4, 2008 followed at 10 a.m. by a Mass of Christian Burial at Ave Maria Church, Bentleyville, with Rev. Gary W. Krummert, as celebrant. Interment will follow in St. Luke Cemetery of Ave Maria Parish, Bentleyville. In lieu of flowers, memorials may be made to the Bentworth Senior Citizens, 931 Main Street, Bentleyville, PA 15314. For those unable to attend, condolences can be sent at www.thompson-marodi.com.

To plant memorial trees or send flowers to the family in memory of Val Jansante, please visit our flower store.

To send flowers to the family or plant a tree in memory of Val Jansante, please visit our floral store.