Daniel Kobasa, 93; owned gas station

Daniel Kobasa, 93, a retired owner of a gas station in Lansdale, community activist, and decorated World War II veteran, died of a heart attack Sunday, March 20, at the Dock Woods retirement community in Towamencin Township.

Mr. Kobasa graduated from Lansdale High School, attended the Lansdale School of Business for a year, and worked at a local Esso gas station.

During World War II, he served in the Army in the Italian campaign. During the first battle of Monte Cassino in 1944, shrapnel hit him in a hand, a hip, and his back, and he received a Purple Heart.

After his discharge in 1945, Mr. Kobasa returned to Lansdale and bought an Esso station. He operated the business until retiring in 1982.

In 1949, he joined the Lions Club in Lansdale and the next year organized the first club-sponsored Mardi Gras parade. In 1990, he was the parade's grand marshal.

Mr. Kobasa was a past president of the Lions Club and past president of the Lansdale Jaycees. He was a former treasurer of a Boy Scout troop in Lansdale.

He was a member of the Loyal Order of the Moose, Chapter 170 of the Military Order of the Purple Heart, and the Disabled American Veterans.

He volunteered with American Red Cross blood drives and sponsored a veteran at the Southeastern Veterans Center in Spring City.

Mr. Kobasa and his wife, Anne Lysak Kobasa, enjoyed wintering at their home in Treasure Island, Fla.

Besides his wife of 58 years, he is survived by a son, Daniel; a daughter, Helen Bergantz; three brothers; five grandchildren; and 10 great-grandchildren.

Friends may call from 7 to 9 p.m. Friday, March 25, at Huff & Lakjer Funeral Home, 701 Derstine Ave., Lansdale, and after 9 a.m. Saturday, March 26, at St. Michael the Archangel Orthodox Church, 335 Fairmount Ave., where a funeral will be held at 9:30. Mr. Kobasa was a former vice president of the church council. Burial will be in Oakland Cemetery.