John A. Pylat
March 16, 1918-April 9, 2006
John A. Pylat, 88, of Kokomo, died at 9:20 p.m. Sunday, April 9, 2006, at St. Joseph Hospital.
He was born March 16, 1918, in Birmingham, Saskatchewan, Canada, to Aleksa and Katarzyn (Halyk) Pylat.
He immigrated to the United States in 1924. He graduated from Downers Grove High School in Downers Grove, Ill. He attended the University of Illinois and Armour Institute of Technology. Pylat served in the Navy in World War II.
For 40 years, he was employed by Electro-Motive and Allison Detroit Diesel Engine, both divisions of General Motors Corp. He sold diesel locomotives and diesel engines to electric utilities and the petroleum industry across the northern hemisphere. He devoted the second half of his career to selling large turbine engines for military and commercial aircraft worldwide.
He was the former commander of Indianapolis American Legion Post 500. He was an avid golfer and was active in his church.
He married Dorothy Rae Bryden in Scranton, Pa., on July 20, 1946. She preceded him in death May 5, 1996.
Pylat is survived by his daughter, Jane (Jesse) Cox of Knox; sons John Jr. (Lois) of Troy, Mich., and Scott (Patsy) of Piedmont, S.C.; grandchildren, Erika Cox Wooton of Great Falls, Mont.; Laura Pylat Edwards of Waterford, Mich.; Jesse “Kris” Cox of Knox; and Alec Pylat of Piedmont, S.C.; and great-grandchildren Jesse and Emily Wooton of Great Falls, Mont.
He was preceded in death by his parents and three brothers, Fred, Michael, and Loyd Pylat.
Visitation is 10 a.m. Thursday in Harry Moore Mortuaries, Allisonville Road Chapel, Indianapolis. Services will follow at 11 a.m. Entombment will follow at noon at Washington Park North Cemetery. To send online condolences, visit
www.harrymooremortuary.com.