Michael Richard Jusko

Michael Jusko was born in Cleveland, Ohio in 1931.  He passed away on the 2nd of May. Michael’s family had immigrated from Czechoslovakia in the 1920s. Michael, as a young boy, worked as a butcher's helper. He attended Benedictine High School and played offensive guard with his friend Chuck Knoll when the team won the all-city championship. Michael was attending Kent State University when he was accepted into Air Force Officer Training School during the Korean conflict.  His first assignment as a new Air Force Officer was at Hill AFB.  It was 1954 when he met Lena Cologna in the basement of St. Joseph’s Catholic Church in Ogden, Utah.  Michael and Lena were married the next year.  Their love and marriage to each other would last nearly 66 years when Lena passed away during the pandemic.

The Air Force would transfer Lena and Mike to Alabama, California, France, Colorado, Texas, and Ohio. During this time their two sons, Robert and John, were born.  For nearly two years in the late 1960s Mike was stationed in Taiwan and Southeast Asia.  He was the first American to be awarded the Taiwanese navigators flying wings by the Government of Taiwan for his service.  The family rarely heard from Mike during this assignment because of its dangerous nature.  During his active-duty career Mike earned two Master’s Degrees. The first in civil engineering from the University of Colorado and the second in Education from Case Western Reserve University where Mike taught aerospace engineering classes to doctorate candidates.  Upon retirement from active duty, the family moved back to Utah to live on the family farm. Mike was employed as the deputy civil engineer for Weber County before going back to work as a civilian in the Hill AFB Civil Engineering department for another 19 years.

Mike would never hesitate to help an employee or student, often assisting them with their assignments and work during the evening.  His love for Lena and his family was immense. He will be sorely missed by his entire family, including his grandchildren Sarah and Michael.  Each day without fail he would tell his son Robert, “hugs and kisses to Sarah and Michael and say hello to Nina.”  We love you, Dad.

Funeral Services will be held on Thursday, May 9, 2024, at 11 a.m. at Saint Mary’s Catholic Church, 4050 South 3900 West, West Haven 84401. Friends may visit with family at a Viewing on Wednesday, May 8, 2024, from 6 to 8 p.m., with Rosary at 7 p.m. at Aaron’s Mortuary, 496 24^th Street, Ogden 84401. Interment, West Weber Cemetery, 4590 West 950 North, Ogden 84404.