Remembering family man who died in Plum explosion: Kevin Sebunia 'had a heart of gold'

Aug. 14—Above all else, Kevin Sebunia was a dedicated family man — a devoted father and doting husband who willingly gave his time to others.

His wife, Kelly, and daughters, Emily and Abigail, were the most important people in Sebunia's life, longtime friend Joe Pulcini said.

"His family came before anything," Pulcini said. "His two girls came before everything."

Sebunia died Saturday when a house on Rustic Ridge Drive suddenly exploded in the borough's Rustic Ridge neighborhood, Pulcini said. Sebunia, who lived three houses away from the blast site at the corner of Rustic Ridge and Brookside drives, was one of five people killed.

He was 55.

Pulcini said there are countless stories about why Sebunia was in the house that morning. He said he believes his friend of nearly 30 years had gone to 141 Rustic Ridge to help a neighbor.

Fellow neighbor Casey Clontz and his son, Keegan, also died in the explosion, their family said.

Mayor Harry Schlegel confirmed late Monday the identities of the other two victims: Michael Thomas, the borough manager, and Heather Oravitz, the borough's director of community development. Oravitz lived at 141 Rustic Ridge — site of the explosion — and Thomas lived at 139 Rustic Ridge.

Sebunia's immediate family declined an interview but granted Pulcini permission to speak about Kevin.

"There wasn't a neighbor in Rustic Ridge that he didn't help," said Pulcini, 56. "From someone putting a deck up to something as simple as changing a light bulb, if you needed help, he was there.

"He had a heart of gold."

Emily just got married July 1 in Washington County, Pulcini said.

"Have you ever seen someone who has won the Powerball? Multiply that by 2 million. He was over the moon," Pulcini said. "He could have walked on air."

Sebunia's sister-in-law Wendy Hutchison said Kevin was a loving uncle who always showed interest in his nieces and nephews.

"Kevin was the most amazing uncle to my two boys, Conor and Fin," she wrote in a text message. "He would plan special Uncle Kevin outings where they would come home laughing and telling stories for days.

"He would attend his nieces' and nephews' sporting events and was everyone's biggest supporter. We will carry a void in our hearts forever."

----Kevin Sebunia grew up in the Erie area, one of five siblings. He played soccer, graduated from Erie Cathedral Prep and enrolled at Clarion University.

That's where he met Pulcini and a group of guys he remained close with through the years. They would go on hunting and fishing trips, and he and Pulcini often would attend Steelers games together.

It was at Clarion where Sebunia met Kelly Klauss. Pulcini and Klauss knew each other before college — they lived just four houses apart and graduated from Plum High School together.

Kevin and Kelly eventually married May 25, 1991. Kevin would easily remember his anniversary each year, Pulcini said, because it was the same day that the Penguins won their first Stanley Cup title.

The Sebunias and Pulcinis proceeded to spend nearly every New Year's Eve together — all but two, Pulcini said — since Joe and Kevin met in college.

"We were best friends. We were brothers," Pulcini said. "As close as we were, the girls called me uncle."

After the Sebunias had Emily and Abigail, Kevin often needed to run out for miscellaneous items, whether diapers or milk or something else.

"Kevin would run to the store, but that also means Kevin coming to pick me up," Pulcini said with a laugh. "I was living at home, and we'd hit Holiday Park Lounge ... and get a drink first (before heading back)."

Among the bonds Sebunia formed at Clarion was one with Dave Fetzner.

Sebunia and Fetzner joined the same fraternity and grew to be close friends, Fetzner said. They were in each other's wedding, owned a hunting camp together and, every fall, would take fishing trips to Pulaski, N.Y., in search of king salmon.

"He loved meeting people and talking with them," Fetzner said.

----Sebunia's giving spirit extended beyond his family and immediate friends.

In 2020, when covid-19 affected graduation at Plum, preventing a standard ceremony, Sebunia organized a special event for the kids of Rustic Ridge, even though he didn't have a child graduating that year.

"Kevin set up a graduation for all the Rustic Ridge kids," said Rafal Kolankowski, who lives on Brookside Drive across the street from the Sebunias' corner lot.

Kolankowski started rattling off the names of kids from the neighborhood who were graduating that year, including his son, Tyler.

"Five or six kids from right here," Kolankowski said. "We did this graduation for them.

"If you were in need, he would drop everything he was doing and help you out."

Kolankowski said Sebunia never hesitated to help his neighbors.

"A lot of projects in my house were done by him," he said. "I called him Mr. Home Depot."

Sebunia remained active with the Plum youth soccer program.

Even when the Sebunias and the Fetzners would go on wine trips together, Kevin didn't always unplug, Fetzner said.

He often would be in the backseat on his laptop, helping to organize a major kickoff soccer tournament in the borough.

"We'd go on our wine trip, he'd be on his laptop working," Fetzner said.

Sebunia was handy. He could build pretty much anything, Pulcini said. He loved to hunt and fish — Abigail fished, Emily hunted. And he had a memorable sweet tooth.

"He liked chocolate, but it didn't matter," Pulcini said. "If you had cake or cookies, he had to have milk."

Pulcini described his friend as "probably the smartest person I knew."

He was a diehard Penn State fan — which made for an interesting rivalry with Pulcini, an Ohio State fan. And he enjoyed cooking, especially at Christmastime.

It was tradition to head to the Pennsylvania Macaroni Co. in the Strip District early in the morning on Christmas Eve, pick up cheeses and other items and then head to breakfast, Pulcini said.

Sebunia took great pride in buying supplies and making Christmas wreaths during the holidays, which he then distributed to friends, family and neighbors.

"Holidays were meant to be spent with his wife and kids," Pulcini said. "He loved his wife. He was a family man through and through."

That was a sentiment shared by Fetzner.

"He was a good man, a good person," Fetzner said. "He loved his wife and his daughters more than anything in the world."

Rob Amen is a Tribune-Review managing editor. You can contact Rob by email at ramen@triblive.com or via Twitter .