Michael Kovalyk Obituary, Death – Michael Kovalyk, 72, of Bellaire, Ohio, died Sunday, April 2, 2023, in Wheeling, West Virginia. He was born in Martins Ferry, Ohio, on March 8, 1951, to Pete and Carmella Cotello Kovalyk. Mike was christmated at Martins Ferry’s Greek Orthodox Church Life Giving Fountain and baptized at St. John’s Catholic Church in Bellaire, Ohio. Mike was a lifelong Ohio River Valley Elks #231 member. 1969 Bellaire High School graduate.
He graduated from Hocking Technical College with two Associate’s Degrees in Forestry Technology and Outdoor Recreational Wildlife Technology. Park Ranger in Hocking Hills, Ohio, for six years. He rejoined the Bellaire Police Department in 1979. From 1989 through 2005, he was Police Chief. After retiring, he became a Resource Officer at Belmont Harrison Joint Vocational School for five years with the Belmont County Sheriff Office. His last five cases—two life sentences—were his proudest. Hunting, fishing, family, and law enforcement were his passions.
His parents, brother Robert W. Kovalyk, and daughter Carmella Louise Kovalyk died before him. Mike’s wife, Rosalie Rigas Kovalyk, and daughter, Clara Kovalyk, PFC, survive him. Robert Kovalyk Wheeling Police Department of Shadyside, Ohio, Michael Kovalyk of Bellaire, Ohio, sister-in-law Charlotte Kovalyk, sister and brother-in-law Laura and John Pappas of Wheeling, West Virginia, brother-in-law Christopher (Cedric) Rigas of St. Clairsville, Ohio. On April 5, 2023, from 4 to 8 p.m., Bauknecht-Altmeyer Funeral Home, 441 37th Street, Bellaire, Ohio, will receive family and friends. The Greek Orthodox Church Life Giving Fountain in Martins Ferry, Ohio will hold funeral services at 11 a.m. on Thursday, April 6, 2023. Fr. Constantine Makrinos will officiate. After burial at Wheeling’s Greenwood Cemetery.