Fabian Skretta

Fabian Jerome Skretta was born on December 31, 1941, in West Union, Iowa to Alice (Kuhn) Skretta and Jerome Skretta. He died Tuesday, May 20, 2025, after a brief stay at Josie Harper Hospice House in Omaha. Fabian was a devoted husband, caring father, and devout Catholic.

Fabian is survived by his loving wife of 58 years, Patricia (Ruhde) Skretta, and six children: Angela Skretta and Mark Schindel of New Paltz, NY; John and Sara (Adkins-Landgren) Skretta of Lincoln, NE; Fred Skretta and Claudia Wilson of Kansas City, MO; Matt & Neana Skretta of Lincoln, NE; Magdalene and Paul Watkins, of Coventry, CT and Mobile, AL; Arnold Skretta and Allison Franks of Guilford, CT. Fabian and Patricia were blessed with 19 grandchildren and two great-grandchildren. Fabian is also survived by his four younger brothers: Damian Skretta of Janesville, WI; Brian Skretta of Nevada; Lucian Skretta of Jefferson, WI; and Julian Skretta of West Union, IA. He spoke with great love of his wife, children, parents, siblings, and cousins in his final weeks on this earth.

Intelligent, dedicated, hardworking, and of high integrity, Fabian was a successful student in West Union and graduated from West Union High School in 1959. Rumored to have rolled his own cigarettes and drag raced in his late teens, Fabian also understood that formal education was his pathway to a successful career and future prosperity. Fabian put himself through the College of Engineering at Iowa State University in Ames, while working a co-operative education and work experience program at J.I. Case in Bettendorf, IA. He graduated in 1965 with a bachelor's degree in industrial engineering and happily explained that industrial engineers work with people, equipment, and materials to improve the effectiveness of an organization, unlike other engineers who focus primarily on equipment and materials.

Fabian continued working at Case after graduation and started attending daily Mass at St. Paul's Catholic Church, where he met Patricia, the love of his life. He would watch Patricia during Mass, dash in front of her down the steps after church, then race off to work in his brand-new baby blue 1966 Super Sport Chevelle. After a few weeks, he asked if he could walk with her and quickly asked her for their first date. The first of many steps to provide financial security and a loving home for Patricia and their family, he sold that Chevelle and decided to remain in Iowa rather than attend Stanford University for a master's degree, marrying Patricia on Thanksgiving Day, 1966.

Fabian had a fascinating and highly successful career in manufacturing and industrial engineering that started at Rockwell-Collins in Cedar Rapids, IA, working in aeronautics telecommunications. He and Patricia later moved to Rockford, IL, so he could work at Atwood manufacturing. They quickly returned to Iowa, where he worked for Norand in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, helping to pioneer and make prevalent the use of UPC barcode scanning technology and software for restaurants and retail. This required frequent business trips to Mexico to oversee manufacturing sites. Fabian concluded his career serving for nearly 15 years as Vice President of Manufacturing for Firelite Notifier, a multinational firm that specialized in safety and security alarms systems. He served in this divisional leadership role overseeing quality control, and in this capacity traveled regularly to London, England.

He retired at age 59 and after living for several years in the Millard suburb of Omaha, Fabian and Patricia built their dream home, settling into acreage living in the beautiful Loess Hills countryside outside of Neola, Iowa. There, Pat and Fabian enjoyed almost two decades of family visits and in recent years particularly enjoyed their daily prayers and meditative moments overseeing the countryside and watching "I-80 TV" from their sunroom.

Fabian will be remembered by his children for his constant devotion to his wife/their mother, Patricia. He also instilled in his children a relentless pursuit of excellence and a hard work ethic. Fabian was a teacher whose children learned by doing, not just by watching.

A funeral mass and celebration of Fabian's life will be held Thursday, July 3 at 10:30 am, at Saint Patrick's in Council Bluffs. A luncheon will immediately follow. In lieu of flowers, the family asks that donations be made either to Josie Harper Hospice House in Omaha, or to the Alzheimer's Association.