CHARLES JAMES "SKIP" CULLEITON (1938-2026)

Charles James "Skip" Culleiton, 87, of Cabot, formerly of Tarentum, passed away Wednesday, Jan. 7, 2026, surrounded by his family.

Born to the late Charles M. and Margaret A. Culleiton, Skip built a long and steady career as a research chemist with Alcoa in New Kensington, retiring after 39 years of service. Skip earned his B.S. in Chemistry from the University of Pittsburgh in 1966 and later completed his master's degree in Chemistry at Duquesne University in 1982.

He was a dedicated member of the Allegheny-Kiski Valley Historical Society for more than 25 years, serving as a board member, treasurer for over a decade, and editor of the Alle-Kiski Chronicle since 1997. He also authored several books on local history. He contributed to Holy Martyrs Parish through his work creating dyed-sawdust carpets for the Feast of Corpus Christi and maintained extensive collections of vintage postcards and rare communion tokens.

He was also a past president of the Western Pennsylvania Numismatic Society. Skip is survived by his wife of 66 years, Ann Marie Culleiton; and his sons...

Skip's life was marked by dedication to his family, his work, his parish, and the preservation of local history. His contributions will be cherished by his family and continue to benefit the community he cared for throughout his life.

"Skip and I had many conversations about coinage metals and techniques, since I have always been more interested in the material side of numismatics as opposed to the historical side. He had been failing over the past years due to his getting Parkinson's Disease, so the talks gradually faded but he was still a little bit active a few years ago. He will be greatly missed."

"While most of us knew Skip as a serious student of local history and a collector of local coins and tokens, I keep remembering some of his other interests. The orchids by the casket at the viewing reminded me of how he had his entire office window at Alcoa full of orchids that he grew. When I got home and looked up at a clear winter sky, I remembered how much he loved astronomy and his telling me how he had built his own telescope as a young man. He definitely had an avid interest in many different areas."

Skip was inspired to collect English coins by Pittsburgher Ray Bryne, and spoke on the topic at the 1985 PAN show. He also wrote about the National Bank Notes of Tarentum, PA. and local history such as the Pennsylvania Salt Manufacturing Company, one of the earliest industries in Western PA. Numismatic connections included Cryolite Mining Tokens - the rare mineral was imported from Greenland and used to extract aluminum from bauxite ore by the Pittsburgh Reduction Company (later the Aluminum Corporation of America or ALCOA).

Two numismatic specialties we shared were Pittsburgh obsolete paper money and Communion Tokens. Skip assembled and exhibited an important collection of the incredibly rare communion tokens of Allegheny County, PA. In 2015 Skip co-authored with Robert Liddell a book on the Obsolete Currency, Scrip and Notes of Allegheny County, Pennsylvania.

Skip also served as PAN's Exhibit and Membership Chairman. Here's a photo from the June 2014 PAN eNews with the gold PAN shirted Tom Uram, Corleen Chesonis, and Charles Culleiton posing with US Postal worker Dina Lord. Tom is posing with a First Day Cover honoring the placement of the motto "In God We Trust" on coinage. -Editor

To read the complete article, see:
Charles J. Culleiton (https://www.legacy.com/us/obituaries/triblive-valley-news-dispatch/name/charles-culleiton-obituary?id=60482479)