Obituary of Chester Henry Sabotka

Chester (Chet) Sabotka was born in Tarentum, PA on April 10, 1943 to Chester (Gump) and MaryEllen Sabotka. In 1963 he married his childhood sweetheart Carol Massick and they had two children Chet Andrew, and Terri Lynn. After High School Chet went to Washington DC to work and Carol went to Clarion State Teacher’s College, but Chet went out to Long Beach California to get a job with Pittsburgh Paint and Carol didn’t follow until after the sophomore year in college. They bought their first house on 2436 Senasac Ave and both attended Long Beach State College. Chet was offered a better job with Coca Cola Foods division and in 1969 he was transferred to Seattle Washington to open that region. The company left the area and Chet formed his own business Gourmet Coffee Service, Inc. in 1972 that became the 3rd largest independent coffee service in the Northwest. Chet Andrew formed a sister company Gourmet Products, Inc. which is still serving the Seattle area today. Chet loved his family and was always there to be an assistant coach in Little League, to cheer on his daughter in Volleyball and to attend the coronation ceremonies at Federal Way High School where both children were on the court. When the grandchildren Blake, Vance, Kaden, Kylie, and Eleri came along he was there to watch their soccer and baseball games too. His youngest granddaughter Jacqueline was involved in acting and Chet also was there to see her participate in the talent show at Brown’s Point Elementary School. Although Chet never became a Real Estate Agent he was quite the entrepreneur and owned the large parcel across the street from Gethsemane Cemetery that had a gravel pit, purchased another pit that was used to build the 3rd runway of SeaTac Airport, had the acreage in Fife where the Moose Lodge was located and now houses the Caterpillar heavy duty equipment, bought 126 acres of land on the Green River and negotiated Salmon reclamation for the state, planned to build their 3rd floor townhouse at the commercial building on 288th and highway 99 but due to permitting problems ended up buying their existing home at Lakota Beach in Federal Way. He also developed a 9-unit housing project in Auburn, owned several rental houses over the years and now resided at the ADA loft that was completed this year. Chet is survived by his wife of 53 years, Carol; his son and daughter-in-law Chet A. and Bethlyn; his daughter Terri and the six grandchildren Blake, Vance, Kaden, Kylie, Eleri, and Jacqueline along with his beloved Service Dog, Sassy who had literally saved his life when he collapsed from low blood sugar. The surviving siblings are JoEllen who lives in Detroit, BethAnn and Ted who live in PA. Preceded in death were his parents Chester and MaryEllen, and his 2 sisters Sidney and Kathy. Funeral Services are to be held at Klontz Funeral Home in Auburn with viewing on 7/12 & 7/13 from 5-7 PM, Burial will be at Gethsemane Catholic Cemetery on 7/14 at 1-2 PM, and reception will be held at the Federal Way Senior Center on 352nd Street in Auburn from 3-6 on Thursday. Instead of flowers the family requests people to do something special with their loved ones in memory of Chet and to send a card or email to the www.Legacy.com letting us know how you remembered Chet.