Whether he was in the courtroom, on the basketball court or just being a dad, Duane Dudik was always ready for a challenge.

When his son Jonathan was an eighth-grader, Mr. Dudik decided to take bagpipe lessons with him.

"Although my husband became proficient with a bagpipe, he preferred to find a quiet spot to play," said Linda Dudik, a special education teacher.

Duane A. Dudik of Pleasant Hills, an attorney with the Downtown law firm of Scoratow and Dudik, died of a heart attack Sunday, Sept. 13, 2009, in a Buffalo hospital. He was 60.

His wife, whom he met when both were students at Westminster College, recalled her husband as being a low-key attorney who should have been a social worker.

"He had concern for his elderly clients, whom he felt would find it difficult to come to his Downtown office for consultation, so he traveled to their homes," said Mrs. Dudik, whom he married in 1973.

Allegheny County Common Pleas Judge Kevin Sasinoski recalled Mr. Dudik as an excellent attorney, but more importantly, "a good and decent person whose family always came first."

"He was well-liked and highly regarded by those who knew him. Duane enjoyed life and had a great sense of humor," Sasinoski said.

Christopher Dudik of Peters recalled his father's devotion to his family. "If I'm fortunate enough to have children, I will try to follow in his footsteps as a father.

"My brother Jonathan and I knew what it was like to have a dad who loved us above all else."

When Jonathan Dudik, now of Mt. Washington, joined the Duquesne University Tamburitzans, he befriended Juraj Adamik, a student from Slovakia.

"Duane treated Juraj as our third son. And Juraj treasured my husband as an 'American papa,' " Mrs. Dudik said.

Born in McKeesport and raised in Port Vue, where his parents still live, Duane Dudik was one of four sons of electrician John Dudik and his wife, Donna Pavelecic Dudik.

After graduating in 1967 from Serra Catholic High School in McKeesport, Mr. Dudik attended Westminster College in New Wilmington on a basketball scholarship.

He later attended Duquesne University and earned his law degree in 1975. Shortly afterward, he went into partnership with Martin Scoratow.

In addition to his wife, sons and parents, Mr. Dudik is survived by siblings John Dudik of Roseda, Calif., Darrel Dudik of Latrobe and Dale Dudik of Plum.

Friends will be received from 2 to 4 and 7 to 9 p.m. today at the John F. Slater Funeral Home Inc., 4201 Brownsville Road, Brentwood.

A Mass of Christian Burial is scheduled for 10:30 a.m. Friday in St. Elizabeth of Hungary Church, Baldwin Borough.

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