It is with deep sorrow that we say goodbye to Luke John Kluchko – beloved father, husband, son, brother, and friend. Luke joined the Lord on August 19, 2020, at the age of 57, leaving behind grieving colleagues, friends, and family from around the globe.
Luke was born on March 8, 1963, in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, to John and Mildred Seymour Kluchko. After graduating from Belle Vernon Area High School, Luke received both his BS and MS from the University of Pittsburg. Luke began a long and distinguished career in 1994 with the U.S. Department of Defense supporting the Cooperative Threat Reduction program, leading work that was critical to national security in biological threat reduction and nuclear security. Throughout his 26 years of service to the United States, Luke received many awards and honors from the Departments of Defense and State, and from the governments of Kazakhstan, Russia, Ukraine, Azerbadjan, and Georgia. His work included diplomatic service in the U.S. Embassy Moscow, where he met the love of his life, his adoring wife Oksana Rustemova of the Crimean Peninsula, and the U.S. Embassy Kyiv, where he met many of his life-long friends and raised his three children – Marianna (18), Michael (12), and Emily (12) before settling down in Alexandria, Virginia, to be closer to the Defense Threat Reduction Agency in Ft. Belvoir. Luke is survived by his wife, children, father V. Reverend John Kluchko of the Orthodox Church, his sisters Melanie Nobile and Kyra Panchenko, and his mother-in-law Claudia Vinogradova.
The family appreciates your friendship, support, and allegiance during this hard time and in the future as they endeavor to spend their time with family internationally and nationally.
The family invites his friends and loved ones to a grave site service on Monday, August 31st, 2020 at 2pm at Bethel Cemetery, Wilkes Street Cemetery Complex, at 2 o'clock in the afternoon.
