They frequented the Pittsburgh Opera, Phipps Conservatory and the Pittsburgh Symphony, where they particularly delighted in Czech composers.

"They were so proud of being here and that the Pittsburgh Symphony was from their hometown," said their daughter, Joan Vondra of Fox Chapel.

Mr. Vondra, a retired insurance claims adjuster and an award-winning stamp collector, died Nov. 17 in his home in O'Hara. He was 86.

Born in New York City to Czechoslovakian immigrants, Mr. Vondra worked for such insurance companies as AIG and GEICO in New York, New Jersey and Pennsylvania until he retired in the 1980s.

His passion for collecting focused on Czechoslovakian stamps, and he served as president of the Czechoslovak Philately and editor of the group's newsletter, The Czechoslovakian Specialist. He also encouraged his wife to become a stamp collector, and her collections of Canadian stamps won awards as well, said his daughter.

His three children are now all collectors themselves, said his daughter -- of memorabilia related to Shirley Temple or astronomy.

Through his life, he took his role as a family man very seriously, said his daughter. "He was just always glad to see us, to come and visit us," she said. "He was a person who loved group hugs. He made you feel special."

Though he adapted to many features of his new hometown of Pittsburgh, he maintained a fierce loyalty to the New York Yankees .

At his burial ceremony last Thursday in Pittsford, N.Y., his children were pleased to see one of the men lowering his coffin into the gravesite wearing a Yankees cap.

"It was something that made us feel very good," said his daughter. "My brother said, 'Dad would have appreciated that.'"

In addition to his wife and daughter, Mr. Vondra is survived by two sons, Paul of Bellevue and Eric of Reston, Va.; and two granddaughters.

Following his burial, his family held a memorial service Saturday in Pittsburgh.

Memorial donations may be made to the National Czech and Slovak Museum in Cedar Rapids, Iowa.