Stephen F. Bodnar, 92, World War II Veteran, Avid Student of History Especially of Hungary

He was born February 25, 1919 in Cleveland and grew up in both Cleveland and Lorain. In Lorain, he was raised in the St. Ladislaus Catholic Church parish house where his widowed mother was the housekeeper.

Stephen graduated from Campion Jesuit High School in Prairie du Chien, Wisconsin. He earned an Associate Degree in Aeronautical Engineering at the Curtis Wright Technical Institute in Glendale, California and then entered the US Maritime Service where he earned a Bachelor of Science in Marine Engineering. He joined the Merchant Marines during World War II serving in the Asiatic and Pacific. He worked his way up to Chief Engineer.

Stephen spent much of his career traveling the world for a number of engineering companies serving as a project engineer or supervisory engineer. Much of his career was spent with DeMarkus International Corporation of Buffalo, New York, overseeing the installation of plants for generating carbon dioxide, nitrogen and hydrogen. He also had supervisory engineering roles with Goodyear Tire and Rubber Co in Akron, HWH Associates Inc of Cleveland and Osborn Engineering Co of Cleveland.

In the late 1960's, he contacted the woman who had been his sweetheart before he went into the Merchant Marines. The correspondence led to a courtship and, in 1969, Stephen and Winifred Byrne, a Lorain native living in Cleveland, were married. They lived in Akron, Union City, Tennessee, North Olmsted and retired to Crystal River, Florida where they remained until her death in 2004. After the death of his beloved wife, Stephen moved to Avon Lake.

Stephen was an avid student of history, especially the history of Hungary.

He is survived by his nieces Janice Crosbie of Howland, Ohio and Mary Ann Kramer of Macedonia and nephews Doug Kramer of Elyria and Greg Kramer of Reston, Virginia. He was preceded in death by his wife Winifred Bodnar (nee Byrne) and parents Steven and Elizabeth Bodnar (nee Seber).

A memorial mass will be held Monday at 11 a.m. at Mary Mother of God Catholic Church, 310 8th St., Lorain. The Rev. Daniel O. Divis, pastor, will officiate. Burial will follow in Calvary Cemetery in Lorain.

Arrangements are under the direction of Gluvna-Shimo-Hromada Funeral Chapel, 3224 Broadway Ave., Lorain.

Online condolences may be made at www.gluvna.net.