U.S., Obituary Collection, 1930-Current
Bodewes, Herman J.
Union Agent
A Mass of Christian Burial will be offered tomorrow for Herman J. Bodewes, a business agent for the Buffalo Carpenters District Council (AFL-CIO) for 36 years.
Mr. Bodewes, 81, of 70 Sargent Dr., Snyder, died Saturday (Feb. 12, 1977) in Millard Fillmore Hospital after a brief illness. He was the father of Herman F. (Buddy) Bodewes, current president of the Carpenters District Council.
A native of Seneca Falls, Mr. Bodewes joined the Carpenters Union when he came to Buffalo in 1922. He was elected business agent in 1938 and remained in that position until his retirement last Aug.1.
Besides his son, Mr. Bodewes has two grandsons who are active in the union. Terrance is business agent and Donald is fund administrator.
Mr. Bodewes was a life member of the Elks Club of Pittsburgh, Pa., and a member of a local Moose Hall.
He is also survived by his wife, Florence, and a sister, Mrs. Minnie Frisk of Elmira.
The Mass will be at 9:30 AM in Christ the King Catholic Church, 30 Lamarck Dr., Snyder. Burial will be in Mt. Calvary Cemetery.
Hayes, Henry L.
Funeral services for Henry L. Hayes, 91, former principal guard for the Erie County SWheriff's Department, were held today.
Mr. Hayes of 961 E. Ferry St died Tuesday (Feb 8, 1977) in Meyer Memorial Hospital after sufferingan apparent heart attack in his home. Burial will be at Forest Lawn.
A native of Natchez, Miss., Mr. Hayes was a guard with the Sheriff's Department for 30 years, serving as principal guard from 1952 until his retirement in 1959.
Mr. Hayes was a member of the Badge & Shield Club and First Shiloh Baptist Church.
Surviving are his wife, Mrs. Lillian Hayes; a daughter, Mrs. Joyce Banks; two grandchildren and a great-grandchild.
Klein, Mrs. Helen G.
Lorain, O., Feb. 12 - Private funeral services were held today for Mrs. Helen G. Klein, a retired teacher in the Buffalo school system, who died Friday (Feb 11, 1977) in St. Joseph's Hospital. Burial will be in Forest Lawn, Buffalo.
A native of Oil City, PA., Mrs. Klein lived in Amherst, O.
Formerly of West Seneca, she taught math and science in Buffalo public schools moving to Amherst in 1961.
Mrs. Klein was a member of the American Association of University Women, New York State Retired Teachers Association and the First Congregational Church of Lorain.
Surviving are her husband, Gordon F. Klein, and a brother, Thomas C. Kirkland, of Buffalo.
Berner, Apolonia
Of Buffalo, N.Y., Feb. 9,1977, wife of th elate William Berner; mother of Mrs. Norma Forge of Angola, N.Y., William Berner of California and the late Lorraine Rick; also survived by eight grandchildren and four great grandchildren. Funeral service from the Eugene J. Heil Funeral Home Inc., 8434 North Main St., Angola, N.Y. Friday morning at 11 o'clock The family will receive friends from 2-5 and 7-9 PM. Flowers gratefully declined. Donations may be made to the American Heart Assn.
Kubala, Josephine
Mrs. Josephine Kubala, 85, who with her late husband, Vincent, owned and operated the Kubala Furniture Stores, died Saturday (Feb. 5, 1977) in Mercy Hospital after a short illness.
They opened their first store in 1913 at 315-317 Amherst St. and later added two branch stores at 1502 and 1345 Broadway. The stores became a family corporation in 1940. She continued to operate the business after her husband's death until 1972, when she retired and the business was sold.
A native of Krakow, Poland, she came to Buffalo 70 years ago with her brother, the late Rev. Louis Chodacki.
She resided in the Black Rock area until her retirement, when she moved in with a daughter, Mrs. Sigmund J. Gucfa of Kenmore.
Mrs. Kubala was a member of the Polish Union of America, the Polish Roman Catholic Union of America and the Kolko Polek Charity Organization.
Surviving in addition to Mrs. Gucfa are three daughters, Mrs. Joseph J. Matala of West Seneca, Mrs. John S. Witkowski of Niagara Falls, and Mrs. Stephen J. Czerwinski of Kenmore, two sons, John E. Kubala of Snyder and Louis J. Kubala, 13 grandchildren and 16 great-grandchildren.
Prayers at 9:15 AM tomorrow in the Dombrowski-Celadzinski Funeral Home, 447 Amherst St., will be followed by a 9:30 Mass of Christian Burial in Assumption Church, 435 Amherst St. Burial will be in St. Stanislaus Cemetery, Cheektowaga.
Mrs. Norman Champagne
Syracuse, Feb 7 - Mrs. Mary Ann Champagne, 43, wife of Norman C. Champagne, vice president of Hughes Industrial Products Inc. of Clarence, will be buried here tomorrow in Assumption Cemetery following a 9:30 AM Mass of Christian Burial in St. Margaret's Church, Mattydale.
Mrs. Champagne, a former Buffalo resident, who moved to the Syracuse area six years ago, died Saturday (Feb 5, 1977) in Crouse Irving Memorial Hospital here after a long illness.
She worked as a telephone operator in the Main St. office of the New York Telephone Co. and in the Blue Cross office in Buffalo during the late 40s.
The former Mary Ann Tracy, she is survived by, in addition to her husband, two daughters, Lynn and Denise of North Syracuse, four sons, Michael, who is in the Navy, Norman Jr., Thomas and Kevin of North Syracuse, her father, Joseph Tracy and three brothers, Joseph, Thomas and Michael Tracy.
Siwiak, Jozef J.
Jozef J. Siwiak, Founded School
A Mass of Christian Burial for Jozef J. Siwiak, 70, a Polish army veteran who founded the Polish Saturday School here in the early 1950s, will be offered at 10 AM tomorrow in St. Luke's Church, 1300 Sycamore St. He died Friday (Feb. 4, 1977) after a lengthy illness.
Mr. Siwiak, of 64 Kosciuszko St., was a native of Poland who retained his Polish citizenship. After the German invasion, he escaped to Hungary and then to Egypt, where he enlisted in the 3rd Carpathian Infantry Division of the 2d Polish Corps.
He served under Gen. Wladyslaw Enders during the 1944 siege of Monte Ciasino. He was promoted from Lieutenant to captain.
He emigrated to Buffalo after the war and in 1951 organized the Polish Saturday School at St. Stanislaus Church, 389 Peckham St.
He directed the school until his retirement in 1971. He had received the Silver Cross of Merit with Swords for his war service. He was a former leader of the Polish Boy Scouts Association, the Parent and Youth Association of St. Stanislaus Church, the Adam Mickiewicz Library and Dramatic Circle and the Copernicus Foundation.
Suvivors include his wife, the former Karolina Gil, and three daughters, Mrs. Alicia Dadok, and Mrs. Maria Skora, both of Gorki, Poland, and Mrs. Christina Dudek of Shoczow, Poland. Burial will be in St. Stanislaus Cemetery, Cheektowaga.
