WILLIAMSBURG — Elizabeth (Betty) Mary Bodnar, daughter of James Peter and Elizabeth Helen Bodnar, formerly of Bridgeport and Stratford CT, passed away peacefully on Sept 20, 2021, surrounded by family.
Betty graduated from the St. Francis School of Nursing in Hartford, CT, and received a Master of Arts degree from Fairfield University in Connecticut. She also completed a certificate in surgery techniques at Skidmore College in New York. Later in her career, she had the privilege to serve as the president of the American Association of Occupational Health Nurses (AAOHN).
Betty loved to travel, particularly to Europe and Asia, and enjoyed the different cultures and cuisines. She was an avid skier and a regular on the slopes of Vermont. After retirement, Betty became even more active in her church, St. Emery’s, and especially enjoyed making traditional pastries for church events, and learned how to play piano. Betty was gifted with a lovely voice and shared that voice for weddings and funerals for decades at her church.
Betty, a native of Connecticut, moved to Williamsburg, VA, in 2015 to be closer to family. She is survived by her beloved brother, James S. Bodnar and his wife Mary, and was the adored aunt to her three nieces, Lisa Kowalewski, Amy Thompson, and Gina Wiatrowski, and her nephew, Jim Bodnar, and many grandnieces and grandnephews. She was a resident of the Verena for the past four years, and enjoyed her neighbors and the many activities.
Due to Covid, funeral services will be private. Betty regularly attended mass at the National Shrine of Our Lady Walsingham on the campus of William & Mary, she requested instead of flowers to please make a donation to the House of Mercy, 10 Harrison Lane, Williamsburg, VA 23185, right next to the Shrine. Burial will take place at St. Michael’s Cemetery in Stratford, Connecticut.