Edward John Mordia

1937 - 2025

Edward John Mordia (Ed) was born on Feb. 27, 1937 in Harlem in N.Y.C. to John and Anna Janovicek Mordia and died at the age of 88 at Kimball Farms Nursing Care Center in Lenox, Ma. from complications of a second stroke, under the care of Hospice.

While living in N.Y.C., he was a member of the Holy Trinity Slovak Lutheran Church, and taught Sunday School there to adolescents for 16 years, maintaining an interest in religion and philosophy. It became evident at an early age that Ed had an extraordinary ability to read and retain knowledge and was recognized as a gifted student. He was accepted into the Bronx High School of Science and graduated in 1954 with an interest in chemistry and microbiology. He graduated from the City College of New York with a degree in chemistry and bacteriology. Ed proceeded to work as an Analytical Chemist with well known researchers, who utilized his expertise in instrumental chemical analysis. He worked on the Brooklyn Polytech Institute research project determining the three dimensional protein structure of bovine ribonuclease and at the Boyce Thompson Institute with Dr. James Arthur Rennick who became a world expert on plant pheromones. His first N.Y.C. Civil Service position involved working under Dr. Milton Helpern, Chief Medical Examiner of N.Y., analyzing drug overdoses. His last professional position was with the N.Y.C. Transit System, analyzing the quality of all materials utilized by the Transit System and doing site inspections and water analyses determining the origin and composition of leaks into the underground subway system to monitor for potential hazardous substances.

Ed retired in 1992 and enjoyed living in N.Y.C. with all of its cultural and educational opportunities and visiting family in the Berkshires. A sudden stroke in 2017 left him with physical limitations necessitating a move to Kimball Farms Assisted Living in Lenox to be closer to his sister, Susan, and where he developed new friendships, enjoyed visits and continued to demonstrate his remarkable memory and breadth of knowledge on many diverse topics. Ed was especially fond of Gilbert and Sullivan operettas and treated his sister to yearly productions by the Blue Hill Troupe in N.Y.C. for over 50 years, and could readily sing the witty songs for many of their productions at will. He is survived by his sister, Susan Kormanik, and her husband, Bill who will greatly miss his kind presence, keen observations and multi-faceted conversations on science, world events and politics throughout the years.

A service of remembrance will be held at Christ Trinity Church, Main Street, Sheffield, MA on Saturday, November 22nd at 10 am. Condolences may be made through birchesroyfuneralservices.com.