John Bodoh

1931 - 2024

John Bodoh

May 15, 1931 - February 9, 2024

Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania - John J. Bodoh, 92, born May 15, 1931 in Marshfield, WI, the fourth of four children to Edmund J. and Margaret M. (Polzin) Bodoh. At the age of 14 he entered the Salvatorian Seminary at St. Nazianz, WI and graduated six years later after four years of high school and two years of college. Bishop Tracy of the LaCross Diocese then enrolled him at the St. Paul Seminary in St. Paul, MN. Mr. Bodoh received his B.A. in philosophy there and then took two years in theology at the same institution.

In 1955, after Mr. Bodoh left the seminary, he was drafted into the U.S. Navy. After basic training he served aboard the U.S.S. Everglades until he was honorably discharged in August of 1957, and immediately registered in the teacher preparation program at the University of Wisconsin (Madison), from which he graduated the following spring as a certified teacher of Latin and English. In the summer of 1958, Mr. Bodoh borrowed $2000 from a bank, purchased a 'round-trip airplane ticket to Amsterdam with the UW Alumni Association, and took up residence at the Sorbonne in Paris, whence he made a side trip to England. In the fall of that year, he was employed as a teacher of Latin and English at Arrowhead High School in Hartland, WI, a position he held for two years.

In the fall of 1960, Mr. Bodoh entered the graduate program in Classics at UW, earning his M.A. the following spring. That same spring, 1961, he married Diane A. Kerr. In January of 1966, Mr. Bodoh completed the graduate program in Classics at UW and was awarded the PH.D. From 1964 to 1966 he was employed as an instructor at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee. From the fall of 1966 through the spring of 1974, Dr. Bodoh taught at Texas Tech University in Lubbock, TX. In 1970 he published An Index of Greek Verb Forms and subsequently many articles, rising through the ranks – Assistant Professor, Associate Professor and Professor. In 1974 Dr. Bodoh was appointed Dean of the College of Liberal Arts at Clarion University in Clarion, PA. In 1982, a new president at Clarion brought in a new staff and Dr. Bodoh was retained as Professor of Humanities until his retirement in 1993.

In February of 2002, Dr. Bodoh participated in a book-distribution tour in Guatemala with the Cooperative for Education, a charitable organization out of Cincinnati. Overwhelmed by the conditions he saw there, he returned to Guatemala the following year to teach English in the town of Tactic. Coming to grips with the abysmal state of education in Guatemala and realizing how minimal would be the result of his teaching a couple dozen youth, he returned to the United States and founded a charity called the Guatemalan Student Support Group with the intent of putting impoverished Guatemalan youth through four years of high school and four years of college in the United States. Over the years, 48 Guatemalan youth participated in the program, 24 graduated from high school and twelve had between two and four years of college. Most of these students returned to Guatemala.

Dr. Bodoh passed away on Friday February 9, 2024 in Pittsburgh. He is survived by his sons, Peter Davis of Pittsburgh and Miguel Bodoh of Pittsburgh, daughters, Marie Lewis of New Bethlehem and Nicole Bodoh of Brentwood, NH, and grandchildren, Sarah and Rachel Lewis

A Funeral Mass will be held at Sacred Heart Church, Pittsburgh, PA, February 24, 2024 at 10 AM. There will be a private committal service in Marshfield, WI. Arrangements are under the care of the SIWICKI-YANICKO FUNERAL HOME, Russellton, West Deer Township. View obituary and leave condolences at www.siwicki-yanickofh.com