Richard Bodner, 80, died at home surrounded by his wife, children and grandchildren on May 8, 2024. Born in Sandusky, Ohio, he was a 51-year resident of Oak Park. He studied chemistry at the University of Dayton and went on to Ohio University and Michigan State University where he obtained his PhD in chemistry. He worked for engineering firms and taught chemistry at Triton Community College.
He met his wife, Barbara, at the University of Dayton and they married in 1968. Moving to Oak Park in 1973, they had four children: Allison, Caroline, Rebecca, and Timothy. He had a special appreciation of the outdoors and loved to sail, ski, and spend time at their cabin on Beaver Island, Michigan. He was gifted at being able to fix anything and everything, earning the nickname in the neighborhood of “Mister Fix-It.” He loved spending time with his family, including his 11 grandchildren (Matthew, Andrew, Kane, Cameron, Jack, Graham, Alexander, Connor, Braedan, Bennett, and Kennedy), as well as two great-grandchildren (Jett and Hunter).
Rich and his wife, Barbara, recently moved to Baltimore, Maryland to be closer to family. Rich always tried to help anyone in need — even in his death he hoped to help others afflicted with Alzheimer’s disease by donating his body to Alzheimer’s research.
Gifts to support Alzheimer’s research may be directed to the Fisher Center for Alzheimer’s Research Foundation, P.O. Box 220, New York, NY 10150.
A celebration of his life will be held at a later date.