Louisville, Colorado - Leonard Bogdan, 88, of Louisville, CO, formerly of Corfu, NY, passed away, Wednesday (July 4, 2012). Up until 2009, Mr. Bogdan had been a life-long resident of western New York, with 45 of those years in Corfu.
He was born October 11, 1923 to Joseph and Anna (nee Lempicki) Bogdan in Syracuse, NY. He graduated from Angola High School, and received his Bachelor of Arts magna cum laude in physics from the University of Buffalo in 1944. Mr. Bogdan served in the U. S. Army from 1944 – 1946, and during that time was involved in experimental work at Los Alamos, NM in support of the Manhattan Engineering Project.
Mr. Bogdan was employed as an aeronautical engineer and research physicist with Cornell Aeronautical Laboratory (later Calspan Corporation and Arvin Industries) in Buffalo from 1946 – 1982. He worked on development of aircraft instrumentation and conducted wind tunnel model testing for NASA’s Space Shuttle program. Later in his career, he was involved in vehicle research, including studies of emission control technology and tire property testing.
He married Margaret Derejko in 1955 in Cheektowaga. Besides being an avid stamp collector throughout his life, Mr. Bogdan had enjoyed designing and building high fidelity audio systems during the 1950s. He was a member of Sigma Xi, the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics and the American Physical Society. He was preceded in death by his wife in 2002.
Survivors include his son, Thomas (Barbara Cardell) of Boulder, CO, a daughter, Paula (Timothy Sawka) of Mt. Prospect, IL and his sister, Colette (the late Edwin) Jankowski. Family and friends may call Saturday 2-4 p.m. and 7-9 p.m. at the C. B. Beach & Son Mortuary, Inc. 4-6 Main Street, Corfu. Funeral services will be held Sunday at 1 p.m. from the funeral home. Burial will be in Evergreen Hill Cemetery, Corfu. In lieu of flowers, memorials may be made to HospiceCare of Boulder & Broomfield Counties, 2594 Trail Ridge Dr., Lafayette, CO 80026 or Evergreen Hill Cemetery Association, 108 E. Main St., Corfu, NY 14036, will be appreciated.
