Donald E. "Don" Bodien Obituary (1927 - 2014)

Donald E. "Don" Bodien, age 86, passed away at 8:24 a.m. Tuesday, August 19, 2014 at Heartland Healthcare, Normal. His funeral will be 10:30 a.m. Monday, August 25, 2014 at Christ Lutheran Church, 311 Hershey Road, Normal, with Rev. Christopher Hull and Rev. Jonathan Huehn officiating. Entombment will be in the mausoleum of Park Hill Cemetery, Bloomington. Visitation will be from 1-3 p.m. Sunday, August 24, 2014 at Carmody-Flynn Williamsburg Funeral Home, 1800 Eastland Drive, Bloomington, with a brief prayer service at 3 p.m. Additional visitation will be for " hour prior to services Monday at the church. In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions may be made to Christ Lutheran Church Education Scholarship Fund. He is survived by his beloved spouse, Lois Jean (Hall), sons Mark (Linda) of Upper Arlington, OH and David (Patty) of Grosse Pointe Park, MI; and step daughter Brenda (George) Martinez of Bloomington. He was the cherished grandfather of 9 grandchildren " Laura of Santiago Chile, Matthew of Denver, CO, David Jr. (Monica) of Grabil, IN, Rachel of Los Palmdale, CA, and Stephanie (Doug) Carder, Ann, Amy, Jack, and Mary Kate of Grosse Pointe Park, as well as 5 step grandchildren Mario, Monique, Madianna, Mateo of Bloomington, and Marina of Denver CO. He is also survived by sister-in-law, Maxine Ploense, nieces and nephews Jeanine Bittinger, Shelly, John (Teresa), Kerry (Cindy), James (Kathy Berger), and Tim Westbrook of the Seminole/Tampa, FL area, and Vicki and Melanie Bodien of Phoenix, AZ. He was preceded in death in 1997 by his loving wife and mother of his two sons, Constance M. (Oleniczak) Bodien; a brother, Robert (Beverly, Coleen), a sister, Bernice (Harold) Westbrook, and parents Gilbert J. and Lydia P (Richter) Bodien. Don was born Sept. 27th, 1927 in Milwaukee, WS, served in the US Army in Korea, then attended the University of Wisconsin, and began his 4 decade career with General Electric in Milwaukee. He married Connie in 1959, and moved to Schenectady NY, followed by a transfer to General Electric Controls in Bloomington, IL in 1961. As an accountant and controller for GE, Don was also extremely involved in the General Electric Employees Club as treasurer for several decades. Don and Jean were married in 1999, and have been great companions enjoying traveling and grandchildren for the last 15 years. Don also loved grilling any kind of meat, watching Wisconsin, Notre Dame, and Green Bay Packers football, as well as playing a good card game of Sheepshead or Euchre, and singing hymns in church. He was also the faithful father to his beloved pets, Snowball, Lady and Max, who were constant companions and loving entertainment.