Obituary of Bernard J. Zawrotny

Bernard J. Zawrotny, 87, of Bath passed away August 2, 2023 at the Corning Hospital.

Born May 24, 1936 to John and Marie (Gronski) Zawrotny, Bernie graduated from Haverling High School in 1953 and Oswego State College in 1957 with a B.S.  He earned his Masters at the University of Maine.

He served 6 months active duty in the Army and 8 years in the reserves.  He then taught industrial arts at Corning Free Academy, West High School, and over 26 years more at Lakeland High School in Westchester County where he taught electronics and computers.  He was instrumental in helping to implement the computer program there.  He also was an advisor for the ski club and enjoyed ski trips to Europe.

In 1966 he married Gayle Calhoun at Saint Theresa's in Shinglehouse, PA .  She survives along with their son, Jeffrey (Lisa) and four grandchildren, Fritz and Annie Dyson and their father Rick Dyson, and Ian and Leah Zawrotny along with nephews, nieces, and cousins.  Bernie was preceded in death by his parents, his brother, Edward, and daughter, Michelle Dyson, his sister-in-law, Maxine, and his brothers-in-law, John, Gary, and Dennis.

Bernie's interest in old mills led him to join and eventually serve as vice president for the Northeast Chapter of SPOOM for a number of years.  He and Gayle made many trips visiting mills across the country.   He was a woodworker at heart and spent many hours designing and building things in his garage.  His love of trains led him to design a train depot as a storage building and later he and his dear friend, Brian, built a caboose near it which he dedicated as a playhouse to his grandchildren.  He also enjoyed taking his grandchildren on UTV rides through the trails on his farm.

Upon retirement, Bernie and Gayle returned to Bath and he became active in Save the Lyon and St. Mary's Choir.  He enjoyed mornings with the breakfast crew at the Chat and elsewhere.

Visiting hours will be Wednesday, August 9th from 5-7 P.M. at Fagan's Funeral Home.  A memorial Mass of christian burial will be at 11 on  August 10th  at St. Mary's Church in Bath.  Burial will be at the Rathbone Cemetery in PA at a later date.

In lieu of flowers, please make a donation to the American Heart Association or the American Cancer Society in Bernie's memory.