Bodo, Barry O’Neil
Barry O’Neil Bodo (July 3, 1940 – December 28, 2023) departed this world surrounded by his loved ones. Born in Allentown, Pennsylvania to Stephen Bodo and Florence Miller Bodo of Northampton, a German, Polish and Hungarian community.
Raised in the family home in the village of Weaversville, Barry grew up with his German-Hungarian roots and cultures and a long line of patriotic family members. His father served in the U.S. Navy in World War II, and Barry continued the family’s military service in the U.S. Navy Air starting in his teenage years.
In 1957 at age 16, Barry met the love of his life, Betty Jane Hoffman, 15, while visiting her family’s swimming pond. Both Barry and Betty graduated high school in 1958, and Barry left in July to serve in the US Navy Air. During his training, they became engaged, and they married on May 16, 1959 while on leave.
His home base was Brunswick, Maine, but he was stationed in Iceland where he served overseas in communications on a P2V airplane and traveled to numerous countries, including Denmark, Norway, Spain, and Italy.
Honorably discharged, he and Betty resided in Pennsylvania, together renovating the family home that his father bought in the 1940s. Barry was an entrepreneur and had numerous businesses, including a successful arts and crafts shop in the 1970s-80s. They pioneered the arts and crafts niche in the Lehigh Valley region during those years and traveled throughout the region and the east coast attending trade shows. Barry and Betty later embarked again together as a team, where he became manager of the Northampton Community Center, which was originally a cement mill that produced concrete for the Panama Canal. Barry directed all events at the facility, and Betty managed all menus and catering activities. When the facility was originally given to the town, it became the prominent catering and banquet facility for the Lehigh Valley region, and the Bodos hosted as many as 200 guests in the smaller hall and over 900 in the larger hall. Barry additionally managed banquets for a regional fire hall after retiring from the Northampton Community Center.
Barry and Betty both retired in 2005 and moved to Christiansburg, Virginia, where they were heavily involved in the lives of their grandsons, Nolan and Trevor, remaining supportive and active in their early and teenage years.
Barry enjoyed golfing and hunting. In his young adult life, he and his father spent time on a bowling team and traveled to different cities for competitions. Barry, Betty and the family spent time in the Poconos snowmobiling and fishing, and he taught his two daughters how to dance the polka when they were just little ones. He was a proud member of the Northampton Rotary Club for nearly two decades and served as president for several years; he was recognized by the Rotary Foundation of Rotary International as a Paul Harris Fellow in appreciation of his tangible and significant assistance given to the furtherance of better understanding and friendly relations between peoples of the world. He served on the Board for the local YMCA, the Northampton Area Chamber of Commerce, where he also served as Director, and on the Northampton Memorial Community Center Board of Directors. The Bodos were additionally passionate about international student experiences and education, and the family hosted four international exchange students in the 1980s.
Barry passed away at home surrounded by the love of his family on Thursday, December 28 after a series of illnesses. He is survived by his loving wife of 64 years, Betty Jane Hoffman Bodo, his daughters, Belinda Bodo Ierardi and Bethany Bodo, PhD, son-in-law, Tom Ierardi, and grandsons, Nolan and Trevor, as well as several cousins and wonderful friends.
A time of gathering in his memory will take place on Friday, January 5 from 3:00-5:00 pm at Horne Funeral Home on Franklin Street, Christiansburg, Virginia.
Barry loved his country, service to the community, his adoring family and friends. In lieu of flowers, friends are welcome to make a gift in his memory to either of his two favorite charities that are both meaningful to him and have assisted extended family through hardship: the Wounded Warrior Project and the Ronald McDonald House Charities of Philadelphia.
