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Joan Helen Bogdan, loved the outdoors

May 10, 2014

Joan Helen Bogdan of South Bethany, passed away Thursday, May 18, 2014, at her home.

She was born Jan. 5, 1940, in Newburgh, N.Y. to the late Mary Schneller Claessen and Mathew Claessen. She grew up on the family farm/summer resort in Dwaarkill, N.Y., and graduated from Wallkill Central High School.

Upon completion of her education she began work for IBM in Kingston, N.Y., and was transferred to Rockville, Md. in 1959, where she worked as an executive secretary until her first child was born in 1965. In 1963 she married Julius (Ben) Benito Bogdan who was a custom builder in the Bethesda/Potomac, Md. area, where she helped with the office administration.

She and her husband used mostly their own labor to build a summer home in South Bethany in 1968. In the early years she often accompanied her husband on offshore deep sea fishing trips on their boat. In 1991 they sold their home in Potomac, did some remodeling, and retired to South Bethany full time.

Traveling with her husband and sometimes accompanied by her friends and two sons, they had adventures sightseeing and hiking in many countries. She loved the outdoors and was an accomplished skier, scuba diver and tennis player. Her friends were very important to her. She and her husband were some of the original members of Bayside Tennis Club in South Bethany. Cooking and entertaining were interests, as was gardening. She was a member of the South Bethany Women’s Club, South Bethany Historical Society and Bethany’s Best Book Club. Throughout her seven-year battle with ovarian cancer, she endeavored to stay active and keep everyone’s spirits up.

She is survived by her husband, Julius (Ben)Bogdan; her sons, Christopher J. Bogdan of Potomac and Russell C. Bogdan of Washington D.C.; Her grandson, Troy Conner Pohl-Bogdan; her daughter-in-law, Andrea Pohl; her niece Alice (Bunny) Sisk of Dagsboro; and nephew William Sutherland of Middletown, N.Y., and their children and grandchildren.

A memorial service will be held Friday, May 16, at 2 p.m. at the Ocean View Chapel of Melson Funeral Services, 38040 Muddy Neck Road, Ocean View, where friends may call after 1 p.m. Interment will be private.

 

 

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