PAUL FRANK BODI

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PAUL FRANK BODI

Peacefully, on November 18, 2023 Paul Bodi passed away at the Poseidon Care Centre.

He was predeceased by his beloved wife, Elizabeth, parents, Helen and Andrew, sister, Ibi and son-in-law Daniel McGurran. He will be lovingly remembered by his daughter Georgina, grandson, Jamie Paul (Alisa) McGurran, granddaughter, Jennifer (Geoffrey) Larner and three beautiful great-granddaughters, Alexa, Lillian and Julianna.

Paul was born on July 13, 1931 in Budapest, Hungary. In his early years he attended a private Catholic school and moved on to study at the Seminary. As Paul grew older conflicts of war emerged throughout Europe. Paul found himself at the young age of 19 being drafted into the army. Fortunately for Paul, his career in the Army did not last long due to his strong personality and unwillingness to conform.

In 1952 at the age of 21 he met Elizabeth and their love for each other grew quickly and they were married in 1953. Their daughter, Georgina was born the following year. In 1956 Paul and Elizabeth decided to escape Hungary, due to the Revolution, for the safety of their family. They boarded an ocean liner leaving family, friends and belongings behind in order to escape to Canada as refugees. After a lengthy voyage they landed in Halifax in 1957 and boarded a train to Winnipeg where they would rebuild their lives.

Paul worked many jobs to ensure food was on the table while he studied English and went on to pursue an education in agriculture at the University of Manitoba.

He had always loved gardening and decided that he would make it his life long career. With much hard work and dedication, he and Elizabeth opened Bodi's Garden Center in 1975, south of the Perimeter. Their business went on to thrive selling not only to the public but wholesaling to large companies such as Rona and Walmart.

For those that knew Paul, they were aware of his skillfulness of growing the most beautiful hot house tomatoes, always some of the first to be ready in the city. What began as an experiment of a few plants, grew into a labour of love and an average of 300 tomato plants yearly.

In 2006 Paul and Elizabeth decided to hang up the shovels and retire. They sold the business and moved to a lovely home in Southdale. He ensured that the yard had several gardens and a small greenhouse so that they could continue to be busy. In the winter months they enjoyed travelling to Hungary, Cuba and Australia.

Paul's love of life and family was endless. He spent many hours playing soccer or games with his great-granddaughters and could keep up with them with great ease. He enjoyed attending the Reh-Fit center to exercise daily and continued to do so well into his 80s. He attended St. Anthony's of Padua Roman Catholic Church weekly with Elizabeth and remained an advocate for the church and culture throughout his life.

Unfortunately, in 2018 Paul suffered a stroke, but with his continued determination he was able to progressively regain strength and speech. Even as he resided with Elizabeth at Poseidon Personal Care Home, he continually ensured that Elizabeth had all of her needs met before himself.

Sadly in March of 2020 Elizabeth passed away and due to the COVID lockdown a formal funeral was unable to occur. Paul was able to attend a small graveside funeral with family to lay her to rest, but he would forever be lost without his best friend.

Paul and Elizabeth were like two peas in a pod. If you saw Paul you knew that Elizabeth was not far behind. They both had a zest for life working hard every day but ensuring that their family came first. They doted on each other always making sure the other was well cared for.

As his granddaughter, I will forever carry so many memories that are very precious to me. Nagypapa always ensured that my brother and I had "lunch money", that he had candies in his pocket to share, and there was always a bottle of Tokaji wine or Millers Gold Label in the fridge in case he had a visitor stop buy.

Mass of Christian Burial will be celebrated at 10:00 a.m., Saturday, November 25, 2023 at St. Anthony of Padua Church, 365 Burnell Street. A private family interment will take place at Glen Lawn Cemetery.

Georgina would like to thank all the staff at Poseidon Personal care Home. Special thanks to Mike Crosby, who always took the time to answer all of her questions. To John and Yvonne, Paul’s nurses who made sure he had everything he needed and Agathe, who made sure he was well dressed, teeth were brushed and his hair was combed.

Sok szeretettel mindig es orokkre, nagypapa, amikor ujra talalkozunk, az unokad, Jennifer.

Glen Lawn Funeral Home

204-982-7550

Tributes: www.glenlawn.ca

As published in Winnipeg Free Press on Nov 23, 2023, Nov 23, 2023