Ethel Bohaty
April 25, 1919 - December 04, 2011
Palm Bay, Florida Ethel Bohaty, University Professor, Dies
On Sunday December 4, 2011 at 10:10 am Ethel Bohaty passed on.
Ethel was born on April 25, 1919 in El Paso Texas. She was one of five children and her family was very close. While she had many wonderful childhood memories, one memory, which stayed with her entire life was that of the flaming crosses set afire by the Ku Klux Klan in the foothills of El Paso which were behind her house. Because her father was a prominent member of the Knights of Columbus in the Western United States, her family was subject to harassment by the Klan. Partially as a result of that childhood experience, she was a lifelong opponent of religious and racial discrimination.
As a young child she was a gifted musician and played classical piano for the local El Paso radio station on Saturdays.
When she was a young teenager the family moved to Mexico City, Mexico where she completed her high school education at the American high school. While in Mexico she not only learned Spanish but also taught herself French, because she was fascinated by the language. After graduating form high school she attended Ursuline College in Cleveland, Ohio where she received a degree in French, after having spent three years as a music major. She was an outstanding French student and was awarded the French medal by the French government. This medal was awarded to the outstanding French student in the United States.
After graduating from college she joined the American Red Cross because she wanted to participate in the war effort in World War II. She was stationed in North Africa where she had the rank of Captain. While in North Africa she met many famous people and dated a number of them, including Winston Churchill's son and Franklin Roosevelt's son, as well as a number of movie actors. All of that changed when she met a dashing young Second Lt. Bombardier Navigator from Indianapolis, Indiana named Charles O'Connor. Lt. O'Connor had been the captain of his college football team at Butler University and was drafted out of Indiana University Law School into the horse cavalry. He left the horse cavalry to volunteer for the Army Air Corps because “I did not want to sleep in a tent.” Lt. O'Connor informed her that she should stop dating all of those celebrities and when she asked him why he said, “ because you are going to marry me.” When asked about that she always smiled and said “I just could not think of it being any other way. He swept me off my feet.” After they completed their tours of duty in North Africa they were married. Ethel gave birth to their son Edward in Lake Charles Louisiana at the Army Air Corp base on December 2, 1944.
Ethel and her Lieutenant (who eventually became a lawyer and a full colonel)were later divorced but remained close friends throughout their lifetimes.
Ethel (who also was known as Pat, or “Aunt Pat”) returned to her studies at Michigan State University where she received a masters degree in French literature with a concentration in Medieval French. She subsequently taught French at Eastern Michigan University and was a Professor at Northern Michigan University in Marquette, Michigan.
She later fell in love with and married Charles Bohaty a businessman from Cleveland, Ohio. Ethel and Charles moved from Cleveland, Ohio to Floridana Beach, Florida a place they both dearly loved.
Her last years were spent at the Palms Rehabilitation Center in Palm Bay, Florida where the kindness and attention of the staff brought her great joy. She had many fine friends at Palms, including Terry Sablett, Ouida Harper and “ my dear friend” Andrea de Grasse. Ethel was always proud of her appearance and Andrea took care of her every day making sure her clothes were just right; that her hair was just right; and that her makeup was perfect. When Ethel was having a bad day everyone knew it was because it was “Andrea's day off”.
Ethel is survived by her son attorney Edward F. O'Connor of Mission Viejo, California and Jupiter, Florida; her brother Vincent Savage of Silver Spring, Maryland; and her extended family and friends
Funeral Information
Viewing will be on Thursday, December 15, 2011 from 5:00 PM to 8:00 PM at Palm Bay Funeral Home, 950 Malabar Road SE.
A Funeral Mass will be celebrated on Friday, December 16, 2011 at 10:00 AM at Immaculate Conception Catholic Church, 3780 Highway A1A, Melbourne Beach.
Interment will follow in Fountainhead Memorial Park, Palm Bay.
DirectionsVisitation: Map to Palm Bay Funeral Home Service: Map to Immaculate Conception Catholic Church, Melbourne Beach Cemetery: Map to Fountainhead Memorial Park |
