Joseph Bodkin, 72, of State College died of multiple myeloma (blood cancer) on March 3, 2007 at the Mt. Nittany Medical Center. Joe was born on November 5, 1934 in Pawtaucket, Rhode Island, a son of the late Edward and Emma Bodkin Tetlow.
He was married to Eltrude (Trudy) Seaman with whom he celebrated their 50th wedding anniversary on March 24, 2006.
Joe graduated from Shelby High School (Ohio) in 1952, then attended Ohio Northern University for two years before transferring to Southern Illinois University. He graduated in 1956 with a Bachelor's Degree in Chemistry and a minor in Math.
Upon graduation, Joe went to work for Battelle Memorial Institute and then on to the Chemical Abstracts Service of the American Chemical Society, both in Columbus, Ohio.
Later he worked as an Analytical Chemist at Sharp-Schurtz Company and at the Research Center of Anchor Hocking Glass in Lancaster, Ohio. In 1966 Joe accepted a position in the Material Characterization Laboratories at Penn State University where he stayed until his retirement in January of 2000 as Chief Analytical Chemist and Safety Officer for the College of Earth and Mineral Sciences.
While at Penn State Joe published a number of papers on analytical chemistry and was co-author on a number of papers in the fields of geology and geochemistry. In addition to his chemistry career, Joe was an avid photographer. He covered local news and sporting events for the local newspaper and photographed over 500 weddings over a 20-year period.
He also had the good fortune of landing the job of covering Penn State football games for the Penn State Alumni Association. This allowed Joe to be able to photograph the two National Championships as well as just about every home, away and Bowl game for almost 25 years. In addition to his wife, he is survived by his daughter, Ginny Altenderfer, and her husband, Chuck, and his granddaughters, Eliza and Leanza of Kutztown, PA; and his son, Gary Bodkin of Bellefonte, and his grandchildren, Joe and Carrie Bodkin of Newark, Ohio; and his mother in law Gertrude Seaman. He is also survived by a brother, Ed Bodkin, of Shelby, Ohio and a sister, Marilyn Fidler, of Plymouth, Ohio. He was predeceased by a sister, Ruth Mess. Through the years Joe loved being involved with kids - whether it was serving as a little league coach and treasurer of the Nittany Valley Little League for 10 years), going to Boy Scout camp for a week each summer, or spending a summer week in Wildwood, NJ watching his granddaughters perform. A celebration service was held on Saturday, March 10, 2007 at 2:00 PM at Grace Lutheran Church, 205 S. Garner St., State College. Visitation was held immediately prior to the service from 12:30 to 2:00 PM at the church.
In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions may be made to Centre Volunteers in Medicine, P. O. Box 10365, State College, PA 16805
A guest book can be signed or condolences sent to the famly at www.heintzelmanfuneralhome.com