January 01, 1970
JoAn Margaret Bozik
Following a full and remarkable 87 years of life, JoAn, of Alburgh, VT and formerly of Pittsburgh, passed away peacefully on August 11, 2019 following a courageous battle with Parkinson’s disease.
She was born on April 29, 1932 in California, PA, attended California Area High School, and received her B.A. from California State Teachers College (now California University of Pennsylvania) in 1953. She married Edward Bozik in 1954 and was married nearly forty years when he passed in 1994. Together they embarked on a life journey that took them first to Fort Worth, TX, and then to Sacramento, CA, followed by Tampa, FL; Trenton, NJ, where she received an M.A. in Speech Pathology from Trenton State College (now College of New Jersey) in 1962; Springfield, VA; Colorado Springs, CO; and Fairfax, VA, before returning “home” to Pittsburgh in 1976.
An energetic and inspiring educator of the deaf, she held teaching positions everywhere she lived, including a tenure at Gallaudet University in the 1970s. She continued her quest for learning at the University of Pittsburgh, where she received a Ph.D. in Educational Psychology in 1985 at age 53 and then worked as an Educational Psychologist for the Allegheny Intermediate Unit until her retirement in 1999. She was generous to people she worked with, especially teachers early in theircareers, and to those less fortunate, including a Vietnamese refugee family she took into her home in 1975-76 after the fall of Saigon. In Vermont, she continued to give to others through her work on the boards of Island Arts and the Champlain Islands Parent Child Center. She embraced change and challenges with boundless optimism and energy and taught those who knew her that nothing was impossible. She will be greatly missed.
JoAn was preceded in death by her loving husband, Edward, a United States Air Force veteran and, like JoAn, a career educator; her parents, Margaret and John; and her siblings Dorothy, Zita, John, Edward, and Eugene.
JoAn is survived by her children, Margaret, Michael (Beth), and Timothy (Elizabeth); and grandchildren Matthew, Anne, Charles, Daniel, Edward, and Mary.
JoAn’s family will welcome friends at DEVLIN FUNERAL HOME, INC., 806 Perry Highway, Pittsburgh PA from 4:00 to 8:00 p.m. on Friday, August 16, 2019. A Mass of Christian Burial will be celebrated at St. Teresa of Avila in Ross Twp. at 9:30 a.m. on Saturday, August 17, 2019. She will be laid to rest next to her husband, Edward, at Mount Royal Cemetery in Glenshaw.
Donations may be made to Franklin County Rehabilitation Center, where she received exceptional nursing care 110 Fairfax Rd, St Albans City, VT 05478. Expressions of sympathy may be shared with JoAn’s family at www.devlinfuneralhome.com.
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Aunt JoAn was an amazing lade. So full of energy and enthusiasm. I remember visiting her in Vermont and always enjoyed spending time with her. She was indeed a bright light to so many. God Bless you and God Bless all the family! Love Chris, Terri, Mekenna, Cheyenne and Steele
Dear Family of JoAn, What a lovely obituary to capture the essence of JoAN Stonick Bozik. JoAn was our teenage babysitter when we Tarka children were growing up. We lived across the street from her, her parents, and brothers and sisters. She was beautiful inside and out – elegant, charming, and kind. What a “full and remarkable life” ! She would sing the song “Lavender Blue” to us while she babysat us. We adored her! Her marriage to Ed was as magical as a princess marrying a prince.
May she rest in eternal peace.
Ann Louise Tarka Madia
JoAn was one of the best child advocates I’ve ever known. Working with her in an early intervention program , she inspired me to go back to school at age 50 for graduate work in school psychology so I could do the same kind of work she did.
I will always remember her as a smart, positive, caring woman (with a great sense of humor) who indeed made this world a better place.
It was an honor and a gift having you in my life.