Michael Richard Berdar, 76, of Comfort, Texas, died at 4:22 p.m. Tuesday, June 11, 2019, at Methodist Hospital in San Antonio. A memorial service for friends in Texas will be held at 1 p.m. Friday, June 21, 2019, at Holt & Holt Funeral Home in Boerne. A service for his family and friends in Pennsylvania will be scheduled at a later date.
Born Oct. 5, 1942, in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, Mike was the son of the late Simon and Hettie (Lambert) Berdar. He was one of six siblings. Until the age of 9, he lived with his family in the Hazelwood section of Pittsburgh. In 1951, the family moved to a farm in Venango County where he attended schools at Wesley and was a member of the Victory Joint High School Class of 1961. Mr. Berdar entered service with the United States Navy in August 1961. He trained at Great Lakes, Illinois, and as an aircraft mechanic he was stationed aboard the USS Midway aircraft carrier in the Pacific region. He was honorably discharged in 1966.
Upon his discharge from the Navy, Mr. Berdar went to work as a repairman for RCA in Philadelphia. Throughout most of the 1970s he worked for the Conair plastics company based in Franklin, Pennsylvania, and during that time traveled extensively throughout the United States and, on occasion, overseas. He relocated his family to Bryan, Texas, in 1979 when he accepted a position as a switching technician with GTE. He remained with GTE, later Verizon, until his retirement in 2007. During his years with the telecommunications company, he worked out of offices in Bryan, College Station, Buda, Kyle, Wimberly and Boerne.
He was thrice married, first to Layne Trace, March 4, 1966, in Hatboro, Pennsylvania, then to Sandra Brumbaugh, September 22, 1973, in Grove City, Pennsylvania. Mike and Layne reunited in marriage on Jan. 9, 1998, in San Marcos, Texas. They made their home in Comfort, Texas from 1998 until his death.
Mr. Berdar was always interested in his Hungarian and Appalachian heritage and did extensive research on the Berdar family tree. In what was the trip of a lifetime, he accompanied his niece Joanna Fuchs to Budapest, Hungary, and traveled with her to his grandparents’ home village. Mike loved movies, especially action, adventure, sci-fi and comedies. He had a way with all animals, cats in particular, and had many special four-legged friends over the course of his lifetime.
Mike is survived by his wife of 21 years, Layne Berdar; his daughter, Rebecca Berdar and her husband, Tim Busko, and their son, Aaron Busko, of Huntingdon, Pennsylvania; his sister, Bernadette Franks and her husband, Jim, of Oil City, Pennsylvania; his brother, James Berdar of Kennerdell, Pennsylvania; his sister, Anita Fuchs and her husband, David, of Polk, Pennsylvania; and numerous nieces, nephews and cousins.
Mike was preceded in death by his father, Simon Berdar, his mother, Hettie Lambert Berdar; his brother, Simon Berdar Jr.; his sister, Deborah Jolley; and twin sons who died in infancy.
In lieu of flowers, contributions in Mr. Berdar’s memory may be made to your local no-kill animal shelter or your favorite veterans organization.
Arrangements are under the care and direction of the staff of Holt & Holt Funeral Home of Boerne. To view the tribute video and share words of comfort with the family, please visit www.holtfh.com.
