In Memory of

Stephen

E.

Gladysz

Obituary for Dr. Stephen E. Gladysz

GLADYSZ - Dr. Stephen E. Of Amherst, NY, September 30, 2018, at age 90. Beloved husband of the late Norma (Alexanderson); loving father of Dr. Stephen C. (Victoria), Paul (Darlene), Lynn (late John) Davies, Robert (Heather), Daniel (Michelle) and the late John (Gail) Gladysz; devoted grandfather of nine grandchildren. Visitation at the KOLANO FUNERAL HOME, 396 Amherst St. (near Grant), Wednesday 4-8 PM. A Mass of Christian Burial will take place at Assumption Church, 435 Amherst St., Thursday at 9:30 AM. Please assemble at church. Interment with US Air Force Military Honors in Mt. Calvary Cemetery. Dr. Gladysz was a US Air Force Veteran and was a member of the Niagara Frontier Post #1041 American Legion. He was a retired Optometrist with offices in Black Rock. He was an active supporter of the Boy Scouts, Lions Club and the Grant-Amherst Business Association. Flowers gratefully declined. Please share your online condolences at www.KOLANOFUNERALHOME.com

Dr. Stephen E. Gladysz, 90, optometrist in Black Rock for many years

July 3, 1928 – Sept. 30, 2018

Dr. Stephen E. Gladysz, an optometrist in Black Rock for many years, died Sunday in his home in Amherst after a period of declining health. He was 90.

Born in Buffalo, he was a graduate of Riverside High School. He earned a bachelor’s degree in biology from Canisius College and enlisted in the Air Force during the Korean War. A photo radar interpreter, he was stationed briefly in Japan and attained the rank of second lieutenant.

Returning from service, he received his doctorate of optometry from Pacific University in Forest Grove, Ore., in 1957.

Dr. Gladysz returned to Buffalo and opened an optometry practice in 1958 on Amherst Street near Assumption Catholic Church. He sold the business in the late 1990s and worked part time in the optometry office of Dr. Thomas M. Kaminska in Cheektowaga until 2010.

He was a past president of the Western New York Society of Optometrists and the Riverside Lions Club. He was honored as a Melvin Jones Fellow by the Lions Club International Foundation.

A former board member at Assumption Elementary School, he served as treasurer from 1968 to 1974.

He was a longtime member of the Grant-Amherst Business Association and a member of Niagara Frontier Post 1041, American Legion.

Active with Boy Scout Troop 142, based in Assumption Church, he received the Silver Beaver Award in 1995.

His wife of 62 years, the former Norma Alexanderson, who was office manager at his practice, died in March 2017.

Surviving are four sons, Dr. Stephen C., Paul, Robert and Daniel; a daughter, Lynn Davies; and nine grandchildren.

A Mass of Christian Burial will be offered at 9:30 a.m. Thursday, Oct. 4, in Assumption Church, 435 Amherst St.