BIERNAT - Leon J. November 14, 2011. Beloved husband of the late Sophie (Tarkowska); dear father of Catherine (Barry) Debbins and Rev. Leon J. Biernat; loving grandfather of Andrew and Christopher Debbins; dear brother of the late Charles (late Blanche), Joseph (late Helen), Stanley (late Marge), Walter and Thaddeus (Dorothy) Biernat; brother-in-law of the late Martha and Peter Kroczynski; also survived by many nieces and nephews. Visitation at the KOLANO FUNERAL HOME, 396 Amherst St. (near Grant) Thursday and Friday 2-4 and 6-8 PM. A Mass of Christian Burial will take place at Assumption Church, 435 Amherst St., Saturday at 9 AM. Please assemble at church. Mr. Biernat was a lifetime member of the parish Holy Name Society, a US Army veteran of WW II and a member of Post #1041 American Legion. Donations to the Assumption Church Preservation Fund are preferred. Interment St. Stanislaus Cemetery with Military honors. Share online condolences at www.KOLANOFUNERALHOME.com


April 18, 1920—Nov. 14, 2011
Leon J. Biernat, a resident of Buffalo’s Black Rock neighborhood and a retired U. S. Internal Revenue Service agent, died Monday in Millard Fillmore Suburban Hospital, Amherst. He was 91.

Born in Buffalo, he was a graduate of Burgard High School and Bryant&Stratton Business Institute. He also attended American University in Biarritz, France.

During World War II, he served in the 94th Army Division, which was deployed to relieve the first U. S. soldiers who participated in the Battle of the Bulge, a major German offensive that was launched at the end of the war. He received the Bronze Star.

Mr. Biernat was employed by the IRS from 1947 until his retirement in 1980. He was a lifelong parishioner of Assumption Catholic Church and member of its Holy Name Society. He was a member of Niagara Frontier Post 1041, American Legion, and the National Association of Retired Federal Employees. He was a Civil War buff.

His wife of almost 50 years, Sophie Tarkowska Biernat, died in 2004.

He is survived by a daughter, Catherine Debbins of Lancaster, NY and a son, the Rev. Leon J. Biernat, Pastor of Our Lady of Pompeii Parish, Lancaster, NY.

A Mass of Christian Burial will be offered at 9 a.m. Saturday in Assumption Church, 435 Amherst St.

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