Gary Steffen Bognar

Born December 1, 1937 in Cleveland, Ohio to parents Alice (Steffen) and Steve Bognar and was the elder of two sons. Gary spent his youth in the family home on the West Side of Cleveland and was active in Boy Scouts, achieving Eagle status as a teenager. Schools included Willard Elementary, Wilbur Wright Junior High and West technical High, where he graduated with highest technical honors in 1955.

Although he studied aircraft in high school, when he started work it was as a drill press operator at U-Tool & Die and Rupp Forge. Within a year he joined Clevite-Harris as a draftsman, designing molding dies for rubber bushings that took him out of a shop environment. He went on to work for Park Drop-Forge designing forging and trim dies for large crank shafts and piston rods and then to Allison, a division of General Motors as an inspection and manufacturing engineer.

In 1969, design work called again and he, and the family, moved to Phoenix, Arizona to begin work at AiResearch/Garrett, later known as Allied-Signal and then Honeywell. Through many company name changes, he stayed and became a senior design engineer of turbine engines, finally retiring in 1996.

Along the way as he was building his career, he met Kathy (Fagan) in 1956, fell in love and married November 30, 1957. A testament to enduring love, their 69-year union was always a strong foundation for their family.

Gary was an active member in the AiResearch/Garrett Gun Club while he was working and he and his team took the top honors several times over the years. Blackjack was his game of choice in retirement and he played regularly with his gambling buddies and even participated in several local tournaments. And, he had a real passion and talent for trivia, playing along with game shows and in local residential events.

He is survived by his beloved wife, Kathy; his children, Michael, Michelle Mazurek, Marcia Wepfer (Tim), and Monica Kennedy (Ron); his grandchildren Jesse Mazurek (Sandra), Jessica Hamilton, Jonathan Wepfer (Lindsay), Forrest Kennedy, and Nicholas Wepfer (Madison); and his great grandchildren Serena Hamilton, Bryce Graves, Evalyn Mazurek and Damon Mazurek. He was preceded in death by his parents and his brother, Brent.

A memorial service will be held at Valley of the Sun Mortuary & Cemetery, 10940 E. Chandler Heights, Rd., Chandler, AZ on Saturday, October 3, 2026 at 11:00 a.m..