May 8, 2020 8 min read

Coral “Buzz” Brodak said her husband of nearly 60 years, John G. Brodak – who passed away April 25 following a lengthy illness – was a dedicated businessman who not only devoted his life to his family, community and country, he lived his life to the fullest.

The Carmichaels icon, who was 81 years old at the time of his passing, was well known for many impressive attributes, but his lifelong passion for business and community was unequaled, spanned nearly seven decades since he got his first job in 1952.

“He was such a hard worker his entire life, but he was also a kind and generous man who truly loved his family, and his community,” Coral Brodak said.

John and Coral were married on October 21, 1960, the beginning of a marital partnership spanning nearly six memorable decades.

“I was 19 and he was 21 when we were married, and we’ve been together ever since,” she said. “We were a great couple, just great together. A team. He is with me every day, and I believe he is now busy pursuing business ventures in heaven.”

Coral Brodak said her husband’s perseverance and determination in business also paralleled with his personal life. He was diagnosed with throat cancer in 2014, then later was told he had prostate cancer and later still esophagus cancer. And each time he received a diagnosis, he valiantly fought and eventually beat it.

However, his continuous health issues resulted in him being diagnosed with Acute Respiratory Distress Syndrome, which led to his passing.

“Through six long years of battling, John never stopped fighting, never gave up,” Coral said. “He was a true fighter. It was the same spirit that he always had, especially in business.”

To be sure, John Brodak’s business history certainly shows his work ethic and passion was unparalleled.

Born in 1939, John Brodak began working in his parent’s grocery store in Carmichaels at the age of 13. In 1955, he opened a hobby shop as his first business; in 1958, he became certified as an electrician and also worked as a disc jockey with the name of “Johnny Lee”; and in 1959, he went to work as a machinist at the Piatt Machine Shop in Washington.

He opened Brodak Hobby Center in Washington in 1961 and one year later he took over the Carmichaels grocery store from his parents and also founded J & G Electric.

In 1968, he remodeled and enlarged the Carmichaels food store and opened Brodak Printing Company in 1970. Four years later, he opened a grocery store in Millsboro. The enterpriser continued to expand his legacy when he built a new supermarket in Carmichaels in 1978, and in 1983 he opened a grocery store in Masontown.

In 1985, he enlarged Brodak Printing Company and opened Brodak’s Dari-Delite and Brodak’s Video Showcase in Millsboro, which were unfortunately all destroyed in a flood. However, Brodak was able to reopen these businesses within 40 days.

In 1988, Brodak remodeled the Carmichaels grocery store and opened Brodaks’ Video Showcase and Brodak Hobby Center in Carmichaels. One year later, he opened Brodak’s Holiday Travel International Agency.

1990 saw the construction of a large store in Masontown, and also during that same year he became president of the Flying Circus Flying Club, was appointed to the General Facilities Authority Board and elected treasurer, was appointed director of the Riverfront Development Board, joined the Carmichaels Lions Club and became president of the WKEG radio station in Washington.

In 1991, he opened a new grocery store along with Brodak’s Video Showcase in Masontown, and one year later he formed Brodak Manufacturing and Distributing Company, Inc. and published the first Brodak catalog of model airplanes and supplies.

The year 1994 saw the remodeling of the Millsboro store, and in 1997 Brodak was appointed to the board of directors of the Greene County Industrial Development Authority, which he served for five years. In 1999, he expanded the Carmichaels grocery store and purchased BY & O Props and PAMPA Products.

Coral said that as the following went by, her husband continued developing and adding to his various businesses in the local area.

His dedication to community was also impressive. In 1966, He was elected the second youngest president of the Carmichaels Area Chamber of Commerce. He served as president, vice president and a director many times throughout the years.

In 1968, he became a member of Cumberland American Legion Post 400. He was also honored in 1974 to receive the Fourth Degree from the John F. Kennedy Memorial Council 3569, Knights of Columbus, Carmichaels; and in 1983, he was appointed a director in the King Coal Association by the Chamber of Commerce.

In 1985, he was elected second vice president of the King Coal Association while serving his fourth term as president of the Chamber of Commerce.

In 1987, he assisted in establishing the Fredericktown Chamber of Commerce and was elected its first president. And in 1989, he was made an honorary member of the Fayette County Vietnam Veterans Association and a lifetime member of the National Aeronautic Association and the Academy of Model Aeronautics.

He also proudly served his country. In 1955, he joined the Pennsylvania National Guard and served with Company K of the 110th Infantry. He was discharged from the Pennsylvania National Guard in 1963 with the rank of Sergeant.

His many plaques, awards and accolades are adorned on a wall inside his home, to forever serve as reminders of his determination, work ethic, commitment and generosity.

Outside of his commitment to business, community, family and country, Brodak enjoyed a lifelong love for model airplanes.

He attended the National Model Airplane Show in Cleveland, Ohio and was awarded 18 static wins from 1991 to 1995. In 1997, Brodak hosted his first Fly-In in Carmichaels with 36 entries, 77 flights of a two-day period. Over the years, this tradition expanded to include hundreds of entries. His last control line fly-in in June of 2019 brought hundreds of competitors from around the country and the world.

“The fly-in events were important to John, not just because he loved model planes and wanted to share that love with so many others, but because he knew holding the event would generate income for the local economy as hundreds of visitors from all over the world would be staying at Greene County’s hotels, eating at the restaurants, shopping here,” she said.

Prior to his passing, Brodak had planned to open a model airplane museum next to his other establishments in Carmichaels.

Coral said her husband also had a passion for traveling. In 2007, the couple took an incredible trip.

“It was our 47th anniversary and John said to me, ‘In case we don’t make it to our 50th, let’s do something special now,’ and we ended up taking a trip literally around the world, stopping in China, Egypt, Africa and many other places,” she fondly recalled.

“After that trip, I asked him how are you going to top that on the 50th?’ she said. “But he did top it. We spent an unforgettable week in lovely Venice with family. And that was one of many things that made John so special … He was a hard worker but he loved his family and always wanted to share with them.”

The news of John Brodak’s passing greatly impacted his family, businesses and community.

“I knew John my whole life, and his and Coral’s friendship is very special to me,” said Marianne Gideon of Carmichaels. “He was truly a wonderful man who greatly loved and cared his family and community. He was always willing to help anyone. He will be terribly missed.”

Craig Bailey, president of the Carmichaels-Cumberland Township Volunteer Fire Company, said Brodak was an avid supporter of the department.

“He was very generous to us and our fundraisers and was extremely supportive of the entire community,” Bailey said. “He truly cared about the people and businesses here, he wanted everyone to be prosperous and successful here. A great man who will be greatly missed.”

Nikki Albert worked with Brodak for over 30 years and said her employer was truly a special human being.

“He might have been my boss but he made me feel like family, and I know many other employees would say the same thing,” Albert said. “Nothing and no one was beneath him. He always try to help people, encourage them, he always tried to help people and other businesses.

“He lived life, loved life,” she continued. “He left behind a legacy that will never be forgotten. We are all going to miss him.”