John Joseph Bawduniak, Jr.

John Joseph Bawduniak Jr was born February 9, 1948 along with his twin sister Johanna Bawduniak (later Jackie Smeller) to John and Marjorie Bawduniak in Bryn Mawr, Pennsylvania. His father had just returned from the war where he was a prisoner after being shot down over Belgium and captured by the Germans. He had one older sister Marjorie Bawduniak (later Marjorie O’Brien). His childhood was spent in Norristown, PA. He attended Devon Prep boarding school and played basketball in high school. He obtained his private pilot license at age 17 and was a lifelong aviation enthusiast. He attended La Salle college for one year, then enlisted in the Air Force in 1967 during the Vietnam war. He went to basic training in San Antonio, Texas and then on to Biloxi, MS for air traffic control training. He was stationed in Okinawa, Japan for a year and a half as an air traffic controller. After his service he returned to the United States and went to Boulder, Colorado. He worked toward his degree at University of Colorado and later finished his bachelor’s degree in Economics and Accounting from Prairie View A&M. He met Rebecca Aguero (Becky) on a blind date in Boulder and eventually the two were married on St Patrick’s day 1973.

John took a job with the FAA as a civilian air traffic controller in Houston, Texas. His first child, John Joseph Bawduniak III, was then born in 1975. Becky and John moved to Spring, Texas shortly thereafter. His second child, Sara Ann Bawduniak, was then born in 1979. They spent the next 41 years in Spring. When there was a national air traffic controller strike in 1981 President Reagan fired all of the strikers, and he took a job as a construction manager at General Homes. He was heavily involved in St. James Catholic church as well as various softball and basketball leagues, and played for a national championship soft ball team. He spent the majority of his free time at events with his children at swim meets and band events and piano recitals. A highlight of every year was the family trip to Panama City Beach, where the entire family met up and cousins and aunts and uncles caught up and maintained close relationships. During this period he also obtained a master’s degree in Business Administration from Prairie View A&M. He changed companies and went to work for MHI, another homebuilder. He moved from construction to new home sales, and eventually worked his way up in the company to become Vice President of sales overseeing Houston, Dallas, Austin, and San Antonio. John and Becky bought a beachhouse in Galveston, Texas and spent a large amount of time there for years. He retired from his position at MHI in 2015 and spent his time playing golf and traveling with Becky.

In 2016, John and Becky built a house in the country in Waco, Texas on his son’s land and moved to be closer to family. John and Becky traveled extensively and made trips to Europe, Costa Rica, Indonesia, Alaska, and all over the United States. He celebrated his 50th wedding anniversary with Becky in 2023. He had three grandchildren by his daughter Sara: twins Steven and Edward, and their sister Cecilia. He had four grandchildren by his son: Sophia, Sadie, Hudson, and Johnnie. He developed very special relationships with his grandchildren during

this time, and spent his later years playing golf daily, flying with his son and later his granddaughter, attending all of the school and sports events with his grandchildren, and he built two hotrods with his grandchildren.

Throughout his life, his priority was the relationships he built. First with his sisters, then his wife Becky, his children and his children’s friends, his nieces and nephews, and later his grandchildren. He had a profound impact on everyone’s life around him, and he will be missed dearly.

John is survived by his wife Rebecca, his sisters Jackie Smeller and Margie O’Brien, his son John Bawduniak III and his wife Lindsay, their children Sophia, Sadie, Hudson, and Johnnie, his daughter Sara Jacobsen and her husband Kelly, and their children Steven, Edward, and Cecilia,