Paul R. Bodurtha, 88, Professor Emeritus at Hartwick College and a 50-year resident of Maryland, New York, passed away on December 15, 2023 at A.O. Fox Nursing Home in Oneonta, New York. He was born on January 19, 1935, in Oxford, New York, to A. Jerre and Lucy (Ingraham) Bodurtha. Paul married his college sweetheart, the former Jeannette Hedrick, on May 25, 1958, in Buckhannon, West Virginia, during their graduation week.

He is survived by his wife, Jeannette; son Alan (Jennifer) of Redding, Connecticut; daughter Nancy of New York, New York; daughter Kristin McCollough (Jeff) of Binghamton, New York; and five grandchildren, Kate Bodurtha (Reece Adamson), Russell Bodurtha (Nora), Emily and Nicolas D'Angelica, and Erin McCollough. He is also survived by his sister, Jean Guice, and several nieces, nephews, and cousins. He was predeceased by his parents, sister Marie Woodhead, and brothers Milton and Fred.

Paul received his early education in Oxford, South New Berlin, and Westfield, New York, schools and graduated from Rome Free Academy. He graduated with honors from West Virginia Wesleyan College, where he was editor of the campus newspaper, The Pharos. He did his graduate studies at the University of Arkansas and Pennsylvania State University. As a graduate assistant at both universities, he taught English composition.

Paul taught in the English and Theatre Arts Department at Hartwick from 1962 to 2000. His expertise was in seventeenth century English literature and British Romanticism, but he also enjoyed teaching an eclectic range of courses including folklore, Southern fiction, and a team-taught humanities course fondly referred to as "Sandbox." Paul was instrumental in the acquisition and establishment of Hartwick's Pine Lake Environmental Campus and was faculty director of several semesters in England held in Brighton, Wolverhampton, and London.

A voracious reader, he frequented both the Hartwick and SUNY libraries, as well as Oneonta's Huntington and the Milford libraries and various local booksellers. After being diagnosed with macular degeneration in 1998, he embraced and delighted in listening to audiobooks. He had a lifelong interest in cooking, honed by working in the kitchens of the Lake Placid Club and the New York State School for the Deaf in Rome, New York.

Paul enjoyed genealogical research and was extremely proud of his Welsh ancestry. In 1973, he traveled with his family to Bodwrdda Manor in Aberdaron, Wales, possibly the home of his ancestor Reice Bodurtha, who settled in Springfield, Massachusetts, in 1646.

At Paul's request, there will be no service or visitation. Memorial donations may be made to Hartwick College Pine Lake Environmental Campus or West Virginia Wesleyan College Library or a charity of one's choice.

Checks to Hartwick College with "Pine Lake" in the memo line may sent to: Hartwick College Division of Institutional Advancement, PO Box 4020, Oneonta, NY 13820. For West Virginia Wesleyan, checks with "Library" in the memo line may be sent to: WVWC Office of Development and Alumni Relations, 59 College Avenue, Buckhannon, WV 26201.

Expressions of sympathy may be sent to, www.lhpfuneralhome.com, the website of Oneonta's only family-owned funeral home, Lewis, Hurley & Pietrobono at 51 Dietz Street.