- Date Of Birth: July 15, 1934
- Date Of Death: October 17, 2006
- State: Indiana
William Edgar “Willie” Magyar, 72, of 51710 Downey St., died at 12:25 p.m. Tuesday (Oct. 17, 2006) in the home of his caregiver, Carol Magyar O’Conners, in South Bend, after an extended illness.
He was born July 15, 1934, in South Bend, to Nicholas and Faye (Boatman) Magyar. On July 2, 1971, in Langdon, N.D., he married Valerie J. Schrader. She died in November 2004.
He is survived by three sons, Jeff (Beth) Magyar of Bristol, Tony (Marla) Magyar of Elkhart and Mike (Barb) Magyar of Fayetteville, N.C.; one daughter, Stephanie (David) Ouse of Indianapolis; 12 grandchildren; one great-grandchild; nine brothers, Joe (Sharon) Magyar of Raleigh, N.C., Jim (Dolly) Magyar of Bristol, John (Judy), Alex (Carol), Steve (Tracy), Garland “Pete” and Mike (Sandy) Magyar, all of Elkhart, Jack Magyar of South Bend and Fred (Joan) Magyar of Wakarusa; and two sisters, Joan Anderson of South Bend and Mary Ellen Grove of Elkhart.
He was preceded in death by one son, Robbie Magyar; one sister, Lois Toth; and one granddaughter, Megan Magyar.
Mr. Magyar and all of his brothers served in the U.S. military. He served more than 23 years, starting in 1953 with the U.S. Navy, where he served aboard the USS Des Moines during the Korean War. In 1957, he re-enlisted, this time in the U.S. Army with the 101st Airborne Division. He completed Ranger school in 1963, Special Forces training in 1965 and went on to serve three tours of duty in Vietnam as a Green Beret between 1966 and 1969, where he earned several decorations including a Purple Heart and a Bronze Star.
Upon returning home in 1971, Mr. Magyar was stationed at the Langdon Nekoma Missile site. In 1973, he retired from the Army as a sergeant first class and went on to work as a telephone lineman for the next 28 years in the Langdon area, retiring in 2000. He was a member of the United Methodist Church and the American Legion in Langdon, was an avid hunter and fisherman and enjoyed farming.
