Edward Anthony Olczak

SOUTH BEND—A memorial service for longtime South Bend attorney Edward A. Olczak, 86, who died Jan. 16 in Indianapolis, will be at 11 am. Saturday at Our Lady of the Lake Catholic Church in Edwardsburg. A former South Bend city court judge, he practiced law in South Bend for 58 years before he retired in 1996. His office for the last 33 years was in the 2500 block of Western Avenue.

For the past year he lived with daughter, Cynthia Beeman, and her husband, John, in Indianapolis, where he died.

Mr. Olczak was known in the 1940s, '50s and '60s for his involvement in local politics. He served as city judge from 1956-59 during the tenure of Mayor Edward F Voorde. Mr. Olczak also was chief deputy prosecutor under former St. Joseph County Prosecutor Patrick Brennan, a former state representative in the Indiana General Assembly in the 1940s, a former member of the city Board of Zoning Appeals and a Democratic precinct committeeman for many years.

He served in the Navy in the Pacific Theater in World War II and retired from the Naval Reserve with the rank of lieutenant commander after many years of service.

Mr. Olczak was born July 17, 1911. He was a graduate of the former Central High School and the University of Notre Dame, where he earned a bachelor's degree in 1933 and his law degree in 1937. After graduating, he practiced law with his father, Anthony Olczak. Mr. Olczak was active in many civic, veteran and church groups, including some at St. Mary of the Assumption and St. Patrick's Catholic churches.

He was married for 50 years to Magdalyn Lentsch, who died in July 1989. Survivors include another daughter, Marcia Gregg Szymczak of Cassopolis; six grandchildren; and four great-grandchildren. A son, Edward Jr, died in 1992. .

Mr. Olczak's body was donated to the Indiana University School of Medicine.

Visitation will be at the time of Saturday's memorial Mass, which will be followed by a lunch in the church hall. Memorial contributions may be made to the Our Lady of the Lake Catholic Church or to the Cass County Council on Aging, Cassopolis. 

Sources: Ancestry.com, Newspapers.com, and FindAGrave.com

12/21/2023 EJS

https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/177959828/edward-anthony-olczak