Obituary of Olga S. Olnas

Olga S. Olnas, age 94, passed away peacefully on February 15, 2023 with her daughter and granddaughters by her side.

Olga was born on March 11, 1928 in New York City, the daughter of Wasyll and Ksenia Luch Fedyk.  After the death of her mother in February of 1929, Olga was raised by her maternal aunt and uncle, Peter and Eudoxia Luch Kluba in Saugerties, NY.  Upon graduation from Saugerties High School in 1946, Olga accepted a position with the Civilian Aeronautics Administration, now the Federal Aviation Administration.  On October 10, 1948, she married Andrew Stecknowitz at St. George’s Ukrainian Catholic Church in New York City, who passed away on April 3, 1975.  She later married Stephen Olnas on December 30, 1982 at St. Paul’s Church in Rome, NY, who died on June 25, 2009. 

In November 1989, after 42 years of federal service, Olga retired from her position as the Administrative Officer of the Directorate of Reliability & Compatibility at the Rome Air Development Center on Griffiss Air Force Base. She was a long standing member of St. Paul’s Church, and in her later years, the Ava Dorfman Senior Center.  She was a passionate volunteer of the American Red Cross, working at the area’s Blood Mobiles for over a decade.  

Olga is survived by her daughter, Barbara Stecknowitz Fontana, and her husband, Joseph Fontana, her granddaughters Jessica Fontanta Celento and Andrea Fontana Paoni and their spouses, Philip Celento and Nicholas Paoni, and four great grandchildren, Giuseppe, Luca, and Sofia Celento, and Carlo Paoni.  Also surviving is a special cousin, Karen Panek Vogel and nephew, The Honorable Major General USAF (Retired) Robert F. Behler.

Olga’s family wishes to extend a note of sincere thanks and appreciation to the staff of Rome Health/Residential Health Care Facility, for their conscientious and caring attention to Olga over the last 4 years.  In lieu of flowers, please consider contributions to the American Red Cross or St. Paul’s Church in Rome, NY.

A Mass of Christian Burial will be held on Saturday, February 18^th at 11:00 a.m. St. Paul’s Church, 1807 Bedford St., Rome NY 13440. Interment will take place in St. Peter’s Cemetery. Family and friends are invited to call at Nunn and Harper Funeral Home, Inc., 418 N. George St., Rome NY 13440, on Friday, February 17^th from 4-6:00 p.m.