Edmund J. Szkaradnik, 84, electrical engineer, veteran

Edmund J. Szkaradnik, 84, of Downingtown, a retired electrical engineer, died of pneumonia Wednesday at Coatesville Veterans Affairs Medical Center.

Mr. Szkaradnik graduated from Northeast Catholic High School. During World War II, he served in the Army in the Northern France and Central European campaigns. After his discharge, he earned a bachelor's degree in engineering from Villanova University.

In 1948, he married Helen Potok, whom he met at a dance sponsored by a Polish American organization. They were very proud of their shared heritage, said their daughter, Rosemary Wilkinson. The couple raised six children in Rhawnhurst.

Mr. Szkaradnik worked for several firms and had a 25-year career with TRW Electronics in Philadelphia. He retired from TRW at 65 to care for his ill wife. After her death in 1991, he developed serious eye problems.

Although he was legally blind, he never complained. He lived in his own apartment and found innovative ways to cope, his daughter said. He kept up with current events on the radio and was a fan of the Eagles, Phillies, and Villanova sports teams. He was training to use a voice-activated program so he could listen to games on the computer before becoming ill, his daughter said.

Mr. Szkaradnik is also survived by sons Edmund, Thomas, Joseph, Michael and John; 13 grandchildren; and one great-grandson.

Friends may call from 7 to 9 p.m. tomorrow at Gutkowski Funeral Home, 305 Jefferson St., Swedesburg. A Funeral Mass will be said at 10 a.m. Monday at Sacred Heart Church, Swedesburg. Burial will be in Holy Sepulchre Cemetery, Cheltenham.

Memorial donations may be made to American Association for the Blind, 11 Penn Plaza, New York, N.Y. 10001.