“Uncle Pete” Kolody went home to be with the Lord in the summer of 2008. Pete’s service to the Lord at PBU is legendary, having served more than 30 years as PBU’s maintenance and grounds supervisor. The impact of his life upon the students who knew him is incalculable. Many students can recount the days of Pete “holding court” in the dining commons interacting with students, always with a hearty smile and a word of encouragement. His voice calling out the words “son” or “doll” still resonates in the ears of many PBU graduates.
Pete’s commitment to PBU and its students was a core value of his life even in his Homegoing. Upon the directive of his Will, PBU has been the recipient of a gift that established the Pete Kolody Memorial Endowment with the purpose of providing scholarships for PBU students.
If your life was touched by Pete’s, would you please take the opportunity to send a special one-time gift to honor him and add to his endowment so that students can receive scholarship support for many years to come? Your participation would be a fitting tribute to honor the legacy of a man who loved PBU and its students in his life, and in his passing. Thank you for considering this opportunity.
Learn more about this and other giving opportunities on PBU’s website.
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The following is adapted from the article written about Pete as he was honored in the 2003 Milestone (PBU’s Yearbook).
Pete Kolody came from a family of twelve – ten children and his mother and father. His father had immigrated to America from Ukraine, and later came to Christ and became a pastor. At the age of thirteen, Pete accepted the Lord through the influence of a speaker he heard at a youth meeting.
Several years later, he joined the Navy and served in World War II. He was in many battles on the USS Gambier CYE’73, a small aircraft carrier. On October 24, 1944, his ship sank. Pete was told that he jumped seventy feet from the ship to the water while it was sinking. He survived in the water until he was picked up two days later. During the war Pete came to know the truth of Jeremiah 33:3, a verse that impacted his life. “Call to me and I will answer you, and I will tell you great and mighty things, which you do not know.”
After the Navy, Pete wanted to serve the Lord in ministry. He came to the Bible Institute of Pennsylvania, later PBU, and graduated in 1949. He worked a daily eight-hour job, attended classes at the Bible Institute on Tuesday and Thursday evenings, and spent Friday and Saturday evenings as a youth director in two churches.
Later, Pete came to work at PBU. Although his former employer kept asking him to come back, he refused and stayed at PBU because “I fell in love with the students.” Pete never regretted his decision. “I’ve spent the best years of my life here at PBU,” he testified. Although Pete never had a family of his own, he testified to the goodness of God, saying “Look at all the children God’s given me” at PBU. His advice to the students was consistent: “Stay close to the Lord and pray, because He will hear and answer your prayers.”
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