Friends, family mourn passing of Stephen Makitra
By ROB PRICE THE COURIER-ADVOCATE

Makitra

BATH - Central Steuben County and the Village of Bath in particular lost a friend recently with the passing of Stephen Makitra on June 21.

The founder of Makitra Real Estate, Makitra died at the age of 85 at the Bath Veterans Hospital.

A veteran of World War II, Makitra was featured in a 2005 German documentary on the sinking of the SS Leopoldville, an allied troopship that was torpedoed on Christmas Eve 1944 about five miles off the coast of France. Makitra was a crewman on a PT boat dispatched to the scene with other vessels in a frantic effort to rescue American GIs from the frigid waters of the English Channel. About 800 soldiers died in the disaster.

Makitra and other PT crewmen were able to rescue six soldiers - a full load for their craft.

But as the sun rose on Christmas Eve, they could not avoid a fearful sight: stacks of dead soldiers on the Cherbourg docks. "They piled the dead up like logs," Makitra recalled for the film crew. "It was a sad, sad mess for that outfit."

Makitra returned to western New York, where he and his twin brother, Tony, opened a restaurant in Elmira. He founded Makitra Real Estate in the 1970s.

An active member of the community, Makitra belonged to the VFW, the Elks Club, the American Legion, the World War II PT Boat Association and the New York State Association of Realtors.

He leaves behind numerous survivors, including his son, Steven A. Makitra of Bath. A Mass of Christian Burial was held Saturday at St. Mary's Church.

A complete obituary appears on page of this edition of The Courier