DWORNIK, Clarence Dwain (Mo)

The White Mountain Independent, Show Low, Arizona - 05/18/2010 Clarence Dwain "Mo" Dwornik, 65, died May 12, 2010, at his home in Tucson. He was born in Tucson Aug. 21, 1944, the son of Joseph Dwornik and Dorothy Best Dwornik. He lived in Snowflake for 30 years and moved back to Tucson last year to be near his family, as he was in declining health. Mr. Dwornik was a master electrician and held an associate's degree in electronics from Northland Pioneer College in Navajo County. He worked for the Pacific Fruit Express Railroad for approximately 15 years and the Apache Railroad for approximately five years as an electrician, diesel mechanic and carman. He and his former wife, Lynda were foster parents to nearly 75 troubled teenagers boys and one teenage girl for a period spanning some 14 years. He was an accomplished artist and teacher of art, primarily in watercolor, oil paints, and pen-and-ink drawings. He volunteered his time to teach oil painting and watercolor painting in the Concho junior high school for several years and privately taught adults oil painting. Mr. Dwornik was raised in Tucson where he graduated from Sunnyside High School in 1962. He joined the U.S. Navy shortly after his high school graduation and served from 1962-64 aboard a destroyer based in California. His service included time during the Cuban missile crisis in 1962. During his service Mr. Dwornik lost a tooth in a fight. When he was released from the service and returned to Tucson, his Mexican friends called him molacho, which means toothless in Spanish. From then on he was known by his nickname, "Mo." He was a member of the St. Demetrios Greek Orthodox Church in Tucson and for some 44 years was a member of the Worldwide Church of God. Mr. Dwornik is survived by brothers Joseph Dwornik and Randall Dwornik, both of Tucson and William Dwornik of Lorena, Texas; sisters Donna Tang and Caroline Bersbach, both of Tucson; son Mack Dunham and two grandchildren Jake and Paige, all of Tucson. His parents and brother Daniel Dwornik, preceded him in death. Services for Mr. Dwornik will be held Wednesday, May 19, at the Angel Valley Funeral Home, 2545 N. Tucson Blvd. in Tucson, at 7 p.m. A second church service has scheduled for Thursday, May 20, at St. Demetrios Greek Orthodox Church, 1145 E. Fort Lowell Rd. in Tucson, at 10 a.m., followed by a graveside service at the Veterans Cemetery, 1300 Buffalo Soldier Trail in Sierra Vista at 1 p.m. May 20.