Stephen "Stas" Ludwig Duda

Stephen “Stas” Ludwig Duda, 75, passed away peacefully on Friday, August 28, 2026, at his home in Winston-Salem, North Carolina. Born in Ingolstadt, Germany on May 11, 1951, to the late Stefan and Katharina Schrittenloher Duda. Shortly after his birth, the family immigrated to this country and settled in Cohoes, New York. While residing in Cohoes, he attended both St. Michael’s Catholic School and Cohoes High School (Class of 1969). During his youth, you could see him playing baseball, delivering local newspapers and hanging out at Van Schaick Golf Course. At the age of 18, he took his forever career at Bendix (Honeywell) in Green Island, NY, where he became a lifelong member of United Automobile Workers (UAW). He was a communicant of St. Michael’s Church and member of the Polish National Alliance (PNA) Lodge 1684 both of Cohoes, NY. He will best be remembered for his favorite role of playing Santa at the annual children’s Christmas party. In his retired years, he moved to Winston-Salem, NC to be closer to his cherished family.

He was avid Los Angeles Rams and Dodgers fan. His highly competitive side made him the annual organizer of our Superbowl Sunday event, all other sporting event picks, and a regular at the basement poker table. His favorite moment of every family gathering was playing LCR and being the personal banker. He was a man of many collections; whether that be baseball cards or most importantly, his coins. In his later years, you could find him driving around town going from bank to bank getting boxes of rolled coins of all kinds. He would happily spend hours organizing and sorting them. His many stacks of coin books, McD’s cups, and all of his army piles of coins will truly be missed.

Surviving, are his loving wife of 50 years, Krystyna Duda; three daughters, Vanessa Pratt (Dave), Carina Madzelan (Paul) and Daniella Tysinger (Mike); six grandchildren, Alina, Lucas, Jacob “Kuba”, Magdalena “Maggie”, Viola, and Clara. Also surviving are his sister, Jane DiSisto and many nieces and nephews. A Mass of Christian Burial will be held at 3:00 PM Friday, September 4, 2026, at Our Lady of Mercy Catholic Church in Winston-Salem, NC. Burial will follow at Parklawn Memorial Park. Visitation will be at Hayworth-Miller Silas Creek Chapel, Thursday, September 3, from 6-8 PM. In lieu of flowers, memorial donations may be made to Our Lady of Mercy Catholic Church, 1730 Link Rd. Winston-Salem, NC 27103.