Tony Nebesny

To view the funeral service via LIVE STREAM please CLICK on this LINK https://www.hdezwebcast.com/show/mr-tony-nebesny

Tony Nebesny, 82, passed away peacefully on Saturday July 17, 2021 after a brief illness.  Tony lived a storied and well-traveled life.  He resided in three different continents and visited over 25 countries during his lifetime.   Tony especially enjoyed his trips to Europe and Japan but most of all, he loved the United States of America and regarded his US citizenship as one of his greatest honors.

Tony was born in the southeastern province of Ukraine on August 11, 1938 and during WWII, the Nebesny family endured many hardships and fled from the Ukraine to Austria and eventually migrated to Brazil, South America.  Tony attended primary & secondary school in Brazil where he learned the Portuguese language and enjoyed playing soccer.   The Nebesny family lived and worked in Brazil for eight years while waiting for the opportunity to immigrate to the United States of America and in 1955, their dream finally came true.  Tony was 16 years old when he and his parents (Gregory and Anna) immigrated to the USA and they settled in Columbus, Indiana near other relatives that had immigrated earlier.  After graduating from Columbus High School, Tony attended Purdue University where he studied Engineering.  While at Purdue, Tony developed a love for rock & roll music and his preferred extracurricular activity was serving as a student DJ at the Cary Hall radio station… he even had his own “Tony’s Tune Table Show!”  and his favorite singer of all time was Elvis Presley.   Tony graduated in 1962 with a BS degree and remained a lifelong Purdue fan… a true Boilermaker!

Eager to begin his career, Tony joined Link Belt Co. in Indianapolis as an Engineer in the Bearing Division and started working just one day after graduating Purdue and served in many leadership roles over the years.  Throughout his career, Tony enjoyed the opportunity to travel across America and visit many countries.  Tony remained with the company through multiple mergers & acquisitions and eventually retired in 2001.  After his retirement, Tony continued to travel and enjoyed many vacations and cruises around the world.

In 1963, Tony met Irene Rudyj during a trip to Chicago and they wed in 1964.  Tony and Irene were married for 23 years and had their first daughter Anita in 1965, son Anthony in 1967 and youngest daughter Donna in 1971.  The Nebesnys lived in the Indianapolis area for several years before moving to Knoxville, Tennessee in the early 70’s when Tony was asked to help open and manage a new bearing manufacturing plant.  Tony and his family loved living in Tennessee and especially enjoyed exploring the Smokey Mountains together.  The family moved back to Indianapolis in 1978 when Tony was transferred back to the Indiana bearing division.  They built a new home on the west side of Indy where the Nebesny children completed their high school education and eventually moved away to attend college.

Tony was a member of St. Stephen Eastern Orthodox Church and served on the church board and as president for several years.  Throughout his life, Tony had many interests that he enjoyed sharing with his family and friends.  Tony liked to golf and was a great bowler… he played on many leagues and won several championships.  He also enjoyed fishing, wood working, playing chess, and playing cards…especially Euchre!  Many a long night was spent playing cards with his children and grandchildren!  Other hobbies included stamp collecting, coin collecting, reading (especially Tom Clancy novels), crossword puzzles and sudoku.  He also liked watching sports, particularly football, basketball, soccer, Nascar (Tony Stewart!) and IndyCar.   One of Tony’s special life experiences was when he served as an interpreter for the Brazilian teams during the 1987 Pan American Games that were held in Indianapolis.  He would often recollect the excitement that he felt at the games and express how very proud he was to be a Ukrainian–Brazilian–American.

Tony loved his family dearly and always looked forward to family gatherings.  Once his first grandchild was born, Tony affectionately became known as “Dyido” – the Ukrainian name for “Grandpa.”  He especially cherished time playing with his grandchildren and great grandchildren.  In more recent years, Tony lived with his children Anthony (Joseph) and Donna (Cary) in Zionsville Indiana and he enjoyed visiting Joy’s House (an adult day services center) twice a week where he connected with other guests and caregivers and made new friends.

The visitation and funeral services for Tony Nebesny will be held at Flanner & Buchanan Funeral Center in Zionsville located at 105 W. Pine Street, Zionsville, IN 46077 on Monday July 26, 2021.  The visitation will be from 10am – 1pm and the funeral service will be from 1pm – 2:15pm followed by the burial service at West Ridge Park Cemetery at 9295 W. 21^st St., Indianapolis, IN 46234 which should conclude by 4pm.  The family is very grateful to Rev. Fr. Dimitar Angelov for leading the funeral and burial services.

Tony is survived by his children Anita (David), Anthony (Joseph) and Donna (Cary) along with 11 grandchildren Zach (Shelby), Travis (Rachel), Luke, Charlie, Lindsay, Sam, Quinn, Jackson, Adelyn, Hanson, Oliver and 5 great grandchildren Sophia, Henry, Bobby, Madelyn, and Weston along with cousins on both the Nebesny & Tschudny family lines.  The family will be forever grateful to the caregivers and friends that helped look after Tony and would like to thank Renee Eusey and Laura Johnson & the entire Joy’s House team along with the Compassus Hospice Indy Team for their compassionate and generous hearts.   In lieu of flowers, the family would appreciate donations be made in Tony’s memory to:  Joy’s House  2028 E. Broad Ripple Avenue, Indianapolis, IN 46220 (phone: 317-254-0828) or by accessing the Joy’s House Donation Link.  Donation envelopes will also be available at the funeral home.