Magnificat Vol. LIX, No. 1 25 repairing, selling and installing television sets and setting up antennas on rooftops. Confronted with the deceitfulness of his competitors, he reoriented his career towards research in seismography and the radar tracking of satellites at the University of Michigan. There he worked on assembling a gigantic cathode ray tube computer that occupied three floors in a university building. In appreciation of his skills, the administration awarded him an honorary degree, enabling him to rise through the ranks and eventually become the chief engineer on the project. Early in 1957 his father, Adam Bugajski, died of esophageal cancer. Harry remained at his bedside until the end. His father wanted to be alone with his dear son before he expired. As they recited the rosary together, Harry strongly felt the presence of the Virgin Mary accompanying his father in his final moments. Yes, I do ! Harry was now twentyfive years old. Thinking seriously about his future, he prayed to Our Lady of Perpetual Help to show him the wife that God intended for him. Shortly afterwards, in May 1957, he met Mary Anna Ortman, a prulike him!” she replied in her heart. She soon changed her mind. As she got to know Harry, Mary discovered what a rare pearl God had reserved for her. In November 1957, the young couple was strolling along a broad Detroit avenue while delicate snowflakes softly fell. They stopped in front of a religious store. Mary confided to her companion that she was saving up to buy a small statue of Our Lady of Grace. How surprised and amazed she was on Christmas Day when Harry, after placing an engagement ring on her finger, presented her with the magnificent gift of a 40-inch statue of the Miraculous Virgin! On May 30, 1958, Harry and Mary Bugajski sealed their union in the sacrament of matrimony at Our Lady of Good Counsel parish in Plymouth, a suburb of metropolitan Detroit. Their honeymoon consisted in a pilgrimage to the National Shrine of Our Lady of Consolation in Carey, Ohio. The following May witnessed the birth of the first of six children who were to brighten the family home: three girls and three boys. With each birth, the exemplary father added an extra daily rosary which he recited for the rest of his life. Mr. Bugajski earned a decent living as a technician and scientific engineer for dent, pious nineteen-yearold recently converted to the Catholic faith. She was also making novenas to Our Lady of Perpetual Help in order to find a man with whom to establish a Christian home. On meeting Harry for the first time, Mary clearly perceived an inner voice telling her that he would be her future husband. – “But I don’t even Harry at the age of four A promising scientist
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