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Described by one of his sons as a "lifelong collector of stories," Nat Bodian spent the last decade of his life working tirelessly to preserve the history of his native Newark.

"In my dad's world, anything important or valuable in the world traced back to Newark, Jewish Newark," Les Bodian said of his father, who died May 1 at the age of 89.

After his retirement from a 30-year career in journalism and book publishing, Bodian turned his attention to his love of history, first writing a book on presidential curiosities and oddities. After he acquired his first computer at age 79, Bodian began writing articles about his hometown.

Contributing more than 100 articles to the Old Newark (oldnewark.com) Web site, Bodian documented the lives of prominent Newark natives like baseball player and spy Moe Berg, former New York City mayor Ed Koch, and even notorious mobster Longy Zwillman; the histories of small shops and major Newark businesses like Bambergers department store; and the stories of Jewish neighborhoods like the Third Ward and the Weequahic section, among many other topics.

"On the one hand, he was fascinated with the culture of his childhood, but on the other hand, he had his cultural icons," Les said, citing local businessman and philanthropist Louis Bamberger as among his greatest obsessions (despite the fact that Bamberger was born in Baltimore).

Les said that his father's involvement in the Web site gave him the opportunity "to take the stories he had been telling for years and share them with the world."

Bodian frequently recounted stories of his childhood in Newark, recalled Les, who grew up in Hillside. One story he loved to tell, Les said, was about when the YMHA first opened its doors on High Street when he was 8 years old. On a hot summer day, Bodian parked himself in the new Y's library. A stranger approached him to ask why he was not by the pool on such a sunny day. Bodian told the man that the pool was for members only, and without asking the man bought him a membership.

"He loved the concept of the YMHA," Les said, adding that his father was a member of the YMHA since that day, serving on the board of directors of the YMHAs in Hillside, Newark, and Union.

Though he eventually left Newark to the nearby suburbs, his hometown, and its Jewish history, remained his first love, said Linda Forgosh, executive director and curator of the Jewish Historical Society of MetroWest.

"He was born, bred, and raised in Newark, and never left Newark in spirit," Forgosh said.

Forgosh said she doesn't view Bodian's death through the prism of loss, noting "his tremendous legacy" of preserving and documenting the history of Jewish Newark.

"I don't recall anyone being more prolific," she said.

Forgosh, who knew Bodian through her work at the historical society, said she would often turn to his research in order to learn more about a given topic.

"I would wonder what Nat had to say about this, what did he find?" she said of her reaction each time she received an email from Bodian notifying her of a new entry at the Web site.

When putting together their exhibition on the Elving Metropolitan Theater, the city's most prominent Yiddish theater, all that existed in the archives were photographs. It was Bodian's research into the theater's history -- including the actors, financiers, and performances -- that enabled the exhibit to move forward, Forgosh said.

"Without him telling me, in the fashion that only he could write, we could not have held that exhibit," she said.

Bodian's work, she added, was unique because he was able to combine his skills as a historian with his own experience growing up there.

"For most people, when we live something it has a different impact for us," Forgosh said. "He saw it from the historical perspective, but interjected it with his own personal history."

Marilyn Mix, who organized a retrospective last September in Monroe in which more than 120 native Jewish Newarkers gathered to reminiscence, said that Bodian's research was an invaluable resource in planning the event.

"He obviously had a passion for Newark and for Jewish Newark particularly," said Mix, who did not personally know Bodian.

Bodian was predeceased by his wife of 56 years, Ruth, who died in 2005. He is survived by his brother Albert; his two sons, Mark and Les; and two grandchildren, Spencer and Natalie.