John Lewandowski, 91, of NYA
John W. “Jack” Lewandowski, 91, of Norwood Young America passed away Saturday, Nov. 14, at the Good Samaritan Center in Waconia.
A Mass of Christian burial was Tuesday, Nov. 17, 11 a.m., at Church of the Ascension (323 Reform Street) in Norwood Young America with the Rev. Abraham George as the celebrant of the Mass. Visitation was one hour prior to the Mass at church Tuesday. Interment was at Ascension Catholic Cemetery. A link to the recording of the service is available for viewing the day after the funeral on the Johnson Funeral Home website.
John was born on July 22, 1929 in Hale Township, Cokato, the son of John and Clara (Pawlak) Lewandowski. John was baptized July 23, 1929, at St. Adalbert’s Catholic Church in Silver Lake. His sponsors were Edward Lewandowski and Joan Jurek. He was also confirmed at St. Adalbert’s Catholic Church in Silver Lake.
Mr. Lewandowski lived in Hale Township and worked on the family farm until he left for the army in 1953. He served within “Company K 5th Regiment combat team,” during the Korean War. He traveled to Japan and throughout Korea, spending two winters in the mountains of Korea including many days on the DMZ line. Winters were brutally cold and unforgiving and he froze both his hands and feet.
John suffered a chest wound, spending a month-and-a-half on the hospital ship, USS Haven, in Inchon Harbor. Given the choice to return home, he finished his tour and was honorably discharged in 1955.
After the war, Mr. Lewandowski found work where he could, as jobs were scarce for veterans returning home. On June 5, 1956, John was united in marriage to Dorothy Ann Miller at Holy Redeemer Catholic Church, in Renville.
In 1958, John started working at Pioneer Telephone, now known as CenturyLink. He worked at Century Link until he retired in 1991, after 33 years of dedicated service, and being one of the first, if not the first, in Minnesota to work with fiber optic cable.
Upon retirement, Mr. Lewandowski could be found at Midtown Family Restaurant early in the morning, where he enjoyed coffee and conversation. Often, he traveled to Arizona for the winter, visiting a few sites and casinos along the way.
Throughout his life, he enjoyed fishing, hunting, camping, playing cards, gardening, and spending time with family and friends. Mr. Lewandowski was a taxidermist, a skill he learned quickly.
He was a long-time member of the American Legion Post No. 0343 and Knights of Columbus at Ascension Catholic Church.
Mr. Lewandowski was preceded in death by his wife, Dorothy; daughter, Brenda Merriman; son-in-law, Chuck Kerzman; an infant son; parents, John and Clara Lewandowski; brothers, Leonard (Delores) Lewandowski, Phil (Mildred) Lewandoski; sisters, Delphine (Ed) Kaczmarek, Antoinette (Marceal) LaMott; father-in-law and mother-in-law, Victor (Armella) Miller; sister-in-law, Shirley Vorlicek; brothers-in-law, Robert V. Miller, Clarence Pulkrabek, Joseph Hayek; nephew, Mark Hayek; niece, Janelle Wertish.
John is survived by his loving family, daughter, LuAnn Kerzman of Norwood Young America; son-in-law, Michael Merriman of Delano; sisters-in-law and brother-in-law, Darlene Hayek of Danube, Marie Pulkrabek of Fargo, N.D., Henry “Hank” Vorlicek of Silver Lake, Mary Miller of Renville; nieces, nephews other relatives and friends.
Casket-bearers were Duane Kaczmarek, Gary Kaczmarek, Tim Kaczmarek, Ronald Vorlicek, Kevin Vorlicek and Mark Lewandowski.
The Johnson Funeral Home in Waconia handled the arrangements. Its website – www.johnsonfh.com – includes obituary and guestbook information.
