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Mr. Joseph Albert Wojtaszek, 94, was a very strong-willed man. He overcame two open heart surgeries, many strokes, clots in his heart, diabetes, and a major stroke in January of 2021. For the past three weeks in his home, with his family constantly by his side, Mr. Wojtaszek fought extremely hard to stay with those he loved, until the Lord called him to his eternal rest on Saturday, February 13, 2021.
Family and friends are invited to the visitation which will be held in the Kowalski Funeral Home, 515 Roselle Street, Linden on Sunday, February 21st. from 2:00-4:00PM. On Monday, February 22nd.at 9:45AM, everyone will gather directly at St. Hedwig Roman Catholic Church in Elizabeth, where a funeral mass will be offered at 10:00AM. The prayers of committal will then precede Mr. Wojtaszek’s burial in the family plot in St. Gertrude Cemetery in Colonia.
Mr. Wojtaszek, the son of the late Helena Piskadlo Wojtaszek and the late Jan Wojtaszek, was born in Lutcza, Poland. He, along with his four children, came to the United States in June of 1962. His wife, Sophie, had come to this country one year earlier. Together, they restarted their lives and raised their family in Linden, New Jersey, where they lived for forty years prior to relocating to Matawan, New Jersey nineteen years ago.
While in Poland, Mr. Wojtaszek worked as a farmer. When he came to the United States, he was employed at the Simmons Manufacturing Company in Elizabeth, where he was working in the factory hand sewing the bindings on the mattresses. This was a craft that Mr. Wojtaszek had learned from his brother, Stanislaw, who was a tailor. Mr. Wojtaszek then moved on to working as a machine operator for the Wilson-Jones Company, also in Elizabeth. He was employed there for ten years, before he had to leave due to back injury disabilities. During his employment history, Mr. Wojtaszek also worked simultaneously as a baker for a bakery in Linden.
Mr. Wojtaszek was a member of the Old Bridge Senior Citizens Club, where he loved to partake in the game of Bingo and enjoyed going on their many bus trips to Atlantic City, whether to gamble a bit or just spend the day out with friends.
TV Polonia, which is the Polish cable tv, was another favorite of his pastimes. Mr. Wojtaszek especially like the reports on the activities of Polish politics and of course, anything to do with Pope John Paul II. Mr. Wojtaszek’s farming background in Poland, gave him a massive green thumb in his large and lavish backyard garden, where he grew an abundance of the most delicious vegetables. He also was an avid beekeeper, working with promoting hives and gathering the honey. Mr. Wojtaszek was known amongst his family to be a major “Mr. Fix It”. When anything broke, he hated to purchase a new substitute. Mr. Wojtaszek insisted that he could fix it and even if he did not have the proper tools to do so, somehow, he amazed everyone by having the ability to work with what he had & make a successful repair. On another front, everyone knew that Mr. Wojtaszek made the best kielbasa in the world. He had his own smokehouse in his garage and three times a year, around the Easter, Thanksgiving and Christmas holidays, he would be busy smoking the meat. At those times, you would always find family and friends lined up outside his garage, patiently waiting to get some of his superior delicacies. If being talented in all these areas, was not enough, Mr. Wojtaszek was also extremely generous, in that he sponsored members of the Nentarz, Szurlej, Sieczkowski and Wojtaszek families to come to the United States from Poland. There are many people who know that they were so fortunate to have Mr. Wojtaszek's help in getting a fresh start in the United States.
Mr. Wojtaszek previously suffered the loss of his son, Marion Wojtaszek (April 5, 2020) and his three brothers, Edek Wojtaszek, Stanislaw Wojtaszek and Bronislaw Wojtaszek. Mr. Wojtaszek is survived by his wife of sixty-nine years, Sophie Nentarz Wojtaszek; his three children, Casimir “Casey” Wojtaszek and his wife, Mary, Alina Adamczyk and her husband, Marek and Josephine Stamey and her husband, William; his sister, Marisha Bator and his three grandchildren, Ian Kelly, Alanis Stamey and Melanie Stamey.
As per the regulations imposed through the State of New Jersey, there will now be a maximum of one hundred and fifty people allowed in the funeral home and the church, at one time and face protection is required. We thank you for your understanding during this time of transition.
To send flowers to the family, please visit our floral store.