Joseph C. Zarek

Joseph Chester Zarek, 86, of 147 E. Harbor Road, Cheshire, died Tuesday afternoon, Nov. 13, 2007, at Berkshire Medical Center.
Born in Adams on April 21, 1921, he was the son of John and Ann (Bieniek) Zarek. The family moved to Cheshire in 1923. He attended Cheshire Grammar School, C.T. Plunkett Junior High School in Adams, and graduated from the former Adams High School in 1938.
He joined the Civilian Conservation Corps the same year, doing gypsy moth control work as a member of the 1174th Company located in Westfield. The company relocated to Spencer that fall, doing logging and forest cleanup in the aftermath of the Hurricane of 1938. In 1940, he also spent five months at the National Youth Administration camp in Eastport, Maine, at the former Passamaquody Tidal Power Project Village.
The same year, Mr. Zarek joined the Plastic Department Tool Program at General Electric Co. and graduated from its mold maker apprentice course. He later went into the drafting department as a mold designer. In 1953, he transferred to the Power Transformer Department as a designer in the induction voltage regulator section. He became a senior designer in the electro-mechanical drafting section of the Ordnance Department in 1955 and continued to work there until his retirement in 1981. He was a group steward for many years in Local 140 of the American Federation of Technical Engineers.
He was a communicant of St. Mary of the Assumption Church, where he served as an usher, a teacher of Christian Doctrine and as a collector and captain of the fourth annual appeal drive. He also was a lector until his vision failed.
He was a member of the General Electric Co. Quarter Century and Pensioners clubs. He also served for several years as a member of the Cheshire Advisory Board and its Recreation Committee.
He enjoyed reading and bird watching. He bowled in several candlepin leagues in Pittsfield and Adams. He was an avid sports fan and played for a number of years on the Cheshire town leagues. He helped organize the Cheshire Youngsters League in the winter of 1959-60. He was one of the league’s first coaches and umpired for four seasons in the Adams Babe Ruth League.
He leaves three brothers, Stanley T. Zarek and Walter M. Zarek, both of Cheshire, and Fernand J. Zarek of Ormand-by-the-Sea, Fla.; a sister, Helen Randall, of Cheshire; a brother-in-law, Everett Randall of Cheshire; two sisters-in-law, Laura “Edie” Zarek and Julia Zarek; five nieces, Maureen Pappas, Linda Michaels, Lisa Zarek, Ann Marie Addison and Jean Therrien; four nephews, David Randall, Stanley “Tom” Zarek Jr., Gerald “Jerry” Zarek and Jeffrey Zarek.
A sister-in-law, Florence (Gajda) Zarek, died in 1999.

FUNERAL NOTICE -- Funeral service for Joseph Zarek will be held Saturday, Nov. 17, at 9:15 a.m., from the Dery-Cheshire Funeral Home. A Liturgy of Christian Burial will be celebrated at 10 a.m. at St. Mary of the Assumption Church with the Rev. David R. Raymond, pastor, officiating. Burial will follow in Cheshire Cemetery.
Calling hours are Friday, from 4 to 7 p.m., at the funeral home.
In lieu of flowers, memorial donations may be made to St. Mary of the Assumption Church, Cheshire Volunteer Fire Department or to the Cheshire Baseball Leagues through the funeral home, P.O. Box 445, Cheshire, MA 01225.