Edward Lee Wojnarowski

Edward Lee Wojnarowski, age 81, passed away peacefully at home at 7:47 am on Friday, August 8, 2025.

He was born on February 21, 1944, in Norfolk, Virginia to Edward Joseph and Jennie (nee Wanda Janina Sobol) Wojnarowski.

They moved to Chicago, Illinois shortly after he was born.

After high school, Ed attended Elmhurst College, earning a bachelor's degree. He met and married Barbara Dennison while attending Elmhurst College. From this union, an awesome child was born, Roderick Allen Wojnarowski.

After earning his degree, he started his career as a social worker in Chicago for DCFS. He was sent to New Orleans to obtain a master's degree in social work. As repayment for his degree, he was relocated to Cairo, Illinois, and became the supervisor of the local DCFS office. Ed became involved in local community service and civil rights activism.

He remarried April 12, 1975, to the best woman who ever lived, Nadine Micheline Moulin (her son may be the author of this document). Together they shared 50 wonderful years of marriage and three equally awesome children, Jeremiah, Emmanuelle, and Leah, as well as numerous furry critter children (dogs, cats, and guinea pigs).

In 1982, Ed was promoted to the DCFS regional office in Marion, Illinois. The family later moved to Marion in 1988 after years of commuting. In January of 2001, he retired as the administrator of investigations for the twenty-three southern counties of Illinois.

In his spare time and retirement, he found joy in the outdoors, hunting deer and squirrels close to home, and traveling west for antelope and varmint hunts. He enjoyed fishing, camping, and creating anything from wood and leather. He created fringed leather coats, a sac for his wheelchair, cell phone holders, wood and bone handled knives, and leather sheaths for any random object; he had no fewer than three leather pieces returned from the funeral home, including a blood sugar monitor encased in deer hide. A true craftsman, calling him a tinkerer with guns, hardly does him justice. He was an accomplished amateur gunsmith, who loved restoring antique firearms, especially handcrafting and refinishing wooden stocks.

While Ed was an involved and loving father, his retirement allowed him time to become a super-powered grandparent. With fellow super-grandma, Nadine, they tackled five grandchildren's summer camps, babysitting, holiday hosting, birthday parties, and sporting events for over twenty-six years. They also counseled two sets of new parents through the innumerable challenges, triumphs, and mundane obstacles of raising children.

Despite contracting polio as a child and the decreased mobility later in life as a result, he never voiced complaint. If you knew Ed, the only cursing of the heavens involved a screw stripping out, a lost tool, or some mundane annoyance. The big, important problems were always handled with patience, a calm manner, and a quiet voice.

Ed had strong opinions about almost everything, but would find joy in his relationships, despite any differences in political, social, or religious ideology. If you are reading this, you probably know these personal points of difference and likely celebrated (joking with him or picking on each other) them each time you met up with him or spoke with him over the phone.

He is survived by his wife, Nadine Wojnarowski; children and their spouses, Roderick (Lisa) Wojnarowski of West Milwaukee, WI, Jeremiah (Sarah) Wojnarowski of Burns, TN, Emmanuelle (Lee) Wojnarowski in California, Leah Laure (Jesse) Wojnarowski; grandchildren Dakota Lee Wojnarowski, Jace Wojnarowski, Savannah Marjorie Wojnarowski, Gabriel Joseph Wojnarowski, and Elijah William Wojnarowski; and sister, Sharon (David) Carpenter of Rockmart, GA. He was preceded in death by his parents.

Arrangements have been entrusted to Wilson-McReynolds Funeral Home, 900 North Court Street, Marion, IL.

In accordance with his wishes, there will be no funeral or public visitation held at this time.

A memorial celebration will be held at The Haven (10289 Haven Rd, Carbondale) on August 23, 2025, from 12pm to 5pm.

In lieu of flowers, donations in his name to the following charities are encouraged: St Jude Children's Hospital, Heifer International (goats preferred), and your local PBS station.

For additional information call the funeral home at (618) 993-2131.