Very Rev. Joseph C. Gregorek

The Reverend Joseph C. Gregorek, (83), died on Sunday, May 14 at his residence at Gannon University, Erie.
Father Gregorek was born on March 14, 1940, in Ambridge, Pennsylvania, the son of Chester and Mary (Dolecki) Grzegorek.
After attending St. Stanislaus Elementary School in Erie, he entered St. Mark Seminary and attended classes at Cathedral Preparatory School in Erie, from which he graduated in 1957. After attending Gannon College (now University) in Erie, Duquesne University in Pittsburgh and the University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia, he earned a bachelor's degree in philosophy from St. Bonaventure University in St. Bonaventure, New York in 1961. He continued his formation for the priesthood while also earning a master's degree in biology from the Catholic University of America in Washington, DC.
Father Gregorek was ordained a priest on May 27, 1965 at St. Peter Cathedral by the Most Reverend Frederick Hall. He began his priestly ministry at Gannon University where he remained as a faculty member until 1968. This was followed by three years of studies at the Medical College of Virginia. During his time there he ministered as Chaplain to St. Joseph's Villa and assisted at St. Edward Parish in Richmond, Virginia. He also taught several courses there.
After obtaining his doctorate in anatomy in 1972, he returned to Gannon University and was instrumental in establishing the Gannon-Hahneman Family Practice Medical Program and the Physician Assistants Program. At the same time he served as Weekend Assistant at Immaculate Heart of Mary Parish, Mercer.
In 1979, Father Gregorek took a sabbatical leave from Gannon to serve on the faculty of the College of Osteopathic Medicine of the Pacific in Pomona, California. He returned to Gannon in 1981, remaining there just one year before returning to the College of Osteopathic Medicine in California as a member of the Department of Pathology and Assistant Dean of the medical school. In addition to his academic duties, he assisted the Parish of St. Peter and St. Paul in Rancho Cucamonga, and served the Diocese of San Bernardino as a medical-moral theologian, a member of a task force for victims of AIDS and the bishop's representative on the ethics committees of four hospitals.
In 1992, Father Gregorek returned to the faculty of Gannon University very briefly before becoming Dean of the Erie College of Osteopathic Medicine for one year. From 1993 until his retirement in 2014, he was on the faculty of Gannon University. During much of that time he also served as Dean of the Gannon University Deanery and Weekend Assistant at St. Casimir Parish (St. Casimir Church is now part of Our Mother of Sorrows Parish), Erie. He also served the Diocese of Erie on the Medical/Moral Advisory Committee as well as on the Presbyteral Council. After his retirement, he continued to teach as an adjunct professor at Gannon University and at the Pennsylvania State College of Medicine, where he taught family and community medicine from 1995.
Through the years, Father Gregorek was a member of various professional societies in medicine, science and education. He authored many journal articles and books. He was selected to be a member of several medical exchange programs and lectured in Russia, Thailand and Indonesia. He also lectured frequently in the continuing medical education programs for physicians.
He was awarded the Darbaker Award by the Pennsylvania Academy of Science in 1977 and the Richard E. Eby Humanitarian Award by the Osteopathic Physicians and Surgeons of California in 1988. He was honored as a distinguished professor of biology by Gannon University in 2011.
Father Gregorek was preceded in death by his parents, Chester & Mary (Dolecki) Grzegorek, brother, Edwin and nephew, Greg Grzegorek.
He is survived by sisters, Sue Fronczek and Mary Ann Laska of Bellmawr, New Jersey, nieces and nephews, Marie Schwartz, Joseph Fronczek, Patricia Fronczek, Marysue Gaylord, Beth Mooney, and John Laska, great nieces and nephews, Ryan, Kyle, Matt, Lexi, Emilia, Travis, Dylan, Brayden, Kyleigh and Charlie; along with numerous cousins.
Friends may call at Mary Seat of Wisdom Chapel, Gannon University, 520 Peach St., Erie, PA 16501, Saturday, May 20 from 9:00am - 12:15pm. The Funeral Mass will take place at St. Peter Cathedral, 10th and Sassafras Sts., Erie, on Saturday, May 20, at 1:00pm with Bishop Lawrence Persico as the main celebrant. The Kloecker-Razanauskas Funeral Home and Crematory, Inc. is handling the arrangements. The Funeral Mass will be live-streamed by Saint Peter Cathedral, you can watch on their Facebook Page, YouTube Page or Website.
Memorials can be made to Our Mother of Sorrows Parish, 630 Hess Ave., Erie, PA 16503.