William Sobiesiak

STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. - Lifelong Staten Islander William Sobiesiak, 91, a retired P&G worker and a devoted family man, died Thursday in the Staten Island University Hospital, in Ocean Breeze.

He was born and raised in Travis, and attended McKee High School.

Mr. Sobiesiak joined the federal Civilian Conservation Corps when he was 14 years old and was based in Montana, where he served as a firefighter and constructed work camps throughout the West.

A World War II veteran, he served in the U.S. Army from 1943 to 1946. He was a technician in an anti-aircraft and artillery group, and saw action in the Philippines.

Mr. Sobiesiak was a lifetime member of the Gold Star Post, American Legion, in Travis, and a member of the North Shore Post, Veterans of Foreign Wars, in Westerleigh.

After his military service, he returned to Travis. In the 1950s he moved to Mariners Harbor, where he lived for the rest of his life.

Mr. Sobiesiak worked for Procter & Gamble in Port Ivory for 38 years, operating high-low tractors on the loading docks. He retired in 1983.

"He was the most loving man you could ever meet," said his daughter, Edna Sobiesiak. "He cherished all his family and many close friends."

Mr. Sobiesiak enjoyed crabbing in southern New Jersey, traveling, trips to Atlantic City, dining out, and spending time with family and friends. He was fond of animals and adored his cats, Oscar and Wally.

He was a longtime parishioner of St. Adalbert's R.C. Church, Elm Park.

Mr. Sobiesiak's wife of 34 years, the former Edna Plocharczyk, died in 1984.

Surviving, along with his daughter, Edna, are his brother, Joseph Sr., and his sister, Josephine Lakatos.

The funeral will be Monday from the Meislohn-Silvie Funeral Home, Port Richmond, with a mass at 10:30 a.m. in St. Adalbert's Church. Burial will follow in Moravian Cemetery, New Dorp.