Edward Ernest Szymansk

1957 - 2021

[1957-2021] LAMBERTVILLE - Edward Ernest Szymanski, a former union electrician who cultivated his interest in precious metals and antique jewelry and since the 1980s had roles in wholesale and retail businesses, died Friday in ProMedica Ebeid Hospice Residence, Sylvania. He was 63.

The founder of Estate Jewelers in Sylvania had multiple health problems the last two years, his sister Linda Lakatos said. The coronavirus pandemic kept him from being at the store for much of the last year.

"He very much had his hands in it," his sister said.

His son, Myles Szymanski, is president of Estate Jewelers, which the elder Mr. Szymanski started in 2006.

"He was incredibly generous, and you wouldn't think that would serve him well in a cutthroat business like jewelry sales," his sister said. "He found a formula to be fair and honest, and people came back to him for years and years, and so did their children.

"He was an honest man. He knew what he was talking about," his sister said.

He got to know customers looking for just the right engagement ring, just the right gift. He also became an observer of human behavior in response to the economy - and metals prices. For instance, in November, 2009, with the Great Recession recently past, gold prices soared to just under $1,100 an ounce, compared to $300 an ounce eight years earlier.

"People are seeing [the price of gold] in the news and starting to go through their jewelry boxes and bringing in things," Mr. Szymanski told The Blade in 2009. "Before, we just got people coming in to pay their rent or stuff like that. Now we're seeing more affluent people coming in and clearing out their jewelry boxes to cash in on the price."

His sister said: "He just loved talking to people. He loved to know their stories. He was a good listener. He was a person everyone wanted to know."

In his youth, Mr. Szymanski accompanied his coin-collector father to coin shows, sparking an interest in buying and selling gold.

He was an electrician for several years and a member of the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers Local 8. Later, he joined his father and his brother, Paul, in a Point Place jewelry business. He became a credentialed diamond broker as well. His brother recalled their visit to Manhattan's Diamond District on 47th Street to learn all they could.

"Of course you learn a lot by losing money, too," his brother said.

Mr. Szymanski had his own shop at the former Portside Festival Marketplace downtown and operated another business, Legends In Time, out of his home.

"He was a family man first and foremost and was close to my father and mother," his sister said. "And I think he really liked the idea that he built something from going with my dad on weekends, looking at coins, to what it became. He liked that he taught his son."

He was born July 13, 1957, to Hazel and Edward Szymanski and was known as "Ernie" as he grew up on Manhattan Boulevard in North Toledo. He was a 1976 graduate of Woodward High School and attended the University of Toledo.

Surviving are his wife, the former Frances "Fran" Symington, whom he married in January, 1998; son, Myles Szymanski; daughter, Stephanie Castillo; stepdaughter, JoEllen Cherko; stepson, Scott Cherko; brother, Paul Szymanski; sisters, Judy Pacer, Linda Lakatos, and Sandy Paszczykowski; a granddaughter; six step-grandchildren, and three step-great-grandchildren.

Visitation will be from 2-8 p.m. Wednesday in the Walker Funeral Home, Sylvania Township, where funeral services will begin at 11 a.m. Thursday.

The family suggests tributes to St. Jude Children's Research Hospital, Memphis.