John J. Czerw

1919 - 2016

John J. Czerw 1919 - 2016
John Joseph Czerw, beloved husband, father, grandfather and great-grandfather, passed away on January 10, 2016, in Derry, NH, where he had been living with his son, Ron, and daughter-in-law, Laura. He had been battling prostate cancer for several years.
John was born in Utica, on January 1, 1919, and was a life long resident of Utica, NY. He was the son of John and Sophia (Sira) Czerw. Kelsey Hayes employed John for 37 years, retiring in 1982. He was a veteran of World War II, serving with the Army 246th Signal Company in the European Theatre. After being honorably discharged, he married his sweetheart, Evelyn Gill, on June 22, 1946. He was a parishioner of St. Stanislaus and Holy Trinity Church. He was a member of the Walter Skiba Post #20 PLAV.
John is survived by his three sons, John, of Flower Mound, TX, Ron and Laura, of Derry, NH, and Dave and Bente, of Jacksonville, FL; a sister, Gladys (Czerw) Kudrewicz, of New Hartford, NY; grandchildren, Luke, Travis, Anastasia, Richard, Nicole, Lauren and Belinda; great-grandchild, Calvin; and many nieces and nephews, which include MaryBeth (Betsy Wentka) Mitchell and Marilyn (Kudrewicz) Zurek, who provided loving assistance during John's later years. John was preceded in death by his loving wife, Evelyn (Gill), after 47 years of wonderful marriage; siblings, Stella (Czerw) Glista, Joseph, Theodore and Raymond.
John would like to recognize Red Wittman, Gary Baker, the Borowiec and Rejman families and Verna DeLuccie for their friendship and wonderful meals. John would like to thank Dr. Joseph Booth for many years of care. "He is quite a guy and took good care of me".
John was proud of his biggest accomplishment, which was building his own house, with Evelyn, after four years of marriage, at 6179 Trenton Road, Utica, which is where they raised their sons and he lived until 2014. John was very proud of his Polish heritage, visiting Poland often. He also compiled a family tree album of his relatives.
Relatives and friends are invited to attend a Mass of Christian Burial, which will be celebrated on Wednesday, at 10 a.m., at Holy Trinity Church. Those that wish, may call on Tuesday from 4-7 p.m. at the Kowalczyk Funeral Home, 1156 Lincoln Ave., Utica. The Walter Skiba Post #20 will gather for services at 6:30 p.m. Burial, with Military Honors, will take place in St. Stanislaus B and M Cemetery, Whitestown.
In lieu of flowers, please donate to Holy Trinity Church at 1206 Lincoln Ave., Utica, NY 13502 or the American Cancer Society, in honor of Evelyn Czerw, online at www.cancer.org/involved/donate/index; please send the card to Kowalczyk Funeral Home, 1156 Lincoln Ave., Utica, NY 13502.
Light a candle at www.kowalczykfuneralhomes.com.