Anthony S. Wojcik

Anthony S. “Tony” Wojcik, age 73, of Okemos, MI, passed away on April 12, 2019. Loving husband of Paula Wojcik (née Valaitis), father of Dr. Laura Wojcik and Jeffrey (Erika) Wojcik, and grandfather of Allison and Julia Wojcik. He is also survived by his brother Thomas (Marilyn) Wojcik, brothers-in-law Dr. Joseph (Carol) Valaitis and Robert (Sandra) Valaitis, nephews David Wojcik, Craig Wojcik, and Dr. Jay Valaitis, and niece Amy Valaitis.

Tony was born in Chicago, Illinois on September 18, 1945, to Casimir and Elizabeth (Hudak) Wojcik. He received his BS (1967) and MS (1968) degrees in Mathematics and his PhD in Computer Science (1971) from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. He joined the faculty of the Department of Computer Science at the Illinois Institute of Technology in 1971 and served as Chair from 1978 through 1984. Tony joined the Department of Computer Science at Michigan State University as Professor and Chair in January 1986. He served as Department Chair until August 1995, was Associate Dean for Research and Graduate Studies for the College of Engineering from July 1998 through June 2002, and was Director of the MSU CyberSecurity Initiative from August 2002 to December 2005. Tony joined the Office of the Vice President for Research and Graduate Studies at MSU in October 2005 as Assistant Vice President for Research Planning. He retired from MSU in 2007 after twenty-two years of leadership and dedicated service. In addition to his academic appointments, Tony was a member of the technical staff at Bell Laboratories and was affiliated with Argonne National Laboratory as a Resident Associate for many years.

Special thanks and deepest appreciation to the caregivers and staff members of Red Cedar Oncology, Sparrow Home Hospice, and Hospice House of Mid-Michigan.

Visitation will be held on Monday, April 15 from 4:00 to 8:00 p.m. at Gorsline Runciman Funeral Home, 1730 East Grand River Avenue, East Lansing. The funeral Mass will be held at 11:00 a.m. on Tuesday, April 16 at St. John Church and Student Center, 327 MAC Avenue, East Lansing, with visitation one hour prior to the service.

In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to The Anthony S. Wojcik Memorial Scholarship Fund, Department of Computer Science and Engineering, College of Engineering (Allocation #A30492), and may be mailed to University Advancement, Michigan State University, Spartan Way, 535 Chestnut Road, Room 300, East Lansing, MI 48824.