Garry Macejewski

Garry Wayne Macejewski, 65, was called by the Lord to his eternal heavenly home on April 15, 2026 with his family by his bedside. His vocation as a husband, father and grandfather was his greatest blessing and brought him the most happiness. Garry was born in Houston, Texas on December 21, 1960 to Pete Macejewski and Barbara Szymanski Macejewski. He was the youngest in his family, growing up on the north side of Houston with his sister and four brothers, near his grandparents and many aunts, uncles and cousins. He was proud of his Polish heritage and proud to be a native Houstonian who lived here all his life. His childhood was filled with all the joys of the great outdoors – fishing of all sorts, dove and duck hunting, deer hunting, camping and hanging out at the beach. By far the greatest of these pastimes for him was freshwater bass fishing. He sharpened his skills at Lake Livingston from the time he was big enough to carry a rod and reel through the time his parents retired there, even winning tournament trophies. Garry loved fishing with his dad and brothers, not only for largemouth bass but also white bass, striped bass, catfish and crappies. During that time, he learned where to find the best little-known nooks and crannies where the fish would hide. Garry loved catching the most and the biggest fish as much as anyone else, but the sheer enjoyment of being at a large lake or a small Texas ranch tank was enough for him. Choosing the right lure, casting to the exact spot he intended, hearing his lure hit the water, seeing the ripples in the water, smelling the fish and moss while breathing the clean rural air, whether he caught anything or not, was his lifelong passion.

Garry knew from the time he was five years old that he wanted to work with electronics. That adventure began as a summer job between his junior and senior year at Sam Houston High School, working in the electronics division of Camco, a large oilfield contractor. He continued working there after classes during his senior year, then part time while attending University of Houston and ultimately full time. The electronics division became a separate subsidiary, Tejas Controls, focusing on electric utility customers, which was later sold to a different parent company, later sold again and even later sold to a fourth parent company, but with Garry working there all along for a total of 48 years, retiring as an engineering manager from Schneider Electric on March 31, 2026. Through the years, he worked directly with customers and suppliers on every aspect of remote terminal units: assembling, manufacturing, testing, repairing, managing, designing and troubleshooting. He enjoyed his work and found fulfillment in satisfying his customers and seeing the projects he worked on and designed many years ago, still humming along in the field with their intended purpose of securely capturing data while controlling the electric utilities’ other equipment. While driving down the road, Garry would often point out RTUs mounted on the passing power poles that he and his team had designed. Never did an electrical substation pass by without Garry observing it and many times he stopped so the whole family could get out of the car to look at it more closely!

Through the years at work, Garry firmly established many close, lifelong friendships, but the best one became the love of his life, Marianne Kristynik. Garry and Marianne married on April 12, 1986, at St. Jerome Catholic Church in Houston, and they joyfully celebrated their 40th anniversary by renewing their vows. Garry’s quiet, calm, thoughtful nature with Marianne’s loud, talkative, busy personality were a perfect match, creating a very easy, wonderful life with love overflowing and true faith in God. Time flew by much too fast, but long enough to be blessed as Dad to his very loving children, Paul, Teresa with her husband Michael, and Stephanie, and as Papa to his grandchildren, Claire and Andrew. Carrying Claire and Andrew on his shoulders, listening to their stories, watching their games and simply being with them brought him the biggest smiles. Garry and Marianne have been parishioners at St. John Vianney Catholic Church since 1986 where their spiritual growth had no bounds: participating in various ministries, developing deep friendships, and receiving the sacraments which was of utmost importance. Garry was proud of educating his children in Catholic schools from pre-school through college graduation, assisting in innumerable school activities, and always putting his family first before work and leisure pleasures.

Garry cherished many family activities that were close to his heart. The family crisscrossed Texas, visiting state park after state park; in early years pitching a tent and later towing the pop-up trailer. There was an annual trip to Garner State Park and the cool Frio River, often bringing along extended family and friends. Garry was the grill master and chief cook on all the camping escapades. The family shared fun with cousins at annual Kostiha and Kristynik family reunions, and attending weddings, birthdays, anniversaries and holidays was always a blast. Thanksgiving and Christmas were particularly special, always celebrated with the whole Kristynik family where it became tradition for Garry to carve the turkey for Thanksgiving and cook the prime rib for Christmas. Garry loved regular trips to visit family in Strawn, Texas, hometown to Marianne’s Mom, where one of the consistent pursuits was – wait for the drum roll – fishing for largemouth bass in the cattle tanks! Time spent with extended family and friends was invaluable to Garry and he loved being an uncle and a godfather. Watching countless baseball and football games as a family was a standard and it allowed expressive emotions ranging from cheers, grumbles, shouts, critiques, bragging rights, disappointment and jubilation.

Garry was always telling Marianne that he wanted the two of them to travel more, and they did have the opportunity to make four trips together to Europe: England, Spain/Portugal, Rome and the Danube River. They visited historical sites and pubs in England, cathedrals in Spain, the site of our Blessed Mother Mary’s appearances in Fatima, Portugal and attended the canonization of Mother Teresa in Rome with Teresa. Cruising with cousins down the Danube River during the Christmas season to explore the beauty and history of Eastern Europe was highlighted by a visit to Moravia in the Czech Republic where Marianne’s maternal grandparents were born and raised. Garry’s travels would never be complete without the annual trip to Dallas to meet up with Longhorn friends for the Texas-OU football game and Texas State Fair, where fun abounded no matter which team won the game (except more exciting when the Longhorns won!).

The most important sport in Garry’s personal life was girls’ fastpitch softball, where, for over 15 years, he coached Teresa and Stephanie and treasured the title of “Coach Garry” for many other girls. All the girls and their families who he came to know during that time were very dear to him. His greatest satisfaction was boosting a girl’s confidence, teaching her something new while allowing her to have fun, knowing that the softball practices and games were preparation for all the life challenges that the girls would someday face.

Although Garry’s health journey for the past nine months was not ideal, he continued optimistically to enjoy life with family and friends, never complaining, and only experiencing significant debilitation the last two weeks of his life. He was often heard telling the doctors that he was in God’s hands, so he had no worries. He conveyed many thanks to MD Anderson, where every single health professional was thoughtful and compassionate.

Garry is preceded in death by his parents, Barbara and Pete Macejewski, and his mother and father-in-law, Mary and Jerry Kristynik. He is survived by his wife, Marianne, children Paul Macejewski, Teresa Macejewski Callegari and husband Michael, Stephanie Macejewski, grandchildren Claire and Andrew Callegari, sister Barbara Lee and husband Calvin, brothers John and wife Glenice, Martin and wife Linn, Larry and wife Nina, Pete, brother-in-law Jerome Kristynik Jr. and wife Amy and numerous nieces and nephews.

In lieu of flowers, please consider contributing in Garry’s name to a very deserving non-profit that Garry supported or to a charitable organization of your choice.

St. John Paul II Catholic School

St. John Vianney Catholic Church

Memorial Ashford Girls Softball Association

Friends of Garner State Park

MD Anderson Cancer Center

“But as it is written: ‘What eye has not seen, and ear has not heard, and what has not entered the human heart, what God has prepared for those who love him.’” 1 Corinthians 2:9