Chester Chet Joseph Wachowicz

Born in Central Falls, he was the son of the late Joseph and Mary (Twarog) Wachowicz; beloved father of Dorene L. Godfrey and her husband Robert; beloved grandfather of Dr. John T. Godfrey and his wife Julia Elizabeth, and Robert E. Godfrey, Jr. and his girlfriend Yi Hui Wu; beloved great-grandfather of twins Josephine J. Godfrey and Vivien J. Godfrey; brother of Edward F. Wachowicz and the late Amelia Wachowicz. He is also survived by many nieces and nephews. He will be missed by all.

“Chet” as he was called, was a WWII Veteran of the Army Air Forces serving in India and China. He flew some missions as a gunner and was given a medal by the Chinese government in appreciation of his service in aiding the war effort under General Chennault. In addition, he received two battles stars for the campaigns in the Chinese theatre.

After the war he went to work for the Gilbane Building Company where he worked for over 60 years. He loved his job and the company and people he worked for. He eventually became the first senior general superintendent at Gilbane. Some of his many projects include The John Hancock Tower in Boston; the USA Headquarters for Mobil Oil in Va.; the EDB Building for Aetna Insurance in Middletown Ct.; Harvard Medical in Cambridge Ma.; Penn Towers in Philadelphia. But the project which was closest to his heart was the WWII Memorial in Washington, DC. He was aware of the importance of this project, and each piece of granite there had to meet his high standards of qualification. He is the only veteran of the war to have worked on the memorial and is part of a documentary, “World War II Memorial: A Testament to Freedom” previously shown on WGBH. He was also very honored to receive “The Lifetime Achievement Award” from the Gilbane Building Company.

Visitation will be held Friday, 4-7 p.m. with a funeral on Saturday at 8 a.m. from the PONTARELLI-MARINO Home, 971 Branch Avenue, Providence. A Mass of Christian Burial will be celebrated at 9 a.m. in St. Anthony Church, 1413 Mineral Spring Avenue, North Providence, followed by burial with military honors in the Rhode Island Veterans Memorial Cemetery, Exeter. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to the Wounded Warrior Project at www.woundedwarriorproject.org.