Chester "Chet" Wojciechowski

Chet was born in Detroit, Michigan, on December 11, 1942. Early in his childhood, after his father left the family, Chet’s grandparents, Jan and Sophie Widak, played an instrumental role in raising Chet and his brother, Raymond, alongside their devoted mother, Mary. The influence of his grandparents, particularly Jan, remained with Chet throughout his life and helped shape the kind of father and grandfather he would become.

From an early age, Chet discovered his lifelong love of baseball. He could often be found playing all day in the back alley with his Polish neighborhood friends. He and his friends would ride their bicycles with baseball cards tucked into the spokes. Years later, Chet would still lament sacrificing perfectly good baseball cards for the sake of bicycle noise—cards that, of course, would have been worth a small fortune today.

Chet attended the University of Detroit High School, where he developed a lifelong love of reading and, more importantly, learning. His appetite for philosophy, history, and the teachings of the Catholic Church remained a constant throughout his life. It was also around this time that one of Chet’s most famous declarations was born: “Remember, I am Jesuit trained.” He would, in fact, remind you of that whenever he felt the opportunity presented itself. He later graduated from Wayne State University with a Bachelor of Science in Social Studies.

Chet never forgot the day he opened a letter addressed to him that began with the word “Greetings.” It was from the Department of Defense, informing him that he had been selected for military service. Chet proudly served in the United States Army and was stationed in Vietnam. He loved the heat of the southern states where he trained and, perhaps unsurprisingly, had no problem with Vietnam’s hot climate either. Chet was extremely proud of his military service and made sure his family remembered it, too. His Army license plate was just one of the many ways he liked to remind everyone, “Remember, I am Army trained.”

While serving overseas, Chet met his future wife, Susan, through correspondence sent to servicemen. When he returned home, the two married and began their family. Together, Chet and Sue built a life and family that would become the center of his world. They first made their home in Detroit before settling in Grosse Pointe Woods, Michigan, where they remained until Sue’s passing in 2015.

Chet worked for Coca-Cola as a delivery driver before transitioning into the banking industry, where he worked for First Federal for more than 20 years. His natural ability to connect with people eventually led him to Wujek Calcaterra & Sons, where he spent more than 10 years helping grieving families. He finally retired after a long and meaningful career.

In 2016, Chet moved to Florida and began a new chapter in the warm climate he loved so much. He found a spiritual home at St. Jerome Catholic Church in Largo, where he also met his companion, Grace. Together, Chet and Grace shared laughter, trips, adventures, and plenty of good times. Their companionship brought Chet great happiness during the final years of his life.

Chet was, in many ways, a character all his own. He loved old movies—many of which absolutely no one else in his family wanted to watch. He could quote Viva Zapata!, Stagecoach, Ben-Hur, and countless other classics with impressive enthusiasm. He collected baseball cards and silver coins, even though his family never quite understood why. And Chet had absolutely no hesitation about approaching total strangers to ask if they had seen some incredibly obscure old movie. They would usually look at him like he was crazy. But somehow, with his charm, humor, and gentle nature, Chet would win them over.

He loved his family without question. He kept drawings, photographs, cards, and old documents that, to anyone else, might have seemed completely insignificant—but to Chet, they were priceless simply because they had his children’s names on them. He treasured every little piece of his family’s history.

His grandchildren were the true joy of his life. Chet became a wonderful father despite not having the benefit of growing up with his own father, and he became an exceptional grandfather in large part because of the example set by his grandfather, Jan. He passed that love, wisdom, humor, and, of course, his one-liners down to his grandchildren. Among his most famous were: “Come ooonnn,” “What an experience,” and “Oh, ignorant, ehh?”—just to name a few. The memories and stories he created with his grandchildren will live on for generations.

Chet deeply loved the Catholic Church and all that she had to offer, the teachings, the saints, and, of course, the way Christ works in each of our lives. His love of God, along with his fear of God, was well known. He knew he had his struggles, and the Sacrament of Reconciliation was an important part of his spiritual life. When his family would ask, “Have you gone to confession lately?” his response of, “Why don’t you worry about your own soul and stay out of my business?” would almost always follow.

Chet’s love of cigars and wine was legendary—not only because of how many cigars he smoked, but also because of their size and the people who would flock to him to talk about them and, ultimately, simply to be around his infectious personality.

He was equally legendary when it came to wine. Chet loved wine but would never, ever spend more than $10 on a bottle. This was a habit his family teased him about on countless occasions, much to Chet’s amusement.

Travel was another of Chet’s passions and dreams. As a child, he read about the warmer climates of the South, and his love of tropical heat far outweighed his tolerance for the gray and cold of Michigan—which he could not stand. After he was married, he took his family on road trips to Virginia, Florida, and the Carolinas, as well as cruises and trips to the Virgin Islands. The destination almost always had one thing in common: warmer weather. And, of course, never too far north.

He never made it to Europe or Africa, as he had dreamed, but we pray that his next destination is a far better one than any place he could have traveled in this life. Papa, we checked the weather in Khartoum for you today and are happy to report that it’s a lovely 101 degrees—just the way you would have liked it!

Chet was full of life. He was friendly, charming, witty, and sometimes just the right amount of cheesy—but he was so genuine that it was nearly impossible to be annoyed with him for long. His mind remained sharp and curious right up until the end. The aches and pains of his body never seemed to slow him down, and his quick wit was always close behind.

Even near the end of his life, Chet was still living it.

Just one week before his passing, he spent time at one of his favorite vacation destinations, Siesta Key. He also celebrated his granddaughter’s ninth birthday surrounded by the people he loved, with plenty of laughter and without a care in the world.

It was a fitting final chapter for Chet: family, laughter, sunshine, and making memories.

Chet leaves behind a family who will miss his stories, his humor, his endless movie references, his unsolicited opinions, his love of baseball, and, most of all, his presence. His life was long, colorful, sometimes wonderfully unconventional, and filled with love.

He was preceded in death by his beloved wife, Susan Wojciechowski; his parents, Chester Wojciechowski and Mary (Joseph) Watroba; and numerous aunts, uncles, and cousins.

Chet is survived by his companion, Grace Berardi; his children, Amy (Jeffrey) Rokicki, Melissa (Matt) Chunn, and Adam (Amee) Wojciechowski; his grandchildren, Ryan (Ella) Rokicki, Olivia and Ethan Rokicki, Jake and Dylan Chunn, and Eisley and Gabriel Wojciechowski; his brother, Raymond (the late Marilyn) Wojciechowski; nephew Nick Wojciechowski; niece Andrea (Matt) Bowden; great-nephew Nicholas Wojciechowski; cousin John Lenart; and brother-in-law John (Maureen) Fraser.

In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to the Rett Syndrome Research Trust, 67 Under Cliff Road, Trumbull, Connecticut 06611, or to St. Jerome Catholic Church, 10895 Hamlin Blvd., Largo, Florida 33774.

Chet will be deeply missed, but the stories, lessons, laughter, and memories he left behind will keep him very much alive in the hearts of those who knew and loved him.