Known to all as Jack, he was born on October 21, 1937 in Buffalo, NY to the late Matthew Ciszewski and Bertha Kolasz. He graduated from the State University of New York, Buffalo in 1959 and was a career employee of Travelers Insurance Company, retiring in 1993 after over 30 years.

Jack and his young family left their home community near Buffalo in 1969, settling in East Hartford in 1977 after brief tours through several southern New England towns, including Enfield and Ellington in CT and Peabody, MA. He was completely devoted to Ann Marie, his high school sweetheart, and their family of four children.

Jack was known for his irrepressible sense of humor and didn’t hesitate to share his favorite jokes and stories at any opportunity, whether at parties or family gatherings. He loved the good things in life: travelling, a good meal out, and of course, a very dry martini. He and Ann Marie were lifelong bowlers, members of and award-winners in leagues throughout the northeast for over six decades.

He was an avid golfer right up until the end and could be found walking the fairways at many local courses, Tallwood in Hebron being his favorite, where he carded a hole-in-one on #3. He was a fixture in the Tallwood clubhouse for many of his retirement years, working as the starter and befriending everyone who entered. He was proud of having shot his age just this summer.

He spent several summers influencing the lives of young men as a favorite coach of a senior league baseball team in Ellington, instilling the values of sportsmanship and fair play and an appreciation for the discipline of hard work, sprinkled with an appropriate dose of competitiveness and fun.

In addition to Ann Marie, he is survived and will be dearly missed by his sons, Michael and his wife Christina Best of Washington, DC and London, England; Christopher and his wife Marilyn of Vernon, CT; Joel and his wife Pamela of San Mateo, CA; and his daughter, Julie and her husband Thomas Rooney of Manchester, CT. Jack has eight grandchildren: Justin Ciszewski, Megan Fitzgerald, Sean Moyer, Kevin Rooney, Shannon Stadalnik, Theodore Ciszewski, Madeleine Cox, and Caroline Best; and two great grandchildren: Logan Moyer and Olivia Fitzgerald. Newkirk and Whitney Funeral Home 318 Burnside Ave. East Hartford, CT. 06108 are assisting the family. To sign the online guestbook go to www.NewkirkandWhitney.com

There will be no services at this time; donations may be made in Jack’s name to the Alzheimer’s Association.