William R. Kruzel

William Ralph Kruzel (“Bill”) was born June 25, 1929, in Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania. He was the youngest child of Stanley and Helen Kruzel, whose family included four boys and six girls. A 1947 graduate of Coughlin High School, Bill entered the workforce as an insurance underwriter. He enlisted in the Coast Guard in 1951 for a three-year stint. In July of 1956, he married the love of his life, Dorothy Marie Jastrzebski—his “Dottie.” Daughter Mary Kay arrived in 1957, the same year that Bill graduated from the University of Scranton to pursue a career in engineering. In 1959, his second daughter, Ellen, was born. She was followed by sons William in 1963 and Joel in 1968, the same year the family moved to Canal Road in Montgomery Village, Maryland—Bill’s home ever since.

A longtime engineer for IBM Federal Systems Division, Bill worked first in Owego, New York, then in Gaithersburg, Maryland, and for a while in Manassas, Virginia. His employer at the time of his retirement was Lockheed Martin. By all evidence, Bill was a knowledgeable, talented and well-respected colleague. There are many mementos in his study that commemorate his engineering accomplishments—especially contributions made by IBM to the Apollo Missions in the late 1960s and early ’70s.

A devote Catholic, Bill generously supported several parishes over the years, including the Church of the Epiphany in Sayre, Pennsylvania, as well as St. Martin’s and St. John Neumann in Gaithersburg, Maryland.

Bill was preceded in death by his wife and son William. His survivors include children Mary Kay Kinnish (Benjamin), Ellen Slepitza (Robert) and Joel Kruzel as well as grandsons Griffin Kinnish (Rebecca) and Matthew Slepitza (Ashley) and great-grandchildren Emma Kinnish and Alec Slepitza.

Friends may call at St. John Neumann Catholic Church, 9000 Warfield Road, Gaithersburg, Maryland, on Wednesday, April 27, 2022, from 11 a.m. to 12 noon, when a Mass of Christian Burial will begin. For those wishing to join from afar, the service will be live-streamed at www.youtube.com/c/StJohnNeumannParishGaithersburg. Interment will follow at Gate of Heaven Cemetery in Silver Spring, Maryland.

In lieu of flowers memorial contributions may be made to St. John Neumann Building Fund.