I am here today with a heavy heart because I want to share the love and joy that was my Grandpa J.

I think all of us that knew him would agree we could only aspire to be as kind, spirited, and smart as my grandpa.  He was so smart we called him the walking Webster dictionary, and we knew we could ask him anything and he would have an answer.  He was so smart that even when I was very young I made it my mission to have an answer that my grandpa did not, and in elementary school  I finally found one!  I asked my grandpa to spell the word ukulele and he spelled it wrong by one letter; but to this day whenever I might lose a fun argument with him I could tell him U-K-U-L E-L-E! 

You had to be careful though of when you asked grandpa a question, meaning you better have had enough time to not only hear the answer but the history, the explanation, and the origin of that answer.  We joked that even though he was certainly smart enough to go on a show like Jeopardy he would never make the cut because he would want to explain the answer in detail to every question!

While his answers may have taken a lot of time to give, my time with Grandpa was his greatest gift to me.  We started the tradition of Sunday breakfast with Grandma and continued with Grandpa even after she was no longer with us.  It was grandpa's mission to do his shopping on Friday to make sure we had the best cuts of peameal bacon, sausage, or whatever completely unhealthy and delicious dish he wanted my mom and I to cook up Saturday morning along with whatever special pastry he got at the Polish Heritage Bakery.  He used to brag he could eat whatever he wanted and he weighed the same since he was 25 years old!  That time with him was so special I wouldn't trade those memories or stories for anything in the world.

The other time I got with him that was so special were our Sunday dinner's at my mom's house.  She brought us together as a family at those dinners.  When she was on one of her many adventures, I would take over for her and have the grandpas at my house like we did just last Sunday.  When I was saying my goodbyes to Grandpa I told him I do not have many regrets with you but I wish I had made you a more elaborate dinner last Sunday than just pork chops!  Even if pork chops were his favorite since he was traumatized by chicken as a young boy and refused to eat it.   

Speaking of goodbyes, I told grandpa that I knew me telling him not to go was only because I am selfish, and I still feel like being selfish today.  As much as I love him and I know he loved me and all of his family (especially his grandchildren and great grandchildren), no one could hold a candle to his great love, my Grandma J.  So as hard as it is to say goodbye and let go I have to keep reminding myself that his dream has finally come true and he is with her again in heaven.

Please help me keep my grandpa with us by continuing to share your stories and memories of him.  We know he was a sassy Grandpa  and if you need a laugh today like I might, just ask me about his rendition of the god Thor or the time that he demanded grandma make the room stop spinning after having just a bit too much of his favorite whiskey!  
I know that is how he would like us to celebrate him today, with laughter, smiles, and a cheers.   So cheers to you Grandpa!  Sto lat!  

And even though he was never quite satisfied with my Polish pronunciation of anything, 
Was kocham (Yashe co ham) Grandpa J.  I will always love you.

Many people knew and loved my Grandfather, but not everyone knew him the same way that I did.  My mom would say that my grandpa and I would speak our own different langue when we would get together and talk engineering.  I can confidently say that my grandfather was one of the people that impacted me the most in my personal and professional life.  

Growing up I remember that we use to build gifts for my mom.  We made her many things from an apple corer to rebuilding the outside of the hot tub to a coat rack, which still hangs in my mom's house.  The thing that I enjoyed the most was doing this with my Grandpa.  I know that is why today I enjoy building and woodworking.  

However my Grandfather had an even greater impact on my life.  Many people go into college wondering what they want to major in.  When I went into college I went in wanting to be an electrical engineer and I graduated as an electrical engineer without once changing or even considering changing my major.  This was due to my Grandfather, I knew that if electrical engineering was good enough for him then it was good enough for me.  This influence even helped me land my job at ITC.  During my job interview the question came up of why I wanted to be an electrical engineer.  Without even needing to think or consider my response I said it was due to my Grandfather.  I said that he was a person that I looked up to and admired and knew that if this career was good enough for him than I knew it would be good enough for me.   Years later one of the people from the interview board told me that they remembered that answer that I gave and it stuck with them.  I told this to my Grandfather and I know this stuck with him as well.   

I knew that my Grandfather was always extremely proud of me following in his footsteps.  To this day I still have the present and letter that he gave me when I graduated from MSU with my engineering degree.  On my desk sits his slide rule that he used day in and day out in his engineering career.  I will always cherish this gift and keep it in a place where I can see it to remind me of the standards that I have to live up to. 

As I already mentioned my Grandpa and I would always talk shop, as my mom liked to put it.  He was always eager to hear about what was going on in my job, what projects I had going on, and how construction was progressing on my large projects.  He would always light up when I would tell him that Ferndale, one of his old engineering firms, got the bid to build one of my substation projects.  He would be even prouder when I would tell him that Ferndale was selected due to their ability to handle complicated projects in older substations.     

The one moment that I will never forget about in my life is when I passed my Professional Engineering exam.  Once I opened the results and found out that I passed this grueling test I knew the first person that I wanted to tell was my Grandfather.  I didn't want to just pick up the phone and tell him. I knew this was something that I needed to tell him in person and he needed to be the first to know.  My wife was a little upset by this fact that I did not call her up all excited and let her knew that she would not have to put up with me studying for months at a time again if I had to retake the test.  But in the end she understood why I had to tell my Grandpa first, (not to mention I had a bottle of champagne waiting for her when she got home and I shared the news with her!).  On the day I found out that I passed my exam, I called my grandpa and I told him I was coming over to have a few beers with him after work.  I will never forgot how proud he was of me once I told him I passed the PE exam and what he said to me had an even greater impact.  The person that I admired professionally and based my entire career on said to me Robert, I am so proud of you.  You accomplished one of the things in life that I always regret never doing.  That single sentence meant so much to me and made the months and hours of studying all worthwhile more than just passing the PE Exam.  

I hope my Grandfather knows that although he is gone he will never be forgotten.  He will live on through me and my work.  I will think of him every day when I go to work and especially when I complete a difficult project.  I owe my career to him and thank him for that.  I can only hope that I will make even half the impact on the life of my daughters and future grandchildren as my grandfather made on me.  If I can manage to do that, I will know that I lived a good and successful life.  Grandpa, I will always love you and miss you but you will always live on with me and through me.

There are few people in this world that you can look at and say they are incredible.  My dad was often askedHow do you get an incredible life like you?
Philosopher dad (as he was often referred to as! And also the name of one of his favorite pipe tobaccos!)  Would answer with a wry smile
First you have to pick your parents well!  And I had great parents.then you have to pick your wife well! I had a wonderful wife..almost 60 years.then you have to pick your children well.  He was so proud of William, Allen and me.  He never missed an opportunity to tell that to the world.
My dad was incredible man.  From simple hard working Polish immigrant parents he created a life rich in family and friends.
Dad was the kind of man that would have been happy, sitting at his old DELL tower computer, pulling out the 3.5 inch floppies that got stuck in there with tweezers rescuing his precious records.  But because he loved his family and friends, with encouragement he would go out and make connections everywhere he went.  
He had a gifta gift to personally and sincerely connectand that gift could not be wasted.  Everywhere he went he had friendssome were perfect strangersand he was able to touch them and make them feel that they were the most important person he knew. 
My dad had many traits..he was extremely intelligent.his grandchildren called him THE WALKING ENCYCLOPEDIA.  He seemed to know everything! And he never asked a question that he did not already know the answer to.
He always had time or made time to help people out.  If a friend, neighbor or family member had a problem, a repair or even a fun projectthere was my dadtools in hand with his worn out jeans ready to tackle it! He helped build wood decks and gazebos and wood bars, he repaired faucets and wires.  He never said no.
As a girl growing up, Saturday mornings meant the smell of fresh cut pine boards! The whirr of the saw ripping through 2 by 4's was comforting to me but my mom would exclaim What is he making now!
He was so proud of the knotty pine hand rubbed panels that transformed 2 basements into fun places for family and friends to gather, play and laugh. Eagerly he would share his labor of love with whomever would listen. 
Later in life when projects became fewer, Saturday mornings were spent with his granddaughter Sabrina who started the SATURDAY BREAKFAST morning tradition with him and grandma!  When mom was alive, she would cook the hearty American breakfasts of bacon, eggs and pancakes!  What wonderful memories they made.
Later after mom passed, the tradition was not lost.  Now was my chance to spend those Saturday mornings with Dad.  He bought, I cooked! The menus dad planned were amazing!  Eggs benedict, Peal meal bacon sandwiches and the stand by pancakes bacon and eggs. This extravagant meal was crowned with goodies from Heritage bakeryhis favorite mom and pop place where they knew him on a first name basis. The fun was just about to begin as Dad checked the time and said Is it Noon yet?  Then promptly pulled out the whisky and beer!  For the next two hours we were blessed with stories of the past, history lessons or just animated talk about family and friends. I learned a lot about life, love and family.  My heart aches to have just one more Saturday with him.
Sunday, at my house was the family event!  My dad, Tony (his best friend) Bob, Sabrina, Marco, Rosalia, Bobby, Kate, Lorelei and me would gather around the table at 6 PM for an old fashioned family dinner!
Tony brought the wine or cake, Dad brought the ice cream!  Conversation was loud and lively!  I often tried to replicate my mom's old polish recipes never quite to her standards according to dad.  But he was always appreciative and loved to be there.  
My dad's work career spanned many years and reluctantly he retired. But he never really left that wonderful part of his life.  He has records of jobs and blueprints neatly stored away, just in case someone needed him or the wealth of information he acquired over the years as an electrical contractor. Early after retirement he was called back!  He was ebulient! (one of dad's favorite 50cent words!)
His greatest pride was that his son William and grandson Robert followed in his footsteps!  Many hours were spent discussing the current projects and an accomplishments.  My dad loved being involved as he felt that he was working side by side with them on a big project!
I have so much more I could share with all of you but it would take an incredible lifetime to fill you in!  I would like to leave you with a few songs dedicated to my dad, and one last song and wish FROM my dad to you.
Music  What a Wonderful World  Louis Armstrong, Wishing You Were Somehow Here Again  Phantom of the Opera, StoLat
May you all seek the incredible life my dad had, may you live to be 100 years, may you be surrounded by the love of your family and friends as his life was lived!

Rose, Sabrina, Marco, Bobby, and Kate,
Words alone can't express the pain I feel for you all during this hard time. Mr. Bill sounded like a great man and loved by all. May God shine his comfort on you all!

My parents (Al & Halina Majewski) were close friends of Virginia & Bill's. My mom and Bill went to Cass Tech High.  Our families lived only a few doors apart on Roseland in Livonia.  Billy, Rosemarie & Alan were the same ages as we were and our families did things from time to time.  I remember occasionally in the summer we would go out to swim at what we called, "Virginia's Lake."  We would swim, picnic and spend the day.  I loved it!!  I remember my oldest brother Greg, who was probably 14 at the time, locked the keys to our Cadillac in the trunk, Bill and Virginia had some kind of GM (possibly a Chevy ? or Buick ?) car at that time and Bill suggested, "here try my key, you might just get lucky," well wouldn't you know it, his key worked!!  Later when I moved out to Livingston County, (on Strawberry Lk), I learned that "Virginia's Lake" was called "Little Island Lake" back in the day and then the name changed to "Lake Oneida", I was actually living only a 1/2 mile from where we used to "hang" with the Jarocha's!!

The Majewski family is so very sad for your loss.  As we see our parents and their friends leaving us, at least we are proud to have known and been a part of the folks who comprised "The Greatest Generation."  So Bill and Virginia, thanks for all the wonderful memories you and my parents shared along with us kids too.  Andrea Walbridge (Majewski).

I spent only happy times with Bill and Virginia, in Michigan and in France. I 'll never forget them.
My prayers and thoughts are with you.

I am sorry I could not attend the services for your father.   He was always such a good story teller bringing smiles and laughter.  I will always remember him for being cheerful and entertaining. I sat with him at Stacey and Dean's wedding when he also shared memories of Virginia and their lives together.   They were always such wonderful hosts.  I appreciated that they included so many people in their lives, but especially my Mom and Dad who they invited to so many family gatherings and holidays.  They will both be missed.  Our thoughts are with you.  Sue, Amy, Jeff, Julie and Tommy

We have all lost a most kind, generous, family minded friend.  My prayers and thoughts are with his wonderful family.
Bill Frank

Najszczersze wyrazy wspóczucia od kuzynow z Polski przekazuj Jola i Sawek Jarocha

OBITUARY

Boleslav Bill William Jarocha "Bill"

June 5, 1924 – February 5, 2016

Harry J Will Funeral Homes

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