Tony John Kozlik

Tony John Kozlik was born on February 16, 1947, to John and Darlene Kozlik in Lincoln, Nebraska, and was soon accompanied by his brother and sisters Donna, Alan, Yvonne, and Lori. Tony graduated from Crete High School in 1965 (and has since enjoyed attending many class reunions). He went on to earn his Bachelor's degree in 1969 from the University of Nebraska in electrical engineering, and later, a Master’s degree from Arizona State University. He was in ROTC in college and after graduating joined the Air Force, with his first assignment at Luke Air Force Base in Phoenix, Arizona. He was transferred to Fort Fisher, North Carolina, where he met his wife, Diane Kozlik. They fell in love waterskiing amongst the alligators and were married in February of 1974. Tony was promoted to Captain before being released from the service.

He and his wife moved to Phoenix, Arizona, where they welcomed the birth of a daughter, Joanne, and a son, Kenneth. Tony continued his career in electrical engineering, earning several patents and recognition while working at Honeywell, eventually becoming the manager of the hardware engineering group. Tony and his family enjoyed camping and boating (both sailing and power), with many trips to Lake Pleasant, Lake Powell, California (including Catalina Island), the mountains of Arizona, and visiting family across the US. His family will forever remember the 2-week trips taken across the western US in “Winnie”, a small Winnebago motorhome with lots of character and the occasional breakdown; luckily, Tony had learned a lot about car maintenance from his grandfather and was always able to save the day.

Tony also enjoyed woodworking, creating beautiful furniture, including many items for his children and grandchildren, and a 10-foot cold-molded, western red cedar sail and rowboat. Tony taught his children how to sail on that boat, as well as on a Catalina 22 named “Joken” that the family raced on Lake Pleasant with the Arizona Yacht Club.

Tony’s first case of kidney cancer encouraged him to seek early retirement in 2008. He survived his second case of kidney cancer in 2018, which allowed him more time to spend with his grandkids, Owen and Sophie (children of Joanne and Keith Aspinall), and Ben and Josh (children of Ken and Katie Kozlik). His grandchildren will cherish the many games of monkey in the middle, foosball, basketball, rummy, and ping pong that Grandpa played with them. After the pandemic, Tony fixed up a Capri 14.2 sailboat and continued to share his love of sailing by racing with his daughter Joanne on Tempe Town Lake. Tony and his wife Diane also enjoyed travelling more, and spending time on the water (and land) with their friends in the Lake Pleasant Sailing Club.

In early 2026, Tony was diagnosed with throat cancer, which had progressed to Stage 4, and eventually led to his passing on June 15, 2026. Tony will be remembered in a small, close family service on June 22nd with military honors at the National Memorial Cemetery of Arizona. Tony’s family and friends are grateful for the many cherished memories they have of Grandpa/Dad/Tony and will miss him dearly.