On December 15, 2022, Frank Jaworski passed away at Friends House Retirement Community in Sandy Spring, MD, at the age of 100 years. He was predeceased by his wife Nettie Kriel Jaworski, and his siblings Boleslaw Jaworski, Stella Passalaqua, and Helen McPheeters. He is survived by his daughters Cynthia Jaworski (Graeme Wistow) of Silver Spring, MD, and Jane Menis (Richard) of Greenbelt, MD, grandson Geoffrey Wistow, and numerous loving relatives.
Frank was born May 18, 1922 to Mary Forys Jaworska and Frank Jaworski, Sr, both immigrants from Poland, and he was raised in Boston’s immigrant community in the old West End. He graduated from Roxbury High School, which he represented in the Westinghouse student science exhibit at the 1939 New York World’s Fair. He also learned the printing trade, and began his career as a press operator in Daniels Printing Co.
During WW II, he served in the US Army Air Corps 384th Bombardment Group, stationed at Grafton Underwood Airfield, England. For most of his 34 B17 combat missions, he flew as ball turret gunner. Although he was awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross Air medal, he preferred to tell the story of how a frozen Mounds candy bar saved him from German flak on a difficult sortie.
In peacetime, he returned to printing. In 1950, he married Nettie Kriel, a cousin of a boyhood friend from the West End, and together they raised two daughters. The family relocated to Silver Spring, MD in 1955. Frank joined the ranks of the Government Printing Office, retiring from there in 1980, with his final years working as a contract compliance officer.
During retirement, he became a docent for the Smithsonian Museum of Natural History in Washington, DC. Tutored by the museum’s scientific staff, the docents guided visitors through a wide range of exhibits. Among his favorites were dinosaurs and gemstones. He continued his museum work until his early nineties.
He and Nettie shared a love of travel, visiting numerous regions of mainland USA as well as Alaska and Hawaii. They especially enjoyed exploring other countries, spending time in Australia, New Zealand, China, and much of western and eastern Europe. A significant highlight was reuniting with distant relatives living in an ancestral home village in present day Poland.
After the passing of his wife in 2014, Frank took up residence in retirement community settings, where he continued to appreciate the company of others, engage in playful debate, and exercise his sense of humor.
Donations in his memory may be made to any good-hearted charity of the donor’s choice. Services will be held at Arlington National Cemetery at a date yet to be determined. As was their wish, Frank and Nettie will be inurned together.
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