Edward Brodzik

Edward Brodzik was born June 17th, 1938, next to the pond out back on his father's farm in Łazy, Poland to Jozef and Jozefa (Choroszewski) Brodzik.  He left this earth the evening of December 19th, 2020, aged 82 years, 6 months, and 2 days.

He was filled with many memories (both good and bad) of his childhood in Poland.  By way of stories, he shared his memories of Poland and family history with us.  

Those stories described life growing up on the farm in Poland with beautiful birds (especially storks), trees, the countryside with fields of his favorite purple wildflowers and of lying down amongst the pine trees and drifting off to sleep, listening to the wind whisper through the branches above.  With his father, his “best friend”, he picked mushrooms, went fishing and enjoyed the outdoors.  There were also many stories of the horrors of living through World War II that no child should ever have had to experience.  All of these stories made up the man, Edward Brodzik. 

He spoke no English when he “came to this country” on the S.S. Ernie Pyle on October 27th, 1947 at the age of 9 with his father and sister, Lillian.  They were joined by his mother and his younger brother, James, two years later.  He lived with his family in Hamtramck, Michigan, and became a U.S. citizen as a young teenager.  He graduated from Hamtramck High School and was drafted into the Army.  He was very proud of his military service and related how he spent his 21st birthday...in basic training, crawling on his belly across a field with live machine gun fire over his head!  

For the last 55 years, Edward lived in Warren, Michigan, with his wife, Jeanette (Centalla) and enjoyed his retirement from the Grosse Pointe School system for more than 20 years.  His hobbies included woodworking, painting with oils, hunting, and fishing.  He was always a natural fix-it-all around the house, which he learned from his father.  He kept his yard looking beautiful, tending to the lawn and many trees and flowers.  He was always sure to bring in a rose or flower for Mom to display on the table or windowsill.  He enjoyed feeding and watching the birds and even his nemesis, the squirrels.  He loved a good cup or pot of black, decaf coffee and savored 55 years of Jeanette’s delicious cooking. His favorite meal was the homemade pot of soup she made each week. He enjoyed watching history and nature documentaries on TV and liked a good Western movie, too.  He got a lot of laughs from The Golden Girls and would say "Ma, the girls are on!" when it was time to watch.  

Edward loved spending time with his children and was immensely proud of them.  He instilled his love of nature, his love of adventure, and love of each other through many picnics and outings. He welcomed their spouses as his own; they were his kids too.  

He was never late to appointments or engagements, as he did not like to rush anywhere. He was known for the phrase “If you get there early, they might take you in early.”  Edward and Jeanette enjoyed at least weekly drives to Stony Creek Metropark to see the different birds, trees, animals, and wildflowers throughout the seasons.  They counted deer, hawks, turkeys, etc. that they saw on the day's ride to share with us kids...stories, that we will all miss.

Edward is survived by his wife, Jeanette, his children Joseph (Jennifer) Brodzik, Michael (Jacqueline) Brodzik, Theresa (Michael) Iafrate, his sister, Lillian (Hank) Huczek and many loved nieces and nephews

He is preceded in death by his parents, Jozef and Jozefa (Choroszewski) Brodzik and his younger brother, James Brodzik.

Arrangements entrusted to the D.S. Temrowski & Sons Funeral Home, 30009 Hoover Road (12 1/2 Mile Road) at Common, in Warren. 

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