Joseph K. Kaszubski

KASZUBSKI - Joseph K. June 23, 2022. Beloved husband of Joan (nee Bastien) Kaszubski; dear father of Gregory (Christine), Gary, Glen (Christy) and the late Christopher Kaszubski; grandfather of Melissa (Adam) Manson, Lauren, Thomas “TJ”, Alan, Raymond, Viviana, Ian (Melisa), Kaszubski and Morgan (Kenton) Reason; stepfather of Lisa (Tim) Tempeny, Jenny (Paul) Burgio; brother of the late Teddy Kasupski, John, Antoinette and Edward Kaszubski. Family and friends may call Thursday, July 7th from 3-7 PM at

the PERNA, DENGLER, ROBERTS FUNERAL HOME, 1671 Maple Rd., Williamsville, where a Celebration of Joe’s Life will be held at 7 PM. Flowers gratefully declined. Memorials in Joe’s name may be made to the Alzheimers Assoc. of WNY, 6400 Sheridan Dr., suite 320, Williamsville, NY 14221. Online condolences may be made to www.denglerrobertspernafuneral.com.

“Thank you for being here this evening. I wanted to take this opportunity to share the story of my Father Joe Kaszubski” - Eulogy: Given July 7, 2022

Joseph K. Kaszubski 11/28/1934 - 6/23/2022

My father, Joe, was born on November 28, 1934, son of John and Sophie, immigrants from Poland who each arrived alone by ship to Ellis Island at the age of 18 and 19 respectively in 1913 and 1914; they married in 1915. Dad was one of five siblings, having three brothers and a sister, all born in North Tonawanda, and was the youngest of the siblings by 7 years. He attended North Tonawanda public schools, graduating from North Tonawanda High School in 1953. In his teen years he was mostly

raised by his sister, Antoinette, due to both his parents working. Dad would tell us periodically how grateful he was that she kept a watchful eye on him, pointing him in the right direction. Dad was the

first in his family to enroll in and graduate from college, attending the University at Buffalo earning his Bachelor of Arts Degree, majoring in chemistry. While attending UB he was a member of the Men’s

Swimming Team that swam in Clark Hall in the mid fifties. He continued his education at Canisius College where he achieved his Master’s Degree. Dad’s first job in his teens and college years was lifeguarding for the summers at Beaver Island State Park where he developed his fondness for the Niagara River.

Lifeguarding made an impression on him; his recall of that experience was as clear as day, telling many he saw even in his final years that he was a lifeguard at Beaver Island where one summer he was

the head guard, responsible for First Aid. Whether he knew you well or not he would show you how to stop bleeding with the brachial artery. Dad was employed by Occidental Chemical in North Tonawanda as a chemist working in the lab at Durez Plastics for 36 years. He was married to my mother, Maryjane,

for more than 30 years, becoming proud parents of 4 boys, Greg, Gary, Glen & Chris. Our family’s first home was in the upstairs of my dad’s parents’ house in North Tonawanda, where we lived for five years.

We then moved to a new build ranch home in Amherst on Hardt Lane. This was a big deal for my parents as Dad’s entire immediate family resided in North Tonawanda within a couple blocks of each other. It was a great move for us; we didn’t know it at the time, but what we referred to as “Dellwood” was an ideal place to be raised. Dad was always involved in our lives, engaging with us and providing us with numerous opportunities. In speaking with my mother, she recalled that Dad was a great father and thoroughly enjoyed watching us grow up. We were a modest family – a true reflection of our father –

that enjoyed family vacations involving a lot of tent camping, swimming, fishing, hiking and plenty of camp fires. Dad was there for us to play catch, hit fly and ground balls and to pitch for batting practice. He was happy to sacrifice the front lawn in favor of playing baserunner with us and generally letting us use

the lawn as our playground and the driveway for Glen’s enormous skate board ramp. He loved to throw the football as we wore our gear, including shoulder pads and Bills jerseys and helmets. During the winter Dad helped us build an ice rink and didn’t say much when we came home with election signs and spare wood from the new development on Roman Lane for the ice hockey boards. We remember when he told us he was going to put spotlights on the back of the house so we could skate at night, increasing the number of hours we could spend having fun. Another one of our fondest memories was the train table that he built for us, with an opening in the middle for the Conductor. We thought it was pretty cool and couldn’t

wait to run down to the basement after breakfast, lunch and dinner to play with the trains. From a young age Dad loved to swim, and he became an avid runner in his late thirties continuing through his early seventies, where he achieved success in weekend road races and completed 7 marathons, including the Buffalo Marathon twice, Marine Corps Marathon in Washington, DC three times and the famed Boston Marathon in 1990 where he ran 3 hours and 45 minutes at age 56. All through our school years Dad had a major influence on us, sharing his love of physical activity as well as conveying the

importance and value of a quality education. In his quiet way he encouraged us to give an honest effort every day to be the best student we could be. There was an understanding that attending college was an expectation, with the hope that we would realize the importance of a good education ourselves. He was an outstanding role model – and not just for me and my brothers, but for his grandchildren as well.

As Gary, Glen, and I married and had children of our own, our Dad became a Grandpa and held that title with pride for 38 years. He took joy in playing with and watching each of his eight grandchildren grow. And for my three children, who grew up living within two blocks of him, he was a regular part of their birthdays, attended their sporting events and enjoyed summer strolls around the neighborhood. On many of those occasions my dad was joined by Joan with whom he spent several years in a beautiful, supportive relationship, including 18 years of marriage. During that time, they enriched each other’s lives; they

enjoyed bicycling, walking, cross country skiing and several years traveling and enjoying time with their families. Joan’s daughters, Lisa and Jenny, and their spouses became close with Dad. Seeing how much they cared for him, I know he must have had a positive impact on their lives as well. Later in life, Dad dealt with Senior Dementia for several years; his loving wife took great care of him and became his primary caretaker and advocate until his passing. Joan’s enduring love for Dad allowed him to live at home almost right to the end. The Kaszubski family is extremely grateful for her devotion to Dad, especially during those years where he needed twenty-four hour care. In closing, if you knew my father, you know he was a good, happy, caring, pleasant man. He was funny and quirky and not shy about telling you how many running trophies he won. He was a loving husband, father, father-in-law, grandfather,

and stepfather, making all of us top priority. He loved being around others and enjoyed telling stories about his childhood days and he surely wasn’t afraid to express his opinion on a matter.

He was a kind man with a big heart, even if he did not always wear it on his sleeve, living by his self-proclaimed motto for a long life: “No drinking, no smoking and no wild women!” We love you, Dad. We will miss you, and we will not forget you.