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Services
Friends may visit with the family at the Vander May Wayne Colonial Funeral Home, 567 Ratzer Road, Wayne, on Monday, May 4, 2015 from 2-4 & 7-9 PM. Funeral Services will be held at 9 AM on Tuesday, May 5, 2015 from the funeral home, then to Our Lady of the Valley RC Church, Wayne, where at 10 AM a Funeral Mass will be offered. Entombment will follow at the Laurel Grove Mausoleum in Totowa.
John Kuczynski, “Ski,” age 89 of Wayne, died peacefully on Tuesday, April 28, 2015. He was born in Hartford, CT and at six months old his family moved to Paterson, NJ. He attended Central High School, Paterson and has lived in Wayne for the past 35 years.
John’s parents Mary and Walter had seven children, of which John was the youngest. Through a series of unfortunate circumstances, the State of Connecticut took the children out of the home and put them into foster care – all except John, of course. Since he was the baby, his mother hid him in a dresser drawer and told the State agents that she only had six kids, not seven. They searched the house thoroughly and after finding nothing, they left. The State continued to make surprise visits to the home, looking for any evidence that there was a baby present, but they never found him. Soon thereafter, his mother moved to Paterson, NJ, where she could raise her son without fear of him being taken from her. In adulthood, John tried to have a relationship with his older siblings but found that they all carried a great deal of resentment towards him. It was certainly no fault of John’s that his mother chose to keep him as a baby, but sadly that animosity was something none of his brothers and sisters could overcome during their lifetimes.
At the age of nine John had to leave high school and try to make money to help support the family. His first job was shining shoes at the intersection of Market Street and Main Street in Paterson. He later sold newspapers. He would go to the Paterson News and buy papers for two cents and sell them for five cents. He especially remembers selling papers during the following memorable events: The Hindenburg burning and crashing in Lakehurst, NJ, the passing of actress Jean Harlow, and the kidnapping of the Lindberg baby. John also had jobs delivering groceries for the A&P in Paterson, working at a gasoline service station and eventually got a job at the Mountain Ice Company on Lafayette Ave where he cut ice into cubes to sell to ice men.
In 1943, John joined the United States Army and was sent to Europe with the 34th Infantry during WWII. He encountered German infantry in Castalina, Italy, and the Germans began firing a machine gun at him. He took cover behind a rock but was hit in the leg and ankle. He received the Purple Heart for his combat injuries.
After being discharged from the Army he returned to Paterson and married the love of his life; Gertrude Griffin. The two had met in Paterson and were introduced by a cousin while at Pennington Park. They married in 1946 and enjoyed sixty four years together before Gertrude passed in 2011.
John always had a love for performing and especially enjoyed taking roles in Pantomime performances. He was part of the Glee Club at Continental Can having sung songs like Please Mr. Custer and Little Darling; he also performed in a comedy team at nightclubs throughout Bergen County.
John is survived by his two daughters; Joyce Rondeau and her husband Don of Goffstown, NH and Linda Cascio and her husband Garry of Cape May Courthouse, NJ; cherished grandfather of six grandchildren and thirteen great-grandchildren; he was predeceased by four brothers and two sisters.
If you would like to send a private condolence directly to the family use this condolence section.
Friends may visit with the family at the Vander May Wayne Colonial Funeral Home, 567 Ratzer Road, Wayne, on Monday, May 4, 2015 from 2-4 & 7-9 PM. Funeral Services will be held at 9 AM on Tuesday, May 5, 2015 from the funeral home, then to Our Lady of the Valley RC Church, Wayne, where at 10 AM a Funeral Mass will be offered. Entombment will follow at the Laurel Grove Mausoleum in Totowa.
Services
Friends may visit with the family at the Vander May Wayne Colonial Funeral Home, 567 Ratzer Road, Wayne, on Monday, May 4, 2015 from 2-4 & 7-9 PM. Funeral Services will be held at 9 AM on Tuesday, May 5, 2015 from the funeral home, then to Our Lady of the Valley RC Church, Wayne, where at 10 AM a Funeral Mass will be offered. Entombment will follow at the Laurel Grove Mausoleum in Totowa.
John Kuczynski, “Ski,” age 89 of Wayne, died peacefully on Tuesday, April 28, 2015. He was born in Hartford, CT and at six months old his family moved to Paterson, NJ. He attended Central High School, Paterson and has lived in Wayne for the past 35 years.
John’s parents Mary and Walter had seven children, of which John was the youngest. Through a series of unfortunate circumstances, the State of Connecticut took the children out of the home and put them into foster care – all except John, of course. Since he was the baby, his mother hid him in a dresser drawer and told the State agents that she only had six kids, not seven. They searched the house thoroughly and after finding nothing, they left. The State continued to make surprise visits to the home, looking for any evidence that there was a baby present, but they never found him. Soon thereafter, his mother moved to Paterson, NJ, where she could raise her son without fear of him being taken from her. In adulthood, John tried to have a relationship with his older siblings but found that they all carried a great deal of resentment towards him. It was certainly no fault of John’s that his mother chose to keep him as a baby, but sadly that animosity was something none of his brothers and sisters could overcome during their lifetimes.
At the age of nine John had to leave high school and try to make money to help support the family. His first job was shining shoes at the intersection of Market Street and Main Street in Paterson. He later sold newspapers. He would go to the Paterson News and buy papers for two cents and sell them for five cents. He especially remembers selling papers during the following memorable events: The Hindenburg burning and crashing in Lakehurst, NJ, the passing of actress Jean Harlow, and the kidnapping of the Lindberg baby. John also had jobs delivering groceries for the A&P in Paterson, working at a gasoline service station and eventually got a job at the Mountain Ice Company on Lafayette Ave where he cut ice into cubes to sell to ice men.
In 1943, John joined the United States Army and was sent to Europe with the 34th Infantry during WWII. He encountered German infantry in Castalina, Italy, and the Germans began firing a machine gun at him. He took cover behind a rock but was hit in the leg and ankle. He received the Purple Heart for his combat injuries.
After being discharged from the Army he returned to Paterson and married the love of his life; Gertrude Griffin. The two had met in Paterson and were introduced by a cousin while at Pennington Park. They married in 1946 and enjoyed sixty four years together before Gertrude passed in 2011.
John always had a love for performing and especially enjoyed taking roles in Pantomime performances. He was part of the Glee Club at Continental Can having sung songs like Please Mr. Custer and Little Darling; he also performed in a comedy team at nightclubs throughout Bergen County.
John is survived by his two daughters; Joyce Rondeau and her husband Don of Goffstown, NH and Linda Cascio and her husband Garry of Cape May Courthouse, NJ; cherished grandfather of six grandchildren and thirteen great-grandchildren; he was predeceased by four brothers and two sisters.
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