Jozef Czekaj, age 84, of Lehighton, PA, formerly of North Arlington, passed after a tragic accident, on Friday, September 22, 2017.

He was born in Jaslany, Poland and came to the United States at the age of thirty. He settled on Duke Street in Kearny and found work as a butcher at the Kohler Meat Products Company in Newark. For many years Mary and Jozef lived at 58 2nd Street in North Arlington where they raised their family. Jozef worked at Kohler Meat Products for thirty-two years before retiring in 1995. He and Mary settled into retirement life in Lehighton, PA where they have lived for over twenty years.

While a young man growing up in Poland he served a compulsory two years in the military where he was a paratrooper. He always maintained deep Polish roots. Many will remember that he had a command of about three English words. With his limited English he wasn’t much for talking on the telephone as he couldn’t understand what you were saying. Instead of trying to figure out what was being said he would simply hang up on you. After hearing that you would thing Jozef was antisocial but the opposite was true. He loved having company over and would invite people to the house all the time. He also enjoyed many hours at the Polish National Home in Harrison, a decidedly Polish social club, where he commanded the pool table and tended bar. For several years he served on their Board of Directors. He will be lovingly remembered for his love of going out for a steak, as a hard worker, always willing to take a risk, strong will, German beer, soccer – not American football, watching Polka dancing on TV, having a shed full of wood he split, and his love of good shrimp scampi. He will also be remembered for having two lawn mowers. A pristine John Deere for the front yard as that had nicer blades, and an old ratty one for the back yard.

Jozef was the loving husband of Mary (Malecki) Czekaj; devoted father of Barbara Cipriano and her husband Charlie of Delray Beach, FL, and Christopher Czekaj and his wife Cheryl of Wayne; he was the cherished grandfather of Demi Cipriano and her fiancé Shannon Graves, and CJ Cipriano, Isabella, Faith, and Ava Czekaj; he is the loved brother of Helena Glaz and Jerzy Czekaj both of Jaslany, Poland.