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January 11, 2008
Thomas Zachok, age 86 of Wayne, died on Friday, January 11, 2008 at the Chilton Hospital in Pequannock. His passing was quiet and peaceful.
Born in Passaic, Thom moved to Clifton at age three. He graduated from Clifton High with the class of 1940. He began working for the Leslie Company in Lyndhurst, NJ, which was a major supplier of steam equipment, such as train and ship whistles. Except for the time he spent in the service, he worked 45 years for Leslie until his retirement in 1985.
Shortly after the bombing of Pearl Harbor however, he enlisted in the Army Air Corp and joined the 41st Bombardment Group of the 7th Air Force. He was in the 47th Squadron, also known as “The Crow Flight”. He was trained as a bombardier navigator, but functioned only as a navigator in combat. He served throughout the Pacific theatre, based in the Marshall Islands, Okinawa and the Macon Islands, just to name a few. He was witness to the dropping of both atomic bombs on Japan from his B-25 Mitchell named “Weezie”. He was awarded the Air Medal, the American Campaign Medal, the Asiatic Pacific Campaign Medal, and the World War II Victory Medal. One story he would tell was about a time that his squadron was in the San Francisco Bay area. Upon their departure, the squadron pilots all agreed to fly under the Golden Gate Bridge on their way out of the bay. Thom’s pilot was reluctant, but his crew persuaded him. At the last moment, all the other pilots chickened out and flew over the bridge, and Thom’s plane was the only one to fly under it! He never spoke of his military service as anything but ordinary and often said the soldiers on the ground were the ones that saw the real war, he did not think of himself as a hero but he was to his family and they are proud of his service to his country.
His interests were numerous, including reading, riddles, and mathematics, to name a few. He had no formal education in mathematics, but was absolutely brilliant when it came to solving mathematical problems and especially mathematical riddles. Having been a young boy in the depression era, he was also very self-sufficient. He would do everything himself; even electrical, plumbing, home repair, etc., and he taught his sons these skills too. He also loved his garden and would spend 8 hours a day or more there. He made his own compost, sifted the soil, and commissioned his sons to help collected leaves and manure to mix into the soil – a task they not-so-fondly remember. It all paid off however, as his garden did produce beautiful flowers & vegetables, he even tried corn once; planting a large circle of it in the center of his front lawn, where the best sunlight was.
His family recalls his dry sense of humor, sarcasm, and how he loved to argue – often just for the sake of arguing. He really knew how to push-your-buttons too, if he wanted, but never in a way to be mean – it was just who he was.
Thom met his wife, Mary, at the Sagamore Resort in the Pocono’s. He was a great tennis player and often spent the weekends at Sagamore. Mary visited there, with a friend, one summer and met Thom. They courted for 3 years before marrying in 1959. They moved to Wayne in 1964 to raise their family.
Thom is survived by his wife Mary of 48 years, two sons; Timothy and his wife Lisa of Sparta, New Jersey, and Matthew and his wife Lois of Randolph, New Jersey, two grandsons; Jonathan and Christopher of Sparta, two sisters; Olga Zawada of Clifton, New Jersey and Ann Biondi of Toms River, New Jersey, and one brother; Steve, of Florida. He was tragically predeceased by his son Douglas in 1967, two sisters; Sophie Susidko in 1997 and Helen Lisinsky in 2003, two brothers; Peter in 1986 and John in 1998.
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January 11, 2008
Thomas Zachok, age 86 of Wayne, died on Friday, January 11, 2008 at the Chilton Hospital in Pequannock. His passing was quiet and peaceful.
Born in Passaic, Thom moved to Clifton at age three. He graduated from Clifton High with the class of 1940. He began working for the Leslie Company in Lyndhurst, NJ, which was a major supplier of steam equipment, such as train and ship whistles. Except for the time he spent in the service, he worked 45 years for Leslie until his retirement in 1985.
Shortly after the bombing of Pearl Harbor however, he enlisted in the Army Air Corp and joined the 41st Bombardment Group of the 7th Air Force. He was in the 47th Squadron, also known as “The Crow Flight”. He was trained as a bombardier navigator, but functioned only as a navigator in combat. He served throughout the Pacific theatre, based in the Marshall Islands, Okinawa and the Macon Islands, just to name a few. He was witness to the dropping of both atomic bombs on Japan from his B-25 Mitchell named “Weezie”. He was awarded the Air Medal, the American Campaign Medal, the Asiatic Pacific Campaign Medal, and the World War II Victory Medal. One story he would tell was about a time that his squadron was in the San Francisco Bay area. Upon their departure, the squadron pilots all agreed to fly under the Golden Gate Bridge on their way out of the bay. Thom’s pilot was reluctant, but his crew persuaded him. At the last moment, all the other pilots chickened out and flew over the bridge, and Thom’s plane was the only one to fly under it! He never spoke of his military service as anything but ordinary and often said the soldiers on the ground were the ones that saw the real war, he did not think of himself as a hero but he was to his family and they are proud of his service to his country.
His interests were numerous, including reading, riddles, and mathematics, to name a few. He had no formal education in mathematics, but was absolutely brilliant when it came to solving mathematical problems and especially mathematical riddles. Having been a young boy in the depression era, he was also very self-sufficient. He would do everything himself; even electrical, plumbing, home repair, etc., and he taught his sons these skills too. He also loved his garden and would spend 8 hours a day or more there. He made his own compost, sifted the soil, and commissioned his sons to help collected leaves and manure to mix into the soil – a task they not-so-fondly remember. It all paid off however, as his garden did produce beautiful flowers & vegetables, he even tried corn once; planting a large circle of it in the center of his front lawn, where the best sunlight was.
His family recalls his dry sense of humor, sarcasm, and how he loved to argue – often just for the sake of arguing. He really knew how to push-your-buttons too, if he wanted, but never in a way to be mean – it was just who he was.
Thom met his wife, Mary, at the Sagamore Resort in the Pocono’s. He was a great tennis player and often spent the weekends at Sagamore. Mary visited there, with a friend, one summer and met Thom. They courted for 3 years before marrying in 1959. They moved to Wayne in 1964 to raise their family.
Thom is survived by his wife Mary of 48 years, two sons; Timothy and his wife Lisa of Sparta, New Jersey, and Matthew and his wife Lois of Randolph, New Jersey, two grandsons; Jonathan and Christopher of Sparta, two sisters; Olga Zawada of Clifton, New Jersey and Ann Biondi of Toms River, New Jersey, and one brother; Steve, of Florida. He was tragically predeceased by his son Douglas in 1967, two sisters; Sophie Susidko in 1997 and Helen Lisinsky in 2003, two brothers; Peter in 1986 and John in 1998.
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