WOLCOTT - John Stanley Kovaleski, age 93 of Wolcott, passed away peacefully, surrounded by the love and comfort of his family at UCONN Medical Center in Farmington on Saturday, September 16th 2017. He was the widower of Shirley (Castonguay) Kovaleski.
John was born on December 30, 1923 in Thomaston, CT, the son of the late John & Julia (Rupenski) Kovaleski. He was a graduate of Thomaston High School, Class of 1942 and proudly served his country with the United States Army as a Sargent in World War II where he served in the 296th Combat Engineers Division. He participated in 5 campaigns throughout Europe, including Normandy, Northern France, Rhineland and the Battle of the Bulge. Upon his return from WWII, he worked as an ironworker in the Bath, ME shipyards before co-founding Park City Builders and was also the founder of Park City Steel in Orange, CT in 1967. He also worked for Berlin Steel.
In his younger days, John enjoyed weekends fishing at Race Point beach on Cape Cod with his family. Upon retiring, he found his joy in his motorhome, traveling around the country as well as traveling to his home away from home on Hilton Head Island with his late wife, Shirley. Later in life, John rediscovered his talent for turning wood on his lathe as he created many beautiful works of art and handcrafted eagles which he generously shared with his family and friends. He spent the last 16 years of his life enjoying his time and traveling with Emilie Albert, the second love of his life.
John will be dearly missed by his six daughters and their families, Karen Funston and her husband, Randy, of Colorado, Cheryl Graham and her husband, Michael, of Wolcott, Lynn Foryan and her husband, Hank, of Unionville, Gail Gladding of Cromwell, Kim Fecher and her husband, Doug, of New Milford, Lee Archambault and her husband, David, of Wolcott. He also leaves behind his companion of 16 years, Emilie Albert of Berlin, his sister, Frances Krukar, formerly of Goshen and his brother, Raymond Kovaleski of Florida and his 12 grandchildren and 8 great grandchildren. Besides his wife of 45 years, Shirley, he also was predeceased by his siblings Helen Perbeck, George Kovaleski, and Edmund Kovaleski.
Funeral services for John will be held on Tuesday, September 19, 2017 when a Mass of Christian Burial will be celebrated at Saint John the Evangelist Church, 580 Main Street in Watertown, CT at 10:00 a.m. Those planning to attend are kindly asked to meet directly at the church. Burial with military honors will follow in Mount Olivet Cemetery, Watertown. There are no calling hours. In lieu of flowers, please make a donation to a charity of your choice. Casey's Eastside Memorial Funeral Home has been honored to assist the family with the arrangements. To extend on-line expressions of sympathy to the family or for additional information, visit the funeral homes website at www.eastsidememorial.com
To order memorial trees or send flowers to the family in memory of John S. Kovaleski, please visit our flower store.
John was born on December 30, 1923 in Thomaston, CT, the son of the late John & Julia (Rupenski) Kovaleski. He was a graduate of Thomaston High School, Class of 1942 and proudly served his country with the United States Army as a Sargent in World War II where he served in the 296th Combat Engineers Division. He participated in 5 campaigns throughout Europe, including Normandy, Northern France, Rhineland and the Battle of the Bulge. Upon his return from WWII, he worked as an ironworker in the Bath, ME shipyards before co-founding Park City Builders and was also the founder of Park City Steel in Orange, CT in 1967. He also worked for Berlin Steel.
In his younger days, John enjoyed weekends fishing at Race Point beach on Cape Cod with his family. Upon retiring, he found his joy in his motorhome, traveling around the country as well as traveling to his home away from home on Hilton Head Island with his late wife, Shirley. Later in life, John rediscovered his talent for turning wood on his lathe as he created many beautiful works of art and handcrafted eagles which he generously shared with his family and friends. He spent the last 16 years of his life enjoying his time and traveling with Emilie Albert, the second love of his life.
John will be dearly missed by his six daughters and their families, Karen Funston and her husband, Randy, of Colorado, Cheryl Graham and her husband, Michael, of Wolcott, Lynn Foryan and her husband, Hank, of Unionville, Gail Gladding of Cromwell, Kim Fecher and her husband, Doug, of New Milford, Lee Archambault and her husband, David, of Wolcott. He also leaves behind his companion of 16 years, Emilie Albert of Berlin, his sister, Frances Krukar, formerly of Goshen and his brother, Raymond Kovaleski of Florida and his 12 grandchildren and 8 great grandchildren. Besides his wife of 45 years, Shirley, he also was predeceased by his siblings Helen Perbeck, George Kovaleski, and Edmund Kovaleski.
Funeral services for John will be held on Tuesday, September 19, 2017 when a Mass of Christian Burial will be celebrated at Saint John the Evangelist Church, 580 Main Street in Watertown, CT at 10:00 a.m. Those planning to attend are kindly asked to meet directly at the church. Burial with military honors will follow in Mount Olivet Cemetery, Watertown. There are no calling hours. In lieu of flowers, please make a donation to a charity of your choice. Casey's Eastside Memorial Funeral Home has been honored to assist the family with the arrangements. To extend on-line expressions of sympathy to the family or for additional information, visit the funeral homes website at www.eastsidememorial.com
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