Obituary of Edward Szczesiul

Edward Anthony Szczesiul, 91, passed away peacefully on September 7th at the Saint Mary Home. He was predeceased by Irene (Ciesinski) Szczesiul, his beloved wife of 64 years. He was born in Beacon Falls on March 8, 1922, son of Alexander Szczesiul and Stella (Karaban) Szczesiul. Ed was a World War II Veteran Marine Technical Sergeant, stationed in the Central Pacific, and participated in the capture and occupation of Okinawa. After the war, Ed and Irene raised their six children in Seymour. He worked at the Uniroyal Chemical Company for 44 years. He was an active member of St. Augustine's Parish, including acting as Trustee, member of Parish Council, Knights of Columbus member, lector, and Eucharistic minister. Ed and Irene were active in the Marriage Encounter program and helped with the church based shelter dinner program. In their later years, they moved to Glastonbury to be closer to family. Ed was a model of resilience, faith, and fortitude to everyone he met, but most especially his family. He engaged people with his sense of humor, heartfelt smile, and amazing optimism. He left us with a legacy of love. Edward is survived by his loving family including his children: Vincent Szczesiul, of Queens NY; Catherine Buchholz and her husband Christopher of Glastonbury; David Szczesiul of Southbury and his ex-wife Melissa Green of Woodbury; Rosemary Richter and her husband Peter of Glastonbury; Eileen Howley and her husband Patrick of Plainville. His beloved grandchildren include Christopher Michael and Shelby Ann Szczesiul of Woodbury; Erich Buchholz and his wife Elizabeth of Newington; Adam and his wife Ariane Buchholz of Boston; Alden and Alexander Richter of Glastonbury. He is also survived by two brothers, Walter Szczesiul of Michigan, and Stanley Szczesiul of Massachusetts. He was predeceased by his son, Stephen Szczesiul, and siblings Jane, Anthony, John, and Hedwig. The family would like to thank the staff of Saint Mary Home, especially Patricia, Orlando and Anna, for their gentle, kind, and compassionate care for Eddie Szczesiul. A Mass of Christian Burial will be celebrated on Wednesday at 10am at St. Paul's Church, 2577 Main St. Glastonbury. Burial with full military honors will be at St. Augustine's cemetery in Seymour at 2:30. Friends are invited to call at the Mulryan Funeral Home, 725 Hebron Avenue, Glastonbury on Tuesday from 5-7 pm. In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions in Ed's honor can be made to the Saint Mary Home, 2021 Albany Ave West Hartford, CT 06117.