COLUMBIA - Captain Joseph S. Konicki, USN (retired) and CEO of Wamar International Group, passed away on March 24, 2015 as a result of a sudden heart attack. He was 53 years old. Captain Konicki was born in Los Angeles, CA to Joseph J. and Marilyn (LaHood) Konicki. He grew up in Butte, MT, Casper, WY, Denver, CO and finally in Spring, TX where he was an outstanding athlete and the 1980 state high jump champion. After graduating from Klein High School in 1980, he attended the U.S. Naval Academy and continued his athletic dominance - serving as captain of the track team and winning the Penn Relays in 1983 before graduating in 1984. He began his naval career on various ships including the USS Platte which participated in the 1986 Statue of Liberty Anniversary in New York where he met his future wife, Judith, while touring the tall ship HMS Bounty. They married in 1990 and shortly thereafter moved to Monterey, CA to continue his education at the Navy Postgraduate School. He graduated in 1993 with a master’s degree in Mechanical Engineering. Joe proudly served our country for more than 30 years in a variety of roles including: Chief of Staff, Naval Air Systems SEA05, Director of Energy Reconstruction for the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Deputy Director/Chief Operating Officer at the U.S. Navy Electric Ships Office in D.C., Commanding Officer of SPAWAR in Norfolk, VA and Chief of Staff for Maintenance and Engineering, Surface Forces Atlantic in Pascagoula, MS. As a true patriot and wanting to support the Iraqi Freedom mission, Joe volunteered to go to Iraq for 13 months. While deployed in Baghdad, he was awarded the Bronze Star for his leadership and direction in the construction of two new power plants, an oil refinery, and restoring the Iraqi national electric grid. Joe is survived by his wife of 24 years, Judith (Corcoran) and his daughter, Kathleen; mother, Marilyn Konicki, sister, Catherine Konicki, and sister-in-law, DeLin Konicki of Spring, TX; sister, Jeanne Boyd of Atlanta, GA; brother, Thomas (Mary) Konicki of Woodbridge, VA; mother-in-law, Margaret S. Corcoran of Niagara Falls, NY; and numerous nieces and nephews. He was preceded in death by his paternal grandparents, Stephan and Veronica Konicki of Steubenville, OH; maternal grandparents, Stephen and Montana LaHood of Butte, MT; father, Joseph Konicki and brother, Michael Konicki of Spring, TX; and father-in-law, Robert P. Corcoran of Niagara Falls, NY. Visitation with the family will take place at 7 p.m. Tuesday, March 31 at Dunbar Funeral Home on Devine Street in Columbia. A Mass of Christian Burial will be celebrated at 2 p.m. Wednesday, April 1 at St. John Neumann Catholic Church, 100 Polo Rd. in Columbia with Rev. Father Alexander McDonald officiating. Interment will take place in Arlington National Cemetery at a later date. In lieu of flowers, donations can be made to support his daughter’s youth mission trip at www.mustardseed.com/goto/kkonicki
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