Stanley K. Kaminski

Stanley was born to Antoni and Wladyslawa (Skiba) Kaminski in Gracznina, Poland, on September 9, 1932. Upon the Nazi invasion of Poland in 1939, Stanley and his parents were moved to a forced labor encampment in Germany. At the end of World War II, Stanley and his parents moved to a displaced persons camp in West Germany and eventually made their way to the United States in 1949 on board a Liberty ship. They settled in Brooklyn, New York.

Stanley enrolled in trade school and learned to be a machinist. He married his beloved wife of 65 years, Bessie, on August 28, 1954. Stanley had a long career in the can-manufacturing industry, primarily with the American Can Company in Hillside, New Jersey and then in Morrisville, Pennsylvania. He ultimately retired from the Campbell Soup Company in 1990, and he and Bessie moved to Citrus Springs, Florida.

Stanley quickly became an active parishioner of St. Elizabeth Ann Seton Parish in Citrus Springs. He joined the Knights of Columbus, attaining the status of the Fourth Degree, and was a founding member of the Pope John Paul II Council at St. Elizabeth’s. With Bessie, he also became actively involved in the Citrus Springs Surveillance Unit where he served on the weekly patrol service and transitioned the weekly patrol schedules to a computerized system. In his retirement, Stanley discovered a passion for writing poetry. He became a distinguished member of the International Society of Poets and was elected into the International Poetry Hall of Fame.

In addition to Bessie, Stanley also leaves behind two dearly loved daughters and their families, Katherine Paul of Hernando, Florida, her fiancé Elliott Johnson, and her two children, Christopher Bowman and Kira Paul; and Teresa Polley of Norwalk, Connecticut, her husband, Robert Polley, and their son and his wife, John and Catherine Kearns. Stanley's daughter Katherine relocated from New Jersey to become his primary, and devoted, caregiver after his diagnosis. Stanley was predeceased by his and Bessie’s infant son, Stanley Michael.

Friends may call at the Fero Funeral Home, 5955 N. Lecanto Hwy, Beverly Hills, on Friday, January 10, from 9:00 to 11:30 a.m. A Mass in celebration of Stanley's life will follow at 12:00 noon at St. Elizabeth Ann Seton Church, 1401 W. Country Club Blvd., Citrus Springs. In lieu of flowers, the family suggests contributions in memory of Stanley to St. Elizabeth Ann Seton Parish.