Jozef Kiegiel

Jozef Kiegiel passed away peacefully at home on September 5, 2023. He was born in Poland in 1924 and married the love of his life in 1949. In 1965, he immigrated to the United States to reunite with his family after being separated for decades during World War II.

Jozef was proud to be an American citizen and retired from Stanley Tools after working there for many years. He was a former mechanic, an avid fisherman, and enjoyed supervising house projects. Jozef was an extremely devoted husband, father, grandfather, and great grandfather.

Besides his parents, he was predeceased by his wife, Wieslawa, and brothers, Stanislaw and Mietek. He leaves behind two brothers, Antoni and Jan; and two daughters, Joanna Bee of New Britain and Hanna Kolakowski and her husband, Walter, of Plainville. He is also survived by his beloved grandchildren, Ilona Kocur and her husband, John; Paul Kolakowski and his wife, Ewa; Dr. Erik Bee and his wife, Caitlyn; Derek Bee; and Brenda Bee; as well as four great-grandsons, Joey, Benjamin, Max and Daniel.

He was always the life of the party and will be dearly missed.

A viewing for Jozef will be held Friday morning, September 8, 2023 from 8:00 AM to 9:30 AM at New Britain Memorial Funeral Home, 444 Farmington Ave., New Britain, CT 06053 (directions, Exit 37 off I-84, take a right at the exit, funeral home is 1 1/2/ miles on your right)

A funeral liturgy will occur on Friday, September 8, 2023 from 9:30 AM at Holy Cross Church, 31 Biruta St, New Britain, Connecticut 06053. A burial service will follow at Sacred Heart Cemetery, New Britain, CT

Fond memories and expressions of sympathy may be shared at www.NewBritainSagarino.com for the Kiegiel family.

Eulogy:

We are gathered here today to celebrate the life of Jozef Kiegiel. A man of many roles who we have grown to love and cherish. An amazing man who touched our lives in so many wonderful ways.

Jozef was born in Poland and lived on a farm with his parents and 4 younger brothers. When the war broke out, at the age of 17, he was separated from his family and taken to a German war camp. His willpower and strong faith helped him to survive until the war ended in 1945. The war took his youth and what would have been his best years but that never stopped him from making the best of life.

Unable to find his family, he went to go live with his aunt and uncle in Warsaw, while never giving up hope of one day reuniting with his parents and brothers. It was there he met, fell in love and married his beloved wife, Wieslawa. Together they had two daughters. While in Warsaw he and his wife took pride in helping Warsaw rebuild.

In the mid-1950s the Red Cross located his parents and brothers and he was reunited with them finally in 1962 in Long Island. It was his parents’ greatest wish for their whole family to be together again. In 1965 his parents wish came true.

Over the years Jozef found joy in many things but at the top was probably fishing. You would often find him tinkering in the garage with his fishing gear. It was something he shared and passed on to many of his family. You could always count on him to join you and be up and ready hours before it was time to leave.

He also loved cars. He could fix them all and he passed that knowledge onto all his grandsons. He loved talking about his Lincoln and Cadillac and there was no convincing him that they weren’t the best cars made. You’d often find Babcia sitting in the back seat and Dziadek driving her like Ms. Daisy.

Nothing made him happier than his family, especially his grandchildren and great grandchildren. He always had pictures of them in his wallet and all over his bedroom.

He was the epitome of a devoted husband until the end of their 63 years together and it brings us great comfort that they are once again together.

He often told us he wanted to live to a 100 although he didn’t make it he lived a long and fulfilling life.

In his later years he loved taking daily trips to Broad Street, supervising house projects and having a glass (or two) of Johnny Walker with family. He wanted so badly to make it to 100. He was only a little over year short.

Jozef was a kind and gentle man who was liked by everyone that knew him. Words cannot express the loss of his presence in our lives. Our memories with him will never be forgotten and he will always be in our hear