Joseph Walter Szlosek

Joseph Walter Szlosek, former Marine and long-time resident of Ware, MA, passed away peacefully on the evening of April 28, 2015.
Born on May 22, 1931 and raised in Thorndike, MA, he was the youngest of a family of nine born to Walter and Catherine Szlosek, who had each traveled from Poland to the U.S. in the early 1900's.
He was a man of Faith, Kindness, and Generosity, drawing strength from his Catholic roots established while attending Saints Peter and Paul Church in Three Rivers, MA as a child and young adult. Family was at the center of his life. He was extremely close to his brother and sisters and proud of his Polish heritage.
Joe excelled at sports during his high school years, particularly at baseball; specializing as a catcher. He enlisted in the Marines in 1952 and served during the Korean War as a jet aircraft maintenance engineer. He rose to the rank of Sergeant and was proud to be a Marine his entire life.
Following his service time in the Marines he returned to Thorndike and married Lucille A. Couture of Ware, MA in 1955. Shortly thereafter the couple moved to Ware where he would live the majority of his life and raise his five children - Joleen, Joseph , Mary-Jo, Cathy-Jo, and Joel.
He was employed by Diamond International Corporation of Thorndike for more than 30 years; performing custodial duties when first hired as a young man and retiring as the company's supervising  maintenance engineer.
His greatest joys in this life were spending time with his family - particularly with his wife, children, and grandchildren - watching sports, carpentry and building, solving problems, taking adventure rides throughout New England and beyond, the Marines, and visiting the Quabbin Reservoir.
He leaves his wife of nearly 60 years, Lucille A. (Couture) Szlosek; daughter Joleen Szlosek; son Joseph Szlosek and his wife Mary (Carroll) Szlosek; daughter Cathy-Jo (Szlosek) Samson; and son Joel Szlosek and his partner Andrea Mastroianni, as well as five grandchildren; Joelle Szlosek, Allison Szlosek, Amanda Szlosek, Kalleigh Samson, and Cody Samson; one sister, Josephine Tobias, and one sister-in-law, Charlotte Szlosek.
A Mass will be held at All Saints Catholic Church (17 North Street, Ware MA 01082) on Wednesday, May 13, 2015 at 12 pm. The Mass will be followed by a burial with military honors in Mt. Carmel Cemetery in Ware.
Flowers can be sent to Charbonneau Funeral Home, 30 Pleasant Street, Ware, MA 01082.
Memorial contributions can be made to either The National Museum of the Marine Corps (donate online at marineheritage.org/MakeDonation.asp or by phone: 800-397-7585 or Email: info@marineheritage.org )                                                                                                                                             Or                                                                                                                                                                                         The Quabbin Reservoir via Friends of Quabbin, Inc. at 485 Ware Road, Belchertown, MA 01007.
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