Chester "Chet" R. Mieczynski

Chester "Chet" R. Mieczynski, 72, of South Windham, passed away peacefully, surrounded by his loved ones at Douglas Manor on Wednesday June 15, 2011, after a courageous battle with pancreatic cancer. He was born in Poznan, Poland, November 7, 1938 to John and Nellie Mieczynski. The family was taken to the work camps of Germany before coming to the United States in 1949 and settling in North Franklin where they ran a dairy farm. Chet attended Windham High School and graduated from Windham Tech in 1959. He then enlisted in the U.S. Army and spent 18 months in Korea with the peacekeeping forces. Upon his discharge in 1962 he worked at the Electric Boat Engineering Department for 37 years. After his retirement, he ran a nursery in North Franklin. Chet's hobby was work. There was nothing he could not fix or build, especially if it involved large earth moving equipment. He is survived by his wife of 47 years, Maria, his son Daniel and his partner Terry, his daughter Sandra and his son David and his partner Claire. He is also survived by his brother Maryon and his wife Mary and their children Ed, Anita and Steven; his sister-in-law Anna Damsits of Vernon and her family Will and Lorene of Minneapolis, MN, and Andrew and Jill of New York, NY; his brother-in-law Louis Sumsky and his wife Lenora and son Stefan of Manchester; his cousin Anita and her husband Dan Durnik of Lebanon and family Tom and Tina Durnik of Willimantic, Jennifer (Durnik) and Steven Fitzgerald of New Haven and Rob and Kat Durnik of Colchester and also his extended family in Canada and Poland. His family wishes to thank the staff of Douglas Manor for the awesome, devoted and compassionate care that they provided. And let's not forget his morning coffee buddies, Rocco and Frank, where they solved all the world's problems. His family will receive relatives and friends on Sunday, June 19th from 5:00 to 7:00 p.m. at Potter Funeral Home, 456 Jackson St. (Rte. 195) Willimantic. His Funeral Mass will be celebrated on Monday, June 20th at 10:00 a.m. at St. Joseph Church, 99 Jackson St., Willimantic with assembly at the church. Burial will be private. In lieu of flowers, memorial donations are suggested to Douglas Manor Recreation Fund , 103 North Rd., Windham, Ct. 06280. Please visit www.potterfuneralhome.com for online memorial guest book.