Fairport – Formerly of Greece, NY. June 24, 2019, at age 97.
Predeceased by wife, Anne Makielski and grandson, Thomas T. Makielski II. Survived by loving wife, Doreen Makielski; children, Thomas M. (Joanne) Makielski, Jane Makielski (Anthony Proia), Daniel (Carolyn) Makielski, Mary Therese (Peter) Waltz; step-daughter, Jill (Phil) Franco; grandchildren, Meghan (Shawn) Gauby, Gretchen, Kelly and Shannyn Waltz; step-granddaughters Mary Magellan (Eujin Hong) and Anne (Anthony) Colangelo; great-grandsons, Henry and Emmett Gauby; sister-in-law, Rosemary (Bruce) Springborn.
Calling hours Saturday, June 29th 11 AM – 1 PM at the Richard H. Keenan Funeral Home, EGYPT LOCATION, 7501 Pittsford Palmyra Rd., Fairport, where a Service will immediately follow. In lieu of flowers please consider donations the ALS Association.
Thomas T. Makielski
Born: November 29th, 1921 in South Bend, Indiana
Parents: Joseph J. Makielski (born 1888) and Theodora Doktor (born 1890)
Siblings: Jack, John and Barbara (Nania)
1st Born Child: Thomas Michael; November 24th, 1949
2nd Born Child: Jane Ellen; September 26th, 1951
3rd Born Child: Daniel Joseph; September 4th, 1953
4th Born Child: Mary Therese (Waltz); May 7th, 1961
Grandchildren: Thomas T. Makielski II; Meghan Gauby; Gretchen, Kelly and Shannyn Waltz
Great Grandchildren: Henry and Emmett Gauby
From his Obituary in the Rochester Democrat and Chronicle:
“Formerly of Greece, NY. Died June 24, 2019, at age 97. Predeceased by his wife, Anne Makielski and grandson, Thomas T. Makielski II. Survived by his loving wife, Doreen Makielski; children, Thomas M. (Joanne) Makielski, Jane Makielski (Anthony Proia), Daniel (Carolyn) Makielski, Mary Therese (Peter) Waltz; step-daughter, Jill (Phil) Franco; grandchildren, Meghan (Shawn) Gauby, Gretchen, Kelly and Shannyn Waltz; step-granddaughters, Mary Magellan (Eujin Hong) and Anne (Anthony) Colangelo; great-grandsons, Henry and Emmett Gauby; sister-in-law, Rosemary (Bruce) Springborn”
Funeral Services are/were on June 29th at the Richard H. Keenan Funeral Home, 7501 Pittsford Palmyra Rd., Fairport
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Thomas T. Makielski…
…could recall seeing cars with wood-spoke wheels and rubber tires in 1920’s
…heard his first radio broadcast in mid 1920’s
…grew up on Eagle Lake in southern Michigan, fished often, knew every tree’s name, collected butterflies and hunted for Indian arrowheads with his brother in the 1930’s
…regularly swept the entire Makielski Art Shop in South Bend for 25 cents that his mother gave him (late 1920’s- early 1930’s)
…attended Saint Hedwidge Catholic elementary school in South Bend
…attended South Bend Central high school, was on the swimming team and graduated in 1940 as the school’s Salutatorian
…saw the day-to-day construction of Notre Dame Stadium in 1930 as he and his family went past it every day driving back and forth to Eagle Lake from South Bend
…never attended University of Notre Dame, however, it became a really big part of his life
…graduated college in 1943 from Purdue University with a BS in Chemical Engineering
…did military service: 1943 to Sept 1946
…volunteered for US Naval Officer training in 1943
…attained officer rank of Lieutenant j.g.
…commanded a fleet of beach landing crafts destined for the shores of Japan, if the war had lasted that long
…did his military service starting in 1943 in Lake Champlain NY, Virginia Beach, Hawaii, San Diego, Portland OR and Jacksonville FL
…built the stone front foyer of his parent’s Eagle Lake stone house during 1946-1947
…met his future wife, Anne Kelly, at a Northern Indiana Artists banquet in 1946
…attended and graduated from U. of Michigan with a Masters for Business Administration degree
…courted future wife, Anne, at his uncle Leon Makielski’s backyard picnics in Ann Arbor, Michigan
…attended many U. of Michigan’s Big Ten football games with Anne
…married Anne T. Kelly of South Bend, Indiana on Feb 5th, 1949 at St. Joseph Catholic Church in South Bend
…honeymooned with a cross-country trip to San Francisco in his parent’s Buick
…was hired as an Industrial Engineer at Eastman Kodak Company in Rochester, NY in the Spring of 1949
…eventually retired from Kodak as an Engineering Administrator in 1987
…first lived as a young married couple in an apartment at 37 Thayer Street in Rochester, NY where he earned a rent discount by shoveling coal for the building
…bought his first house at 118 Menard Drive in Rochester’s western suburbs in 1951
…earned a Masters of Science degree in Industrial Statistics via night school from U. of Rochester while working full time at Kodak
…was an assistant Scoutmaster and the Chairman of the Board for Tom and Dan’s Boy Scout troop (1964 to 1969)
…loved to travel and would say that he probably would have been very happy to have been a long distance truck driver
…provided many many family cross-country trips across the US which gave his children a special awareness and appreciation of the great country that he lived in
– camping to/in: Yellowstone (1955), Cape Hatteras, Myrtle Beach, Adirondacks, Key West, California (1965)
– multiple times per year trips from Rochester to South Bend
– 2 trips to California/Disneyland; once tent-trailer camping
– included his mother-in-law (Hazel Kelly) with family to New Orleans from Indiana
– innumerable camping trips to Disney World’s Fort Wilderness in Florida starting in 1972
…formed a housing development corporation with three partners which built a new neighborhood and family home at “Briar Hill” in Greece, NY (1960)
…photography was a true and lifelong passion for him; working for Kodak was an interesting symbiotic relationship… they paid him and he kept them in business with his time and film purchases
…was a self-taught extraordinarily skilled major home/yard improvement craftsman; a few of the major projects:
– built/installed a huge slate floor, flagstone patio, carved stone steps, concrete and stone walkway (masonry held a special attraction for him)
– innumerable major plumbing and electrical projects
– most of the interior construction of 70 Briar Hill
– (his children and wife never ever saw a repairman darken a doorway at home)
…stayed in shape at Kodak by swimming a mile nearly every lunch hour at the YMCA
…played tennis very seriously for over 25 years starting in 1979
…loved planting and caring for his trees (his specialty… Colorado Blue Spruce) and shrubs
…lost his 1st wife, Anne, in 1978 from a long term illness
…met his 2nd wife, Doreen, in 1987 on a tennis court
…married Doreen Richards in August, 1993
…moved from Greece, NY to 124 Eaglesfield Way, Fairport NY in August 1993 with Doreen
…had very fond memories of the 1998 and 2016 Makielski Family Reunions at Eagle Lake, Michigan
…maintained detailed records, pictures and scrapbooks of all his treasured trips that he took with his faithful and loving travel companion, Doreen
– started taking trips to Europe in 1981 with his sister Barbara and Tony Nania and occasionally his younger brother, John P. Makielski
– took many trips with his bride Doreen to England, Europe (especially Italy and Switzerland) and even Thailand and Egypt
– with Doreen took many, many river cruises in Western and Eastern Europe
– traveled with Doreen to tennis camps in the 90’s
…had by-pass surgery October, 2004 and returned to tennis a few months later
…greatly enjoyed and appreciated the home cooked meals prepared lovingly daily by Doreen
…especially enjoyed and loved having the company of his step-daughter Jill and husband Phil Franco and step-granddaughters Mary and Anne; Tom’s time with his step-son David Richards was limited by David’s profession and distance from his home in Switzerland but looked forwarded to visits with him
…generously treated family members with nice dinners out to his favorite restaurant of the week or month, but
…would privately confide that if it was up to him, his famous family dinners out would ALWAYS have been at McDonald’s!?!
…obtained a top-of-the-line iMac in 2011 (age 90!) despite his previous protestations that he would never waste his time with a distracting computer… but it became his favorite pastime
…loved reviewing his stock market investments and news on his iMac in the sun room on his favorite computer chair; many naps were sneaked there too
…loved watching Notre Dame games with his sons, Dan and Tom (both Notre Dame grads)
…very much loved the loving, warm companionship and comfort from his two daughters, Jane Ellen and Mary Therese
…lived to be with his two great grandsons, Henry and Emmett Gauby
…died June 24, 2019, at age 97 and will be interred in St. Joseph Valley Memorial Park, Mishawaka, Indiana