- Date Of Birth: March 13, 1929
- Date Of Death: August 9, 2015
- State: Michigan
Gerald Joseph Wasik was born in Chicago, Illinois to Florence Lasiewicz on March 13, 1929 and, as he liked to say, he “came in with a crash.” He passed away on August 9. He enlisted in the U.S. Army in 1946 directly from high school at the age of 17 and served in occupied Japan until 1949. Gerry attended Illinois Institute of Technology for three years until his GI Bill ran out and then worked for The Austin Company.
In 1959 he began a lifelong career at The Upjohn Company in Kalamazoo, Michigan and worked as a field engineer supervising construction until his retirement on April 1, 1990. On October 21, 1978 Gerry married Florence Turner Kihm and their combined families instantly totaled nine much-loved children, who were all raised in Kalamazoo. In their retirement years Gerry and Flo divided their time between the Traverse City area and Nokomis, Florida and eventually returned full time to Kalamazoo. Flo passed away suddenly on August 24, 2014.
A day never passed that Gerry wasn’t missing his “angel.” Gerry was a proud parent and grandparent and enjoyed attending the many related school and sporting events. He was an avid golfer, and a member of Saint Monica Parish in Kalamazoo.
He is survived by his nine children: Jennifer Durkee (Gerard) of South Haven, MI, Leslie Kucinich (Michael) of Kalamazoo, MI, Steven Wasik (Kimberly) of Denver, CO, Katherine Mullen (Patrick) of Grand Rapids, MI, John Kihm of Durham, NC, Carolyn Teutsch (William) of Kalamazoo, MI, Eric Kihm (Carol) of Kalamazoo, MI, Jeanne Ellington (Philip) of Naples, FL, and Gretchen Stegall (James) of Chicago, IL, seventeen grandchildren and nine great-grandchildren, a niece and four nephews, and a half-sister.
