Obituary

US Army Korean War Veteran

ANTHONY C. "TONY" CHOTKOWSKI - of Woburn and West Harwich on July 13th surrounded by his family. Beloved husband of Theresa "Terry" (Andruszewski) Chotkowski. Devoted father of Paul Chotkowski and his wife Fran of Mansfield, Dr. Gregory Chotkowski and his wife Maribeth of Arizona, Peter Chotkowski of W. Harwich, Karen Zaleski and her husband Richard of Avon, and Philip Chotkowski of Woburn. Cherished "Pa" of Timothy, Daniel, Lauren and Kasey Zaleski, Andrew and James Chotkowski, Augie and Honor Chotkowski. Brother of the late Sr. M. Sanctia, FSSJ, Frank, Josephine, Myron and Alice. Dear brother-in-law of John Andrus of Stoneham. Also survived by many nieces, nephews and dear cousins. Funeral from the Lynch-Cantillon Funeral Home, 263 Main Street, Woburn, on Friday, July 20th at 9:45 a.m. Funeral Mass in St. Barbara's Church, 138 Cambridge Road, Woburn, at 10:30 a.m. Interment will be at St. Mary's Cemetery, Wellesley Avenue, Needham. Visiting hours will be at the Lynch-Cantillon Funeral Home on Thursday July 19th between 4 p.m. and 8 p.m. Donations may be made in Tony's memory to the Franciscan Sisters of St. Joseph, 5229 South Park Avenue, Hamburg, NY 14075.

OBITUARY:

Anthony Chotkowski – Retired Craftsman

At his home on Friday evening, July 13th, 2012, surrounded by his loving family, Anthony C. "Tony" Chotkowski died after a courageous battle with cancer. He was the husband of Theresa "Terry" (Andruszewski) Chotkowski for the past 53 years.

Born at home in Chelsea on June 13th, 1931 to Alexander and Mary (Taraska) Chotkowski, Tony was the youngest of six children. He attended St. Stanislaus School in Chelsea and Boston Trade High School. While in high school, as the Tobin Bridge was being constructed, the family house was relocated to make way for the bridge and the family moved to Framingham. Tony remained at Boston Trade, commuting daily from Framingham, and graduated with the Class of 1949. Following high school, he worked as a tool and die maker at Raytheon Company in Waltham for nine years During his tenure at Raytheon he was drafted into the US Army to support the Korean Conflict. Honorably discharged, he returned to Raytheon eventually working his way into the position of engineering.

While employed, Tony continued his education at Northeastern University obtaining multiple degrees in Engineering and Business Management. His accomplishments included: Associates Degree in Mechanical Engineering, Bachelor of Business Administration in Engineering and Management and a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration

Tony’s career brought him to Sanders Associates in Merrimac, NH where he was a Program Administrator. Tony commuted between Woburn and NH for 23 years. He eventually retired in 1990 at the age of 59 when he was hoping to continue to enjoy his hobbies of fishing and hunting.

In 1955 Tony met his wife Terry at a dance at the Lithuanian Club in Cambridge. They married on June 13th, 1959 at St. Stanislaus Church in Chelsea – the day which also was Tony’s 28th birthday. Following a five week honeymoon road trip across the country in Tony’s 1955 yellow Buick convertible Terry and Tony moved into their ranch home in Woburn where they raised their five children, Paul. Greg, Peter, Karen and Phil. As the family grew, the house needed to be expanded to sleep the growing brood. Tony and Terry helped with the construction and finish carpentry transforming their ranch home into a garrison colonial.

Tony was very artistic. He had a great range of talents creating a number of pieces of artwork, stained glass and mosaics. Woodworking was a particular favorite. A jack-of-all-trades, he loved the challenge of building something rather than purchasing it. Over the years he built and remodeled many rooms and constructed several pieces of furniture. There was always a project he had in mind that would involve purchasing a new tool from Harbor Freight in order to accomplish this.

One of Tony’s favorite hobbies was working on automobiles, old and new. With four sons, there were always cars in need of repair, oil changes and engine rebuilds. Tony jokingly called his activities working on cars with his sons the Ding-A-Ling School of Auto Mechanics.

Tony loved to cook. His specialty was preparing crepes, which he did every Saturday for his family and continued to prepare for his grandchildren when they came to visit. If ever you wanted to find Tony all you had to do was look in the Kitchen. Tony especially mastered many of the Polish recipes he learned from his mother.

Still with all this activity going on in Tony’s life, he found time to be involved in charitable organizations. He was a regular communicant at St. Barbara’s parish and often assisted as an usher. He was a member of the Woburn Knights of Columbus and also was Past President and Zone Chairman of the Arlington Lions Club. Tony was a long standing member of the Polish American Veterans in Chelsea.

Tony and Terry loved to travel. Tony especially enjoyed cruises. He took his 21st and last cruise to Bermuda one month before he died on which he celebrated his 81st birthday and 53rd wedding anniversary. Over the years, Terry and Tony had the opportunity to visit many parts of Europe, including Poland, Italy, England and Asia to include South Korea, Hong Kong, Thailand, Malaysia and Singapore.

If not in Woburn or on a cruise somewhere, Terry and Tony could be found enjoying the beach at their house in West Harwich where many great times were shared with friends and family.

In addition to being a loving husband to his wife, Terry, Tony was the devoted father of Paul Chotkowski and his wife Fran of Mansfield, Dr. Gregory Chotkowski and his wife Maribeth of Arizona, Peter Chotkowski of W.Harwich, Karen Zaleski and her husband Richard of Avon, and Philip Chotkowski of Woburn. He was the cherished "Pa" of Timothy, Daniel, Lauren and Kasey Zaleski, Andrew and James Chotkowski, Augie and Honor Chotkowski.

Tony was predeceased by his siblings Sr. M. Sanctia, FSSJ, Frank, Josephine, Myron and Alice. He is survived by his dear brother-in-law John Andrus of Stoneham and by many nieces, nephews and dear cousins.

Funeral will be from the Lynch-Cantillon Funeral Home, 263 Main Street, Woburn, on Friday, July 20th at 9:45 a.m. with a Funeral Mass in St. Barbara's Church, 138 Cambridge Road, Woburn, at 10:30 a.m. Interment will be at St. Mary's Cemetery, Wellesley Avenue, Needham. Visiting hours will be at the Lynch-Cantillon Funeral Home on Thursday July 19th between 4 p.m. and 8 p.m.

Donations may be made in Tony's memory to the Franciscan Sisters of St. Joseph, 5229 South Park Avenue, Hamburg, NY 14075.