John A. Romanowski, 84, died on Friday, July 5, 2019 at Brookside Care Center after a courageous battle with Alzheimer’s.

Born in Kenosha on June 24, 1935, he was the son of the late Mikolay and Marie (Kalinowski) Romanowski. He attended local schools graduating from Mary D. Bradford and from UW Whitewater with a Bachelor’s Degree.

John proudly served in the branch of the United States Armed Forces- the United States Marines from 1953 until his honorable discharge in 1955; at the front line of the Korean War.  He was very proud of his service and on April 14, 2018 was awarded the Honor Flight to Washington, D.C.

On August 8, 1959, he married Dorothy Schmidt in Kenosha. They were members of Bethany Lutheran Church; blessed with 5 children and almost 60 years together. John’s heart was broken after Dorothy passed away on January 10, 2019.

He was an elementary school teacher for Kenosha Unified with a special interest in science. He taught at Jeffery Elementary School; retiring after 25 years. He was a lover of nature and gardening as he worked to keep the Kenosha Parks beautiful in the summer months.

John knew the right things to say in times of crisis. He could comfort those around him and make everything okay. He was always putting the needs of others before his own. Creative and talented; he self-taught himself to play a variety of instruments and was a fire engine enthusiast. He made many authentic scale replicas of fire engines; building them from scratch. He searched for parts at flea markets.   But most importantly, John was a loving dad and a devoted husband.

John will be greatly missed by his children, Edward (Gretchen) Romanowski of Burlington, Gary (Jane) Romanowski of Presque Isle, Karen (Mark Collin) Romanowski Collin of Middleton, Michael (Marcy) Romanowski of  Kenosha and Mark (Brian Kemp)  Romanowski of Appleton; grandchildren, Christopher, Amy, Amanda, Jessica, Christian, Erica, Stefanie and Kellie; great grandchildren, Beatrix, Abraham, Colton, Parker, Everly and Landon along with a brother, Phillip (Lillian) Romanowski; many nieces and nephews and their dog, Molly.

Along with his parents and dear wife, Dorothy; John was preceded in death by five brothers, Robert, Donald, Edward, Larry and Paul Romanowski and three great grandchildren, Rosemary, Alice and Fiona in infancy.

The family would like to thank all the wonderful staff at Parkside Manor, Brookside and Hospice Alliance for the kind and loving care they provided John.

Service Info

A Funeral Service honoring John’s life will be held on Thursday, July 11, 2019 at 11:00 a.m. at the Piasecki Funeral Home. Interment will follow with full military honors in Sunset Ridge Memorial Park. A visitation for John will be held on Thursday, July 11^th from 10:00 a.m. until the time of the service at the funeral home. In lieu of flowers, memorials to the Stars and Stripes Honor Flight, Inc., P.O Box 867, Menomonee Falls, WI 53052 or to Alzheimer’s Foundation of America, 322 Eighth Ave., 16^th Floor, New York, NY, 10001 would be appreciated by the family.