John Zajac passed away June 26, 2015.
We believe he had enough of a positive connection to Oxford to tell his story and remember him as he was prior to his health issues that took his life at the young age of 66.
Since August, John had cardiac issues, was in and out of the hospital, lost approximately one-hundred pounds, and fought his hardest until his end. July 2, 2015, John was laid to rest at the Great Lakes National Cemetery in Holly.
John was an Oxford resident since 1989 and had his routine all around Oxford.
He got most auto parts from Steve’s Automotive, his hair cuts were at the Back Street Barber Shop, his hardware supplies were from Tom’s Hardware, his daily lottery tickets and paper were from Oxford Shell, his breakfast was from The Golden Nugget or Country Coney, most of his dinners were from Italia Gardens and his groceries were from the Oxford Meijer.
John worked with the automotive program at Oxford High School as a consultant. He was proud to visit the local veteran’s hall. Everywhere he went he would have a story to tell and, if you let him, he would talk your ear off. If he sensed a need, he gave his all to filling the need.
During World War II, John’s parents lost everything and were displaced from Poland and forced to live in a labor internment camp in Germany. John was born in that camp. In 1951, John’s family was accepted into the United States.
They moved to Hamtramck, Michigan with many other Polish migrant families. They were a strong Polish Catholic family and were active in their community. It was always said that John’s father would ‘give the shirt off his back? to anyone in need and I believe that is where John learned his charity.
John and his brother loved cars and were always drag-racing and working on them. There are many stories of them racing on unfinished freeways and in the aqueducts. This was certainly a passion that John kept throughout his life.
John was drafted into the Vietnam War and mostly operated a machine gun on a helicopter. John was poisoned with Agent Orange and that poisoning was visible on him, in discolored patches of light skin on his hands, elbows, and knees.
John lost friends in the war and rarely talked of his time there. When John was in a coma at the hospital, he obviously had dreams of the war as he talked in his sleep about directing the helicopters, including one called ‘The Jolly Green Giant.?
John once told his children that when he came home from the war, he hugged the household toilet and slept on the floor of his room for many days. John claimed that he never visited ‘The Wall,? but others have said that he did but couldn’t handle the emotions of how he felt for his friends that were lost. It was only recently that John embraced his service and found comfort in meeting other veterans.
John found work at General Motors and worked hard in a service department at one of the technical centers. John would say that he got lucky in getting the job he really wanted, working as a mechanic for the engineers.
As he told it, a coworker was looking to be home more and John wanted the service job, so they proposed switching jobs to management and management agreed!
Over the next thirty-eight years he worked his way up to being a field contact engineer, learning the job as he went.
Despite only having limited education, John discovered ways to save the company money and received awards for the great ideas. John would continue to propose ideas to fix a problem or save money throughout his career.
John enjoyed his job very much and made many lifelong friends and connections. He used those connections many times as he was assisting someone in need; if he couldn’t help, he knew someone who could ? and those others did help because their respect for John. John wanted to continue working, but because he didn’t have a college education, he was eventually pushed into retirement.
In retirement, John donated a great deal of time to the local Oxford High School’s automotive technical program, consulting with them on how to maintain and improve their program.
Before the business of being married and having children, John enjoyed snowmobiling (mostly Tip-Up Town and the Upper Peninsula), fishing and boating, and other events involving motorized vehicles.
John married and his first child was born in 1981, the year his own father died. Soon after, his second child was born. He would do anything to give his children the best lives possible.
John worked hard to buy his dream home and to provide his family with everything they needed and more. In the early nineties, John’s marriage was in shambles and he soon found himself divorced. He sold his dream home and most of his possessions in order to fight for custody of his children.
After much struggle, he did gain custody of his children. John did the best he could as a single father and the best he knew in raising his children.
A few years after his divorce, John was diagnosed with prostate cancer. He managed his family life while battling both the cancer and his insurance company (which didn’t want to pay for his treatment). His strong personality and great determination saw him through, just as it got him through many other difficult times. John recovered after his treatment and continued on with his life. Years later, it was suspected that his time in Vietnam may have been the cause of cancer.
John continued on and met his current wife in the late nineties. Because John’s mother was so protective of John after his first divorce, they did not marry till after she passed. John’s wife filled his emptiness and helped improve his generosity. He adored her greatly and their marriage is shown through the strength of their love for each other. John rarely cried in the presence of his children. In John’s most recent hospital stay’s, I witnessed how much he trusted and felt secure with his wife when I witnessed him crying with her, showing his vulnerability and how scared he really was with his current situation.
Due to his son being involved in the automotive program at Oxford High School, his son’s desire for fixing cars increased, and his son became involved in drag racing. John’s younger years of drag racing with his brother was rekindled and he helped his son make one of the faster cars at the school’s annual drag racing event. In addition to this, his rekindled spirit got him starting to build his own cars and he regularly drag raced and showed them at local car shows. Every year he built his cars faster and won awards similar to those he won when he was younger.
John continued to build additions to his property including a barn with a shop to work on vehicles. When there was a need, John fix vehicles for those that required it and rarely would accept compensation. Because it’s what he knew, this was his charity to the community. When someone didn’t have a vehicle, he found one for them and made it road worthy.
John passed his generous spirit to his children and they succeeded well. If just a small portion of his generosity was passed to his children, they will continue to succeed and help others in the ways they are able, and keep that generous spirit as a testament how they were taught by their father.
Despite John’s parents losing everything in World War II, John being born in an internment camp in Germany, migrating to the United States, being in the Vietnam War and having friends die, his father died at a young age, his mother and sister died prematurely, going through a tough divorce, gaining custody of his children, having to raise his children during their teenage years, and fighting prostate cancer, John was able to rebuild his life. John raised his children to have a generous spirit, remarried an awesome partner, always helped those with a need, retired after a long career, and was able to enjoy his retirement years with even more time to help others and connect with his community.
Visitation will be from 3-8 p.m. Wednesday, July 1 at Modetz Funeral Home Silverbell Chapel (100 E. Silverbell Rd.) in Orion Township. A funeral will take place at 10 a.m. Thursday, July 2 at King of Kings Lutheran Church (1715 S. Lapeer Rd.) in Orion Township.
We love you Dad, you will be missed by many. ? Brandon and Leah Zajac