Edward W. Gruszewski

January 23, 1921 - March 13, 2016

Edward was born January 23, 1921 in Chicago, IL to Frank and Kathryn Gruszewski. He had 3 older siblings, William, Stanley and Florence (Sister Marguerite), and one younger sister, Evelyn. Edward had many fond memories of his early years; neighborhood friends, playing baseball, taking the train to caddie at the Medinah golf course. His schooling was in English and Polish. He completed St. James Catholic high school in 1936. When WWII was upon us, he chose to enlist on August 28, 1942 and was placed in the Army Air Corps. Being in the military was a major part of his life then and in the years to come. After basic training, he was deployed to Italy in Sept 1944. He was with the 429th bombardment squadron, 2nd bombardment group. He flew 35 sorties or missions from Nov 1, 1944 to March 22, 1945. He was a ball turret gunner/engineer of the B-17 with rank of Sergeant. Having served for 2 1/2 years, he was honorably discharged October 16, 1945. He received several medals including 3 Air Medals. Returning to Chicago, he worked as service technician for an electrical motor manufacturer. This was his primary occupation. When the company was sold the new owner asked him to stay on as an independent contractor because he knew the business so well and was skilled to fix electric motors. In fact he would draw diagrams of the motor at different stages of disassembly to assist in building it back together again. He was very skilled at how things worked and could repair most anything. He was always up for the challenge. His love for golf began early when he was a caddie. He so enjoyed it and would play regularly making long time golf friends. His favorite golf player was Sam Sneed. He played until his late 80’s but continued to watch the masters on TV. Besides golf, Edward was a lifelong Cubs and Bears fan, through thick and thin, a love/hate relationship. Edward was also a skilled dancer and loved dancing throughout his life. In fact, he met Doris, Wanda’s mom, at a dance in Chicago. He regularly attended dances in Chicago and even here in CA for a few years when he moved here. Edward was always one step ahead of everyone with his quick wit and puns. Blessed with a sharp memory, he would often know answers to trivia that no one else did. Edward began oil painting in his 40's, taking classes and quickly becoming proficient as an amazing artist. He has literally painted hundreds of paintings. He loved this 'hobby' and blessed SO many people with an original from him. Moving to CA in 2006, he attended a weekly art group until his early 90's. He produced essentially a painting every month, and was almost done with yet another one a month before he passed on. He always looked at life with an artist's eye; the cloud formations, the colors in a flower, the green hills, a majestic sunset. Edward passed on after a brief illness to a much-deserved rest. We have not lost him. We know where he is and look forward to seeing him again. Survivors include his sister Evelyn, daughter Wanda, son-in-law Joe, grandchildren Ryan, Tyler and Klaja, and great-grandson Silvan Edward. Thank you for all the prayers and concern from our friends and family. We are very grateful for your kindness and may God bless you. Please join us for a luncheon following the service at St. Joan of Arc