PRIDE, KNOWLEDGE, AND FAMILY. THOSE ARE THE THREE THINGS HE VALUED THE MOST. ALWAYS CONFIDENT IN HIMSELF AND HIS WORK, CZESLAW WOLINSKI USED HIS EXTRAORDINARY INTELLIGENCE TO GIVE HIS FAMILY THE LIFE WE HAVE TODAY. IF IT WEREN’T FOR THE CONFIDENCE HE HAD IN HIMSELF AND THE LOVE HE HAD FOR HIS BELOVED WIFE, HE LIKELY WOULDN’T HAVE LEFT POLAND SO MANY YEARS AGO TO PURSUE AN ADVENTURE MANY COULD ONLY DREAM OF. HUNGRY FOR A BETTER LIFE FOR HIS FAMILY, CZESIEK TRAVELED TO SOUTH AFRICA, JAPAN, FRANCE, NEW YORK AND MANY OTHER CITIES IN THE US FOR WORK. HE DID THIS WHILE SHOWING HIS FAMILY THE WORLD AND ALL ITS BEAUTY. IN RECENT YEARS HE MADE THE SACRIFICE OF WORKING AWAY FROM HOME JUST SO HIS FAMILY COULD LIVE A COMFORTABLE LIFE HERE IN CANADA. WHILE VERY OPINIONATED, HE WAS ALWAYS SELFLESS AND LOVING. WHEN WE ASKED FOR HIS ADVICE, HE ALWAYS ENCOURAGED US TO TAKE A STEP OUT OF OUR COMFORT ZONE TO BE OR DO SOMETHING MORE, JUST AS HE DID COUNTLESS TIMES HIMSELF.
CZESIEK LOVED TO SHARE HIS STORIES. HE WAS A MAN WHO COULD TALK ALL NIGHT, AND THOUGH IT MAY SOUND LIKE IT MIGHT GET BORING, THAT WAS RARELY THE CASE. HIS STORIES WERE ALWAYS ANIMATED AND INTERESTING. WHILE HE MAY HAVE INTENDED FOR AN AUDIENCE OF ONLY ONE PERSON AT THE DINNER TABLE, SOMETIMES HE WOULD END UP WITH ALL EARS AIMED AT HIM, LAUGHING AT HIS FUNNY VIEWS/OPINIONS.
TO HAVE COUNTLESS STORIES TO TELL ONLY PROVES THE LIFE HE LIVED WAS A GREAT ONE. AND THE DAY AFTER HE WAS DIAGNOSED, CZESIEK SAID “IF THIS DOES END UP TAKING ME, I CANNOT COMPLAIN. I HAVE LIVED A GOOD LIFE AND DID ALL THE THINGS I WANTED TO DO MOST”. HE WAS ABSOLUTELY RIGHT. CZESLAW WOLINSKI WAS ABLE TO LEAVE HIS HOME TOWN OF SOSNOWE, GRADUATE UNIVERSITY, GET MARRIED TO A BEAUTIFUL, WONDERFUL WOMAN, HAVE 3 CHILDREN, TRAVEL AROUND THE WORLD, MAKE FRIENDS EVERYWHERE, AND HAVE A JOB THAT HE LOVED AS A SOFTWARE-SOLUTIONS ARCHITECT. HE LIVED HIS LIFE TO THE FULLEST, TAKING THE RISKS THAT HAD THE GREATEST REWARDS.
AND TO ALL OF US HERE TODAY, I ASSURE YOU THERE IS NO NEED TO CRY, AS MUCH AS WE MAY WANT TO. CZESIEK DOES NOT WANT US TO CRY OVER HIM. HE DOESN’T WANT HIS PASSING TO BE A SAD ONE, BUT RATHER A HAPPY ONE. NOT HAPPY BECAUSE HE IS GONE, BUT BECAUSE HE FILLED US MORE WITH JOY WHEN HE WAS WITH US THAN SADNESS. REMEMBER HIM WITH HAPPY THOUGHTS, REMEMBER ALL HIS ACCOMPLISHMENTS, AND THE POSITIVE IMPACT HE MADE ON OUR LIVES.
AS HE IS FINALLY BURIED TODAY, DO NOT THINK THAT HE IS GONE. HE WILL BE FOREVER WITH US AND FOREVER UNITE US TOGETHER. AS HE ENTERS THE EARTH, HE WILL FOREVER BE GUIDING US WITH HIS LOVING AND WISE ENERGY WHEREVER WE GO. HE WILL BE THE SPARK THAT MAKES YOUR IDEA BRIGHT, AND THE SAME SPARK THAT LIGHTS THE DARK SO THAT YOU CAN KNOW YOUR LEFT FROM YOUR RIGHT. LET HIM ENCOURAGE YOU TO ALWAYS LIVE YOUR LIFE TO THE FULLEST, STEP OUT OF YOUR COMFORT ZONE, AND TAKE THE RISKS THAT HAVE GREAT REWARDS, BECAUSE IF YOU DON’T, YOU WONT HAVE GOOD STORIES TO TELL AT THE DINNER TABLE.
I BELIEVE EVERYTHING HAPPENS FOR A REASON. NOT JUST ONE, BUT A REASON FOR EVERY INDIVIDUAL AFFECTED. PERSONALLY, I THINK I MIGHT HAVE FOUND A POSSIBLE REASON- ROBERT LEWANDOWSKI, A POLISH SUPER-STAR SOCCER PLAYER WAS ABOUT THE SAME AGE AS ME WHEN HE LOST HIS FATHER. SO, IF OUR LIVES CONTINUE TO RUN PARALLEL TO EACH OTHER, I THINK WE’LL BE ALRIGHT. AS FOR ALL OF YOU, DO NOT FORCEFULLY LOOK FOR THE REASON, BECAUSE YOU WILL NOT FIND IT. CZESIEK WILL SHOW YOU THE REASON AT SOME POINT, AND AT THAT MOMENT YOU WILL REALIZE IT. WHEN YOU DO, PLEASE COME TO HIS GRAVE AND SEND A PRAYER TO HIM, THANKING HIM AGAIN FOR WHAT HE DID FOR YOU. HE WAS A GREATLY LOVED AND RESPECTED MAN, WHO IS WITH US, AND IS BESIDE ME AS I READ THIS. HE MAY BE GONE IN BODY, BUT IS FOREVER WITH US IN SPIRIT.
