Joe Klimek
Surrounded by family, our father Joe Klimek passed away peacefully on June 13, 2024, concluding a life very well-lived. God broke the mold after Joe was born to Joseph Klimek Sr. and Mary Deleckto Klimek on August 13, 1936, in Maspeth, New York. Joe’s sister Mary was the steady eldest sibling and Joe, the enthusiastic, intrepid son of stalwart Polish immigrants. Helping out in his father’s Brooklyn machine shop and working summers on the Deleckto Dairy Farm in Auburn, ME, were big components of his childhood.
When he was 17 years old, Joe met the love of his life, Carol Schneider in Queens. Joe was barely 21 and Carol just 19 when they married and embarked on a lifetime of adventure, raising five crazy kids, and housing a menagerie of animals, both domesticated and otherwise. Settling first in Commack and eventually in Smithtown, New York, Joe and Carol and their brood were perhaps best known for their unconventionality. The Klimek driveway was often occupied by handmade skateboard ramps, a half-built boat, a metal canoe or two, and, for a while, Dad’s beloved red Austin American. There was CB radio fun, model rockets to launch, a succession of golden retrievers, and epic neighborhood clambakes each summer.
Joe was a mechanical engineer by trade, excelling in aeronautics during his decades-long tenure at Grumman, but he was so much more than that. He was a Scout leader, a builder, a tinkerer, and a consummate volunteer. He never said no to helping a neighbor. He could assemble a brick patio in a weekend, and when our three-bedroom house was bursting at the seams, Joe single-handedly added on two more bedrooms. Did he have the proper permit to do so? Hard to say.
In the late 70s Joe and Carol thought it would be a grand idea to buy a long-abandoned carriage house with no heat or plumbing on a quiet road in Smithtown, and remake it into our family home. The two-year project became a four-year project while Dad worked nights and weekends to complete it, with lots of help from sons Steve and David and (soon to be) son-in-law Bill Pelzar. Together, they were the ‘Close-Enough Construction Company.’ Mom and Liz wielded paintbrushes. Amy and Jenn generally swept up, and ran wild. The carriage house project was a bold and crazy scheme, and it was Joe’s pride and joy.
Smithtown was followed by Ridgewood, New Jersey, where Joe helped Carol establish her storied flower and gift shop, Morning Glory. In addition to his executive position at Burns and Roe Engineering, Dad served as Morning Glory’s floor-sweeper and flower deliveryman extraordinaire. His Ridgewood garden was legendary. Joe’s cultivation skills served him well in later years when he and Carol retired to Waitsfield to build their dream home.
Once settled in Vermont, Joe embraced his inner farmer and planted a vineyard, the beauty of which would knock your socks off. Joe lovingly and meticulously coaxed those original 500 vines to flourish despite soil that remained frozen for nearly half the year. He dove deep into the art and science of grape-growing, building on his own skill for engineering and exactitude with a viticulture course at Cornell. He learned by doing, so well that he became a vineyard consultant to several other grape-growers in Vermont. Joe’s grapes were Marquette, Petit Pearl, and Frontenac, the harvesting of which brought dozens of Waitsfield friends, neighbors. and family together each fall. Dad’s vineyard, a physical embodiment of his passion and dedication, is one of his enduring legacies.
Joe was an active member of the Mad River Valley Rotary. He loved building sets for the Barre Opera House each summer. He enjoyed his commitments to the community and the town of Waitsfield, serving in many capacities.
Our lasting memories of Dad include the time he detoured us on a drive home from upstate and swung into Coney Island to ride the Cyclone, our first-ever rollercoaster. Or how, on the day before he turned 70, Dad saved a man from drowning at the Lareau Farm swim hole. We won’t forget his unending search for the perfect fried clams. And the thought of Dad’s plaid Christmas pants, which somehow fit him and lasted for at least five decades, will always make us laugh. Dad’s insistence that he could speak Swahili is a favorite of his quirks. His ‘rib-sticker’ stew was a keeper. Dad imbued us with his love of the outdoors. He taught us to work hard, to try new things, to figure stuff out, and to always have fun. For us, the twinkle in Dad’s eye will never dim.
Celebrating Joseph’s indomitable spirit and cherishing every memory, are his beloved wife, Carol, and sister, Mary, and his five children, Stephen Klimek (Cindy), Elizabeth (William Pelzar), David, Jennifer (John Hamlet) and Amy (Joshua Roth). Joe will be deeply missed by his 13 grandchildren, Sarah, Jen, Alex, Jonathan, Olivia, Dylan, Ava, Casey, Charlotte, Claire, Bella, Henry, and Jordan, and by his five great-grandchildren.
Joe’s entire family will gather in September to harvest the vineyard in his honor. The Klimek family would like to acknowledge the incredible care our father received from the University of Vermont Oncology care team and the loving support at the McClure-Miller Respite House. Donations, in lieu of flowers, to either place in Joe’s name, are appreciated.
UVM Oncology: https://secure.dragonheartvermont.org/event/lcdbf2024/
McClure-Miller Respite House: https://www.uvmhomehealth.org/donate/
