Obituary of John W. Walchak

John Walter Walchak, 94, passed away peacefully at Wuesthoff Hospital on June 21, 2010. John was born in Mahanoy City in the anthracite country of Eastern Pennsylvania, where he spent his childhood. During the Great Depression he moved to Philadelphia, where he got a job at the General Electric Switchgear plant helping to build industrial circuit breakers and other heavy electrical equipment. He volunteered for service in World War II, joining the Army Air Corps and spending several years in the Southwest Pacific, where he participated in the New Guinea and Philippines campaigns. John was a communications specialist, and his duties often involved using his facility with Morse code to eavesdrop on Japanese radio traffic. After the war, he returned to his job at General Electric, where he would spend 35 years, working his way up to become Group Leader of heavy steel fabrication. At GE, John helped to build switchgear products used across the world, including in places such as the Hoover Dam. John married his wife, Justine (Jessie), after the war. The couple loved to travel, and over the years they visited places on every continent but Antarctica. In the 1970's, John and Jessie retired to Indialantic, where John served frequently as an usher at Holy Name of Jesus Catholic Church and was active in the Bishop Verot Council of the Knights of Columbus. In the 1990's, the couple moved to The Fountains retirement community in Melbourne, where they spent their remaining years. Jessie passed away in 2006. John is survived by a sister, Loretta Basheda; and by many nieces, nephews, friends, and neighbors who will remember him as a man of unfailing warmth and kindness. A visitation will be held on Tuesday, June 29, 2010 from 6-8 p.m. at Beach Funeral Home (Indian Harbour Beach). Services for John will be on Wednesday, June 30, 2010 at 10 a.m. at Holy Name of Jesus Catholic Church in Indialantic, followed by interment at Florida National Cemetery in Bushnell.