Obit: Rajek, John "Snooks" Henry (1923 - 2007)

Transcribed by: Crystal Wendt

Surnames: Rajek, Walli, Kordick, Germond, Plautz, Simons, Lohfink, Koepke, Domino

---Source: Foto News (Merrill, Lincoln Co., Wis.) Wednesday, 28 Nov. 2007; Page 11

---Rajek, John "Snooks" Henry (18 May 1923 - 24 Nov. 2007)

John H. Rajek

John Henry "Snooks" Rajek, 84, passed away on Saturday, Nov. 24, 2007, of a cardiac arrest.

John was born May 18, 1923, in Merrill to John and Freda Walli Rajek.

John lived most of his life in Merrill. He worked for the U.S. Postal Service, first as a city carrier, then as a rural mail carrier. He was a member of the Veterans of Foreign Wars (VFW). From boyhood on, he had a love of the outdoors, which led to a lifetime of hunting, fishing and trapping from Wisconsin to Alaska. He shared his love of these activities with his children and grandchildren. He was not a religious man in the formal, church-going sense, but he was able to find God and be at peace with himself through his love of the outdoors and his strong family ties.

John graduated from Merrill High School in 1941. He entered the U.S. Army in 1942 and was selected to attend the Army Specialized Training Program (ASTP) for engineering at Princeton University from 1943 to 1944. After the program's disbandment, he was assigned to the 104th Timberwolf Infantry Division, where he distinguished himself by earning the Bronze Star in the European Theater. After the war he attended the UW Marathon county campus for undergraduate studies where he met his future wife, Patricia Kordick.

He is survived by his wife of 57 years, Patricia, Merrill; daughters JoAnne Rajek (Bruce Germond), Rhinelander; Elizabeth Plautz, Rhinelander; and Nancy Rajek (Joseph Simons), Hartland; sons John (Sue), Eagle River, Alaska; and Peter (Julie), Merrill; grandchildren John, Anthony, Alisha, Andrea, John, Anna, William and Peter; and great-grandchildren John, Anna and Alexandria. Also surviving are sisters Helen Lohfink and Patricia Koepke; and brother Robert (Genny). He was preceded in death by his parents, infant sister Joan Mary, and sister Margaret Domino of Louisiana.

The family will receive visitors at the Waid Funeral Home, Merrill, on Friday, Nov. 30, 4-8 p.m. Funeral services will be held at 10:30 a.m. on Saturday, Dec. 1, at the funeral home followed by burial in Merrill Memorial Park with full military honors provided by VFW Post 1638, Merrill.

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