Stanley R Wrobleski

Stanley Raymond Wrobleski, 95, a proud U.S. Army veteran who served in the Army of Occupation in Japan following World War II and who moved to Staten Island from Brooklyn before the opening of the Verrazzano-Narrows Bridge, died on March 10 at Staten Island University Hospital, Ocean Breeze. Mr. Wrobleski was born in Brooklyn, one of six children of Stanley Adam Wrobleski, who immigrated to the United States from Poland, and the former Helen Bertha Dawiczkowski. In one of the formative experiences of his life, Mr. Wrobleski as a teenager spent a summer working on a farm in upstate New York. He reminisced about life on the farm, including milking the cows and taking care of two horses, Prince and Dolly, until his dying day. The time he spent on the farm kicked off Mr. Wrobleski's lifelong passion for gardening. Mr. Wrobleski enlisted in the U.S. Army on Nov. 23, 1948 and served with American forces that occupied Japan following World War II. His time in Japan and exposure to Japanese culture left a deep impression on Mr. Wrobleski, and he often shared stories of his tour of duty there. Mr. Wrobleski was stationed in Yokohama, and he recalled one time sharing an elevator with Gen. Douglas MacArthur, the Supreme Commander for the Allied Powers and director of the occupation effort. Mr. Wrobleski said he saluted the general, and MacArthur gave him a nod in return. During his time in Japan, Mr. Wrobleski climbed Mount Fuji, the highest mountain in Japan at 12,389 feet, and also visited the ground zero site where the atomic bomb was dropped on Nagasaki. Photos of Mr. Wrobleski on Mount Fuji and at Nagasaki were among his treasured possessions. Mr. Wrobleski often told the story of how as he was preparing to leave Japan at the end of his tour, he had obtained a set of plans for the invasion of Japan. The invasion became unnecessary with the Japanese surrender following the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki in 1945. A senior officer performing an inspection, however, noticed the plans in Mr. Wrobleski's foot locker and took them for himself. Mr. Wrobleski remained in the U.S. Army Reserve after his time in Japan and was later stationed in California. He was honorably discharged from the Army on Aug. 15, 1952, having attained the rank of sergeant first class. Mr. Wrobleski wed the former Kathryn Courtney on Feb. 8, 1951. The Wrobleski and Courtney families had known each other for years in Brooklyn, and Stanley and Kathryn had met as children. They remained married for 64 years and raised five children. Mrs. Wrobleski died in 2015. Mr. Wrobleski and his family moved to Eltingville on March 17, 1960, four years before the opening of the Verrazzano-Narrows Bridge, always a point of pride in the Wrobleski household. Mr. Wrobleski often told the story of how he found the family home by traveling on what is now known as the Staten Island Railway. He would get off at various South Shore stops and walk eight or ten minutes from the station, figuring that that was as long as he'd want to walk to the train station to commute to his job in Lower Manhattan. When Mr. Wrobleski found the home he eventually bought in Eltingville, only the model home and one other house had been built by the developer, who was in one of the homes when Mr. Wrobleski arrived. Mr. Wrobleski had a hard-earned $50 for the home down payment and refused when the developer sought $75. Amazed that Mr. Wrobleski would walk away from the home after traveling so far, the developer followed him down the block and agreed to accept the $50. Mr. Wrobleski was a Professional Engineer and was a 1959 graduate of what was then known as the Polytechnic Institute of Brooklyn, receiving a bachelor's degree in mechanical engineering. He received a professional engineering certificate from the University of the State of New York Education Department in 1961. Mr. Wrobleski worked for the former New York City Department of Personnel for thirty years, retiring in 1987. For much of his career, Mr. Wrobleski was a deputy director and test examiner, writing and administering the written and practical examinations for city agency workers, including police officers and firefighters. He worked on Church Street in Manhattan and he would often talk about Friday afternoons at the office, when senior and junior workers were encouraged to knock off work and spend time together. It was said that a bottle of alcohol or two would be produced during such bonding sessions. Mr. Wrobleski continued to do consulting work for the department, later known as the Department of Citywide Administrative Services, for decades after his retirement. Mr. Wrobleski was a lifelong gardener and was well known among family and friends for the garden he kept in the backyard of the family home. Mr. Wrobleski would plant and nurture seeds inside during the winter months before transplanting them outdoors in the spring. Mr. Wrobleski grew everything from corn and cucumbers to peppers, herbs and spices over the years, but he was most famous for his annual crop of tomato plants. Mr. Wrobleski loved to travel, including yearly trips with family to Las Vegas and frequent visits to Walt Disney World in Florida and to Atlantic City. Mr. Wrobleski liked to play cards and was renowned within the Wrobleski family for his skill at pinochle. He often took part in gatherings of the extended Wrobleski clan at his parents' brownstone on 60th Street in Brooklyn, including Saturday night poker games. Mr. Wrobleski was quick with a joke and was very generous with his time and resources, often coming to the aid of family members and friends who needed a helping hand. Mr. Wrobleski is survived by five children, Jean-Anne Stevenson, Kevin Wrobleski, Keith Wrobleski, Grace Becker and Tom Wrobleski. He is also survived by six grandchildren, John Stevenson, Courtney Shah, and Magdalene, Peter, Teresa and Xavier Wrobleski. Mr. Wrobleski's granddaughter, Barbara Stevenson, died in 2014. A Mass of Christian Burial will be offered at 10:00 AM on Friday at Holy Child Church located at 4747 Amboy Road Staten Island, New York 10312. Interment will follow in Calverton National Cemetery, Calverton, NY. The family will receive friends from 2:00 PM to 5:00 PM and 7:00 PM to 9:00 PM on Thursday, March 14, 2024, at John Vincent Scalia Home for Funerals, Inc., 28 Eltingville Blvd, Staten Island, New York.

Stanley R Wrobleski

September 9, 1928 - March 10, 2024