Raymond J. Adamczyk

Raymond Joseph Adamczyk, 90, of Waterloo, Wi passed away unexpectedly on Feb 4^th, 2024 at Aurora Medical Center with his eldest daughter, Debra, at his side.

Raymond was born May 1^st 1933 in Chicago, IL the eldest Son of Joseph and Helen (Wolff) and Brother to; Ronald, (Lucy Morella), Betty, (Frank Corr), Dolores, (John Mache), and Pamela, (Robert Lueder).  They preceded him in death. 

In his youth, Ray loved to play Stick Ball and Baseball in the City Streets of the Old Chicago Neighborhood, troll the beaches, made flower arrangements at a local florist and was the ultimate prankster, to most, a delight.   

After graduation from Tuley HS, he became an Apprentice Electrician.  Later he was drafted into the US Army.  He recalled fond memories of Fort Bliss and Camp Atterbury and he was Proud to Serve.  He wore the patch of the 4^th US Army as a Private in the First Platoon and a member of the Honor Guard.  Their motto was Leadership and Integrity.  After the war ended he was in the reserves until Honorably Discharged. He returned home to Chicago and joined IL Bell Telephone Co as a Lineman for 33 years earning a perfect attendance award and accident-free driving record.  The phone company was like a brotherhood…an extended family and many memories were made and shared.  His Hard Hats and line testers are still in the family garage.

In 1956, before suspect dispatch abroad with the Army, he married the love of his life, Dolores Catherine Bricko (yod 2004) and raised two daughters; Debra [Debbie], (Waldis [Wally] Klass) and Cynthia [Cindy].  He took his girls camping, fishing, swimming, horseback riding and rolled on the floor laughing together on Sunday afternoons watching the Three Stooges.  Cindy fondly remembers her father crawling on the floor giving her horsey back rides on the way to bed each night.

In 1964, his father in law, Louis, passed, so Ray moved his mother in law, Sophia, in with him and Dolores and the girls shortly thereafter.  She was 65 and needed some assistance.  Ray built his first home on the back of Louis’ small hobby farm.  After Sophia passed and Ray retired, he sold the IL house and built another home up in WI next door to family friends, Corky and Nancy, from HS to spend his retirement fishing and relaxing.  But, at 65 yrs of age he still had too much energy to remain retired so when his son in law, Wally, bought a farm near Madison, WI he decided to invest in another more ominous building project…a multi-generational home to raise kids to grandparents.  

Together, Wally and Ray worked, planned, played, and mowed.  Ray dug the trenches with Wally for the drain tile, thousands of holes for trees, shrubs n flowers and nailed boxcar siding to the 28’ ceiling of the Great Room from scaffolding over 20’ high.  Together, they did road trips S to TX and N to Mt Washington.  

Wally was the son he never had and had been part of the family since about 1972 when he and Debbie went to HS together.  So, when Wally’s father, Gunar, was in trouble in 2001-2, Ray and Dolores invited him to join the family compound.  Ray and Gunar each had their own  ATVs for racing all over the farm with Tailgate parties scheduled each morning and afternoon.  And they both tended to the vegetable garden.  Gunar raised the seedlings in the green house and Ray did the plowing and planting.  

Besides missing his best friend, Mort alias Frank Mortensen and some cold Chicago Beer during a Chicago Bear game he loved The Great Outdoors; mowing, planting and general beautification of the land and, he loved his favorite ;-) Granddaughter, Kayla (Michael Zill) while sharing the escapades of his youth, teaching her to drive, introducing electricity and memories about the wars.

We miss him Dearly and know he is in God’s home.  There will be a Memorial Service TBD in the Spring on the Waterloo Farm he loved so much.