Albin E. Panowicz

Albin E. Panowicz, 86, of St. Paul, died Thursday, March 24, 2011, at the Grand Island Veterans Home in Grand Island. Services will be at 11 a.m. Monday at Sts. Peter & Paul Catholic Church in St. Paul. The Rev. Ray Kosmicki will officiate. Burial will be in the Elmwood Cemetery in St. Paul with graveside military honors by Carl Mogensen American Legion Post 119 of St. Paul. Visitation will be Sunday from 6 to 8 p.m. at Peters Funeral Home in St. Paul, with a 7:30 p.m. vigil service. Mr. Panowicz was born on Dec. 30, 1924, on the family farm near Elba, the son of Peter Paul and Frances Alice (Chelewski) Panowicz. He was united in marriage to Barbara Pysczynski on Jan. 28, 1947, at Elba. She preceded him in death on Feb. 25, 2009. He is survived by three daughters and two sons-in-law, Sister Mary Kay Panowicz OSB of Yankton, SD, Kristine and Dennis Inman of Albuquerque, NM and Geralyn and Ken Jirele of Glenwood, IA; and one sister-in-law, Regina Moraczewski of St. Paul. He is also survived by four grandchildren, Jesse Tyser of Lincoln, Jaime Tyser of Boca Raton, FL, and Ryan and Jennifer Inman of Albuquerque, NM. Albin attended District No. 20 country school and then his first two years of high school at District No. 21. and graduated from St. Paul High School in 1942. Following graduation he enrolled in the St. Paul Business College where he took classes for six months before returning to help his father on the farm. In Jan. 1945 he was drafted into the U.S. Navy and served until July 1946 at the naval base on Maui in the Hawaiian Islands. While in the Navy he attained the rank of Yeoman 3rd Class. Following his discharge he returned to the family farm. After he and Barbara married they moved to the Pysczynski family farm near Elba which they farmed until 1956. In 1956, they moved to Central City where he worked for Platte Valley Holsteins dairy farm and then to Fullerton where he worked for Ray Peregrine on his stock farm. The family moved to St. Paul in 1959 and he began working for Nowak Propane and later Nebraska Propane until his retirement in 1988. He was a member of Sts. Peter and Paul Catholic Church where he served as a Eucharistic Minister and assisted with funeral dinners and other tasks. He and Barbara loved to camp and were member of the National Campers and Hikers Association and the Swingin’ Islanders Camp Group in Grand Island. They particularly liked the Rocky Mountains and often camped in the high country of Colorado. They also enjoyed attending country music festivals throughout Nebraska and Iowa. He was an avid vegetable and flower gardener. After Barbara’s death, he moved to Matelyn Retirement Community in St. Paul and then to the Grand Island Veterans Home in Jan. 2011. In addition to his wife, Barbara, he was preceded in death by his parents; infant son, Bernard Eugene Panowicz; brother, Roman Panowicz; sister, Maxine Panowicz; and brother-in-law, Dominic Moraczewski. Memorials are suggested to Sts. Peter & Paul New Parish Center Fund.