John G. Jarzynka Services Held
John G. Jarzynka, 89, of St. Paul, died on Sunday, May 29, 2022 at the Howard County Medical Center in St. Paul.
Mass of Christian Burial was held on Friday, June 3, 2022 at St. Libory’s Catholic Church in St. Libory. The reverends Sidney Bruggeman and Vince Parsons concelebrated the Mass. Brittney Statler served as lector, Amy Kowalski was the pianist, and Brent Roemmich and Jacki Connery sang. Musical selections included “Be Not Afraid”, “Prayer of St. Francis”, “How Great Thou Art”, “I Can Only Imagine”, and “I Am the Bread of Life”. Gift bearers were Brittney Statler, Alicia Templin, Parker Templin, Tara Casados, and Natasha Usrey.
Burial was in St. Wenceslaus Catholic Cemetery west of St. Paul. Military honors were provided by American Legion Post 108 of Ashton and the U.S. Army Funeral Honors Team. The cemetery accordianist was Mike Chelewski playing “Blue Skirt Waltz”. Active casket bearers were Briar Templin, Matt Simons, Charlie Wagner, Jarrod Spilger, James Safarik, and Nathaniel Layman. Honorary casket bearers were Reid Berryman, Ken Schall, Drake Layman, Bobby Safarik, and Tommy Safarik.
Memorials are suggested to the family for later designation.
Peters Funeral Home of St. Paul assisted the family.
John was born on February 9, 1933, on a farm near Paplin, the son of John L. and Domicella M. (Dymek) Jarzynka. He attended Our Lady of Mount Carmel parochial school. When John was eight years old, the family moved by horse and wagon to a farm near Hazard. He then attended Hazard Public School until it closed his junior year of high school. He was a 1951 graduate of Rockville High School. After graduation, John worked at the Ravenna Egg Plant and the Cornhusker Army Ammunitions Plant in Grand Island.
He served in the United States Army from April 30, 1953 until April 29, 1955. He then returned to central Nebraska and worked for Burlington Northern Railroad.
John was united in marriage to Shirley Ann Safarik on May 2, 1961, at St. Paul. The couple lived in St. Paul, where he worked for the City of St. Paul. He later went to work for George Zlomke as a flooring installer. John boasted that he was in every house installing flooring from St. Paul to Greeley. He later became co-owner of Zlomke Furniture, working until his retirement in 1993. He then started Heartland Installers with his former son-in-law, Greg Statler. He retired again at the age of eighty-years-old, but would still install flooring by special request for several more years.
Shirley passed away on March 29, 2017, and John continued to live in his home until earlier this year.
He was a sixty-plus year member of American Legion Post 108 of Ashton. He was also a longtime member of Sts. Peter & Paul Catholic Church in St. Paul and became a member of St. Libory’s Catholic Church in later years.
John loved polka music and was an avid polka dancer. He enjoyed showing and driving his ’65 Plymouth Satellite car, traveling to all fifty states, including Alaska and Hawaii twice, but his two favorite destinations were Estes Park, Colorado and the Nebraska Sandhills.
He is survived by his daughter and son-in-law, Lurleen and Dan Layman of St. Libory; grandchildren, Dr. Brittney Statler and Reid Berryman of Windsor, Colorado, Alicia and Briar Templin of Bruning, Matt Simons of Grand Island, Nathaniel Layman of Bellevue, and Drake Layman of St. Libory; great-granddaughter, Parker Templin of Bruning; sister and brother-in-law, Joan and Laverne Schall of Kearney; sister-in-law, Dorothy Jarzynka of Euless, Texas; sisters-in-law and spouses, Betty and Gilbert Spilger of Grand Island and Noreen and Jim Malone of Lincoln; and brother-in-law and spouse, Rick and Elaine Safarik of Farwell.
In addition to his wife Shirley, he was preceded in death by his parents; brothers, Joe Jarzynka and Jake Jarzynka; sister, Jean Douglas; former brother-in-law, John Douglas; and his in-laws, Wilfred and Isabelle Safarik.