Jacek "Jack" Alfred Nechay's Obituary
Born in Chorzow, Poland, 16 April 1935, passed away peacefully in Annapolis, 16 April 2024 after a long illness. The younger child of Viktor and Teresa Nechay, with an elder sister Eva who pre-deceased him. In 1940, as a young child, he was forcibly taken to Siberia with his mother, grandmother, and sister as the family of his father, who had been involved with the Polish underground standing up to Soviet occupation. He survived the six-year ordeal with his mother and sister, returning to Poland soon after the war to re-embrace normal life.
He was always fascinated by science and technology, graduating with a master’s in mechanical engineering from Warsaw Polytechnic and having a patent at such an early age that he had a moment of exposure on Polish TV. He met Maria Wacinska whom he married and with whom he had two children - a son Markus and daughter Bettina - all of whom survive him. The strong mutually supportive marriage lasted 63 years.
In 1964, he and Maria moved to the United States but only officially immigrated two years later once they were able to bring over their young son whom the Polish government forced them to leave with her parents - where his transfer was aided by his uncle Tadeusz Sendzimir, the patriarch of the circle of relatives in the US. His life in the US was full of warmth, love and enjoyment of nature and travel with his family and creative work as an engineer with four US patents to his name. He and his wife enjoyed their retirement together, moving to Annapolis from Massachusetts in 2019 to be by their daughter. He had to be moved to a care facility in his last two years - often visited by family. Throughout his life, he always showed a cheery optimism and generosity of spirit, even in the most difficult circumstances, that endeared him to family, friends, and caretakers.
His interment will occur at St. Anne’s Cemetery with close friends and family.
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