Tony Witczak

Anthony Paul “Tony” Witczak, age 82, of Wayne, PA, passed away on October 25, 2023. Born at home in Manitowoc, WI, he was the third son of the late John J. and Pauline (nee Gospodarek) Witczak. He is preceded in death also by his siblings, Edward Witczak, Bernard Witczak and Mary Kreie. 

Having an early interest in priesthood, Tony attended seminary through high school and college, but in 1963 he changed course to pursue a teaching degree. Over his lifetime, Tony had many careers.  By age 25, he could list bean picker, altar server, park maintenance worker, hospital orderly, teacher, bus driver, basketball coach and park director.  In 1967 he earned a Master’s in Counseling and Behavioral studies at the University of Wisconsin, moving from teaching to counseling in Waunakee, WI. Tony also served several years as principal of St. John’s high school in Little Chute, WI.   Its closing in 1972 gave him the opportunity be a salesman for Xerox and later educate employees at St. Mary’s Hospital in Oshkosh, WI.  In 1975 he was hired by Humana in Louisville, Kentucky, a job that took him around the country and even to Europe running hospital training sessions. In 1981 Tony became Corporate Director for Training and Development for Johnson & Johnson Home Health Care in Tampa, FL. The subsequent sale of that company led Tony to the Philadelphia area. He worked as a business consultant and part-time college professor for Penn State and St. Joseph’s University.  He also worked briefly for Lukens Steel.  In 1993 he created his own successful consulting company, Performance Management Group.  He gave that up in 1997 for an opportunity to be Director of Human Resources for Lasko Metal Products, a job he held until his retirement in 2007. 

More importantly, Tony was the beloved husband of Catherine W. “Cathy” (nee Goedjen) Witczak.  They were married in 1967 and since their original experience with Worldwide Marriage Encounter in 1979, their love was put in service as a team.  Tony & Cathy presented more than 70 retreat weekends to help make good marriages better. They also worked on continually improving their own marriage with daily love letters to each other.  Over the years, Tony & Cathy served in various leadership positions for WWME including United States Ecclesial Team and International Ecclesial Team with Fr. Emile Frische, MHM, of New Zealand. In addition, Tony worked with adult faith formation in the parish and was an extraordinary minister of the Eucharist.  In 2015 Pope Francis invited Tony & Cathy to attend the Synod on Marriage and Family representing the USA among the 17 couples included for the three-week event in Rome.

Tony was also a passionate gardener.  Every year he planted an extensive vegetable garden, generously sharing the produce with everyone. He is the father of Eileen M. Witczak-Watson (Mark), Risa J. Stalboerger (Brian), Kara L. McKeown (Scott), and Kyle A. Witczak (Whitney).  All of them inherited their father’s great sense of humor!  Tony is also the caring grandfather to 16 grandchildren and a great supporter of all their academic, sporting and artistic efforts.      

Relatives and friends are invited to his Visitation 6:30 to 8:00 PM on Sunday, November 12, 2023 at The Donohue Funeral Home, 366 West Lancaster Ave, Wayne, PA 19087 and 9:00-10:00 AM on Monday, November 13, 2023 at St. Isaac Jogues Parish, 50 W. Walker Rd., Wayne, PA 19087, followed by his Funeral Mass 10:00 AM.  The Interment will be private.

In lieu of flowers, Tony would like everyone to attend church at least once a week. Church was one of Tony’s favorite places to be, and he hopes you grow to love the Lord also. Please hug your loved ones often and perform an unexpected act of kindness for someone in need in his memory. Any donations can be sent to Worldwide Marriage Encounter (wwme.org) or to your local food bank.