Obituary of Richard M Czachorowski

Richard Czachorowski (“Zack”) of Glen Rock, NJ passed away on Saturday, April 7 at Valley Hospital in Ridgewood after a long illness. He was 81 years old.

Born and raised in Jersey City, Richard was retired after a long career as a senior national accounts manager for Steelcase Inc. in New York City.

He will be waked at Vander Plaat Funeral Home, 257 Godwin Ave, Wyckoff, NJ on Thursday, April 12 from 4 p.m. to 8 p.m. Funeral services will be held at Our Lady of Mt. Carmel Church, 1 Passaic St, Ridgewood, NJ on Friday, April 13 at 10:30 a.m.

The son of a Jersey City judge, Richard attended high school at LaSalle Military Academy on Long Island, NY before attending and graduating from St. Michael’s College in Colchester, Vermont in 1958, where he majored in biology. Upon graduation, he served in the National Guard for two years while also going to work in sales for the pharmaceutical company Parke Davis. He later moved to IBM and eventually to Steelcase Inc., where he remained for nearly 30 years before retiring in 1995.

An avid sports fan, Richard maximized his retirement years by traveling with friends to events including the NCAA Final Four, the Olympic Games, the NBA Finals and All-Star Game, as well as the annual summer thoroughbred racing meeting at Saratoga. He also enjoyed traveling both internationally, particularly to Italy, and domestically, where he spent weeks each year in Captiva, Florida.

His friends from Stegman Parkway and Dohoney’s in Jersey City, as well as his friends from college and work, remained his great friends to the end.

Richard was married to his wife, Madeline (nee Savino) for more than 56 years. He is survived by Madeline, their daughters Karin and Janet (husband Chris); a brother, Walter; a niece and two nephews.

He will be buried in Winooski, VT, near the St. Michael’s campus in Colchester. In lieu of flowers, the family asks that donations be made to the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation (JDRF) at jdrf.org.