{"id":1667,"date":"2022-09-05T18:43:16","date_gmt":"2022-09-05T18:43:16","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/booksbypatricksimpson.com\/?p=1667"},"modified":"2022-09-06T13:10:23","modified_gmt":"2022-09-06T13:10:23","slug":"village-times-september-2022","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/booksbypatricksimpson.com\/village-times-september-2022\/","title":{"rendered":"Village Times September 2022"},"content":{"rendered":"\t\t
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THE VILLAGE TIMES<\/h1>\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
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Independence Village of Olde Raleigh\nResident Newsletter<\/h2>\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t
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John (Jack) Sobczak<\/strong><\/p>

by Pat Simpson<\/strong><\/p>

<\/p>

John (better known as \u201cJack\u201d) Sobczak was born on January 11, 1938 in Dunkirk New York, sister city of Dunkerque, France. With a population of approximately 12,000 people, Dunkirk is the westernmost city of the state of New York, bordering Lake Erie about 45 miles south of Buffalo, N.Y.<\/p>

Jack grew up in Dunkirk but during his life he has lived everywhere from Buffalo to Syracuse to New York State\u2019s Southern Tier cities of Endwell, Endicott, Vestal, Binghamton, and Johnson City. And he even sailed the seas as a Navy Warrant Officer on the U.S. Navy’s aircraft carrier USS Midway.<\/p>

But I\u2019m getting ahead of myself.<\/p>

\u201cBoth my father and my mother,\u201d says Jack, \u201care from Dunkirk but my mother’s ancestors are Italians from Naples, Italy. \u00a0Her grandfather outlived four wives. My father (whose ancestors are from Poland) worked very hard in the local steel steel mill all the time. \u00a0My uncle Steve worked hard as well but he also raised and raced homing pigeons \u2013 normally kept in half-a-dozen coops in his area of town.<\/p>

<\/p>

\u201cIt seems I have always been interested in things musical. In high school I gave a clarinet solo on stage in front of a 17-piece band. I remember I was wearing a white jacket. I also played the clarinet in the Dunkirk High School band as well as the bugle in the drum and bugle Corps for Dunkirk’s Hose 4 Volunteer Fire Company. It seemed there was always a festival going on nearby so our marching band marched with other marchers; we always got together after practices and had Irish stew mixed with lots of fun! I enjoyed my childhood. I played baseball with my friends and at one time volunteered in the Civil Air Patrol watching and listening for airplanes.<\/p>

\u201cI graduated from Dunkirk\u2019s Cardinal Mindszenty high school in 1955. For the next two years I attended the Bryant and Stratton Business Institute in Buffalo (known today as Bryant & Stratton College (BSC)), where I earned a Certificate of Accelerated Accounting before joining the U.S. Navy in 1957.<\/p>

\u201cI met my beautiful future wife, Geri (Geraldine) Hodskins, on a blind date on July 1957. One of three girls, she was born in 1941 in Buffalo and, like me, was not from a wealthy family. Over time we fell in love and, on April 28, 1962, we got married at St. Terese R.C. Church in south Buffalo.
<\/p>

She was a good Navy wife and loved living on base because it offered good security for the children and she could live in a community of other Navy wives who all accepted each other.<\/p>

<\/p>

\u201cWe had three boys: David (b.1963) and Kevin (b. 1964) were born in Schenectady, N.Y. The youngest, Paul, was born in Guam in 1967. David, a former Army Lt., is currently a local CPA in Raleigh. Kevin lives in Sheboygan, Wisconsin \u2013 retired from the Navy, he now works for the Veterans Administration. Paul served aboard a navy nuclear submarine but now lives in Suffolk, Virginia as a parts salesman for industrial equipment such as caterpillars, trucks, buses, etc.<\/p>

\u201cI spent much of my working life in administrative and personnel management positions. In the Navy I worked my way up from enlisted E-l to E-9 (Master Chief) and was promoted to Chief Warrant Officer W-2 (Ship’s Clerk) and CW03). I was the Personnel Administrative Officer on the aircraft carrier USS Midway (CV-41) and embarked the Carrier Air Wing NINE Staff on USS Constellation aircraft carrier (CV-64).<\/p>

\u201cI\u2019ll never forget the time in 1979 when Geri and I appeared on NBC\u2019s \u201cHollywood Squares\u201d, a game show in which two contestants compete in a game of tic-tac-toe to win cash and prizes. We won over $18,000 in cash and prizes over a four-day run, including a white mink coat for Geri and a million S&H Green stamps, already pasted in books!<\/p>

<\/p>

\u201cEven though I retired from the Navy in 1981, I didn\u2019t retire fully from the Federal Government until 1995, after stints in K-9 Security and the GSA. Along the way we moved to a number of locations where I held positions such as security guard, purchasing agent, tax advisor, and even as a bus driver for the Broome County Bus Company in Vestal, New York. I took seniors and the physically and mentally challenged for medical appointments, workshops, and shopping throughout the county.<\/p>

\u201cSadly, Geri passed away in 2018 from Frailty syndrome. We were married some 57 years. We\u2019re still heart-broken and we sorely miss her.<\/p>

\u201cI became very involved in volunteering and helping others when I was at St. Casimir\u2019s R.C.\u00a0 Church in Endicott (no longer open). I found myself volunteering as Assistant Business Manager for the Girls Scouts of America in Binghamton, NY and as Post Commander (and other offices) for the American Legion West Endicott, NY. In 2003 I completed a Ministry Program in the Diocese of Syracuse, as well as how to do Parish Business Administration. \u201cI have memberships in the American Legion, Knights of Columbus, Holy Name Society, National Association of Retired Federal Employees, and the Fleet Reserve Association (FRA).<\/p>

\u201cAlthough not looking for recognition I\u2019m honored to have received some awards:<\/p>