James Joseph Cierzniak

James J. Cierzniak, 85, died on Monday, January 4, 2021.  Predeceased by his parents, Frank and Regina Cierzniak.  His wife of 60 years, Suzanne (Lipetska) survives.  He first saw Suzy at the old wooden St. Matthew church where they would be life-long members.  Five children:  Mark (Libby) in Indianapolis, Anne (Craig) Weber in Oak Park, IL, John in Indianapolis, Sara (Philip) Egnatz in Winston-Salem, NC, and Ellen (Chris) Foster in Marietta, GA.  Seven grandchildren: Alessandra and Amelia Weber; Grant, Nicholas, and Abigail Egnatz; Cooper and Caitlin Foster.  Also surviving is his sister, Betty, of Portage, IN.  Schools were Thomas Jefferson (K-9), John Adams High School, University of Notre Dame, and Indiana University-Bloomington.  After graduating from Notre Dame in 1957, he served as a junior officer for three years on the USS Stoddard (DD-566) based in San Diego, CA.  For the next 32 years he taught history at Penn High School.  After retiring in 1993, he managed self-storage facilities on Grape Road and McKinley Ave. in Mishawaka for 22 years. He was diagnosed for Parkinson's Disease in 2014.

A Mass of Christian Burial will be celebrated at 11:00 a.m. Thursday, January 7, 2021 in St. Matthew Cathedral, where a visitation will take place from 10:00 a.m. until 10:45 a.m. Private burial will take place at a later date in Cedar Grove Cemetery. Kaniewski Funeral Home is in charge of arrangements. To send online condolences, please visit kaniewski.com.

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