Stanley Joseph Raczkowski

Stanley Joseph Raczkowski passed away peacefully on February 1, 2020 at the age of 96. He is survived by his son Raymond, daughter-in-law Ann, granddaughter Rachel and husband Mike Kieffaber, sister-in-law Norma (Brown) Raczkowski and numerous nieces and nephews. He was preceded in death by his wife of 71 years, Harriet in 2019.
Stan was the eldest child, born November of 1923 in Kingston, PA to Stanley C. and Stella Raczkowski. He was raised on a dairy farm in Pennsylvania. His younger brother, Raymond preceded him in death in 2010.
Stan graduated from Meshoppen High School in 1941 and joined the United States Marine Corp in 1942 to assist in the World War II effort. Because he was a farm boy and knew how to handle a rifle, he was chosen to be a sharpshooter. In 1942, at the age of 19, he was shipped off to Guadalcanal where the U.S. was heavily engaged with Japan. In March of 1943, he was injured when a artillery shell blew up behind him while fighting on Russell Island. He was sent by hospital ship to Oakland Naval Hospital and later to Philadelphia Naval Hospital and when mostly healed, participated in the war bond drive along side movie stars, such as Tyrone Power. He met his future bride, Harriet in Johnson City, NY at a dance at the pavilion in 1946. They were married one year later in June of 1947.
The majority of his career was spent in Johnson City, NY as a Manager at Sheltered Workshop, a division of IBM, employing physically challenged individuals in manufacturing jobs. In 1982, he and Harriet moved to Phoenix, AZ where he could be found lounging in their backyard pool or on the bike trails with his beloved Yorkshire Terrier riding in the kid seat behind him. In 1999, they relocated to Silverthorne, Colorado to be closer to their son where he and Harriet became members of Our Lady of Peace Catholic Church. Stan was a very generous, loving man and thoroughly enjoyed his active years with family trips sailing, swimming and water skiing at their Skaneateles Lake cottage, snow skiing at Greek Peak in New York, and bicycling and skiing the Colorado trails. He loved spending time outside, smoking his cigars, visiting with neighbors and their dogs and keeping watch over the neighborhood.
In lieu of flowers, please consider a donation to Bristlecone Foundation for Hospice, PO Box 1327, Frisco, Colorado 80443. Bristlecone provides wonderful in-home hospice care.
A Memorial Service will be held at 11:00 am Tuesday, February 18th, with a reception to follow at Our Lady of Peace Catholic Church, 89 Smith Ranch Rd, Silverthorne, CO 80498.
A Military Service will be held at Ft. Logan National Cemetery, 3698 S. Sheridan Blvd, Denver, CO 80235 sometime in late April, with a date to be determined sometime in late March.