Started dancing with Marion again Thursday, November 12, 2015, age 93. Loved father of Richard M. (Janet) and John (Lynn). Caring grandpa of Joseph (Sara), Mitchell (Courtney), Emily and Maxwell. Brother of Rufine Napp. Godfather of Patty Napp. Also loved by other relatives and friends.
Visitation at Krause Funeral Home, 12401 West National Avenue, New Berlin Monday, November 23, 4-8PM. Vigil Service 7PM. Visitation at IMMACULATE HEART OF MARY CATHOLIC CHURCH, 1212 S. 117th St., Tuesday, November 24, 9-10AM. Mass of Christian Burial 10AM. Burial Mt. Olivet Cemetery.
Proudly served his country in the US Army during WWII and flew on the Honor Flight in 2014. Retired from Allis Chalmers after 41 years of service. He loved woodworking and woodcarving.
A special thank you to Celia and Lynn for taking care of Dad.
"God Bless You. You're Going to Heaven!"
Personal Life Story of Richard J. Bonkowski
1922-2015
With Lawrence Welk playing in the background, Richard (Dick) Joseph Bonkowski began dancing again with Marion on Nov. 12, 2015. Dick was born on Oct. 15, 1922 in Milwaukee to Frank and Jean Bonkowski and grew up in a two-story home on the city's heavily Polish South Side. With his grandparents living on the second floor and Dick and his six siblings living downstairs during the Great Depression, life growing up was simple. "We lived how we lived with the little we had, but it was happy," he noted.
Dick attended St. Adelbert's Catholic Grade School (grades 1-8) and graduated from Boys Tech High School in 1941. His favorite class was woodworking, a skill he acquired in high school and turned into a life-long hobby. While Dick considered himself an average student, he was an above average craftsman. He had an amazing gift for working with wood, making several signature pieces that furnished his home for decades.
With a high school graduation under his belt, Dick went out in search of a job and was hired by Allis Chalmers Manufacturing to work in the shipping department. He joined the company in 1941 and remained for 41 years. He was proud to point out that he worked for only one company his entire life. "I stayed because I had a good job and I was making enough money," he would simply say, indicating that for him and his family, that was enough.
His only departure from Allis Chalmers was to serve his country in WWII. He enlisted in the U.S. Army from 1943-1945 and served as a Private First Class on the Pacific Front. Dick served with the 161st Anti-Aircraft Artillery Gun Battalion in New Guinea and Luzon in the Philippines. Like many who served in WWII, Dick rarely spoke of his time and experiences in the Army, preferring to keep private what he did and saw while serving his country. We found it surprising, then, that he took a sudden interest in taking the Honor Flight and making the trek to the WWII Monument in Washington with his fellow veterans. His son, John, joined him on the adventure on November 1, 2014. Afterwards, Dick referred to it as the trip of a lifetime.
His job at Allis Chalmers was waiting for him upon his return from the War, as was the rest of his life. Dick married Marion Dombeck on May 29, 1958 in Waukegan, Illinois. She was, without a doubt, the love of his life. He met Marion while attending a Union Leaders training meeting on the UW-Madison Campus. He recalls first seeing Marion as the group was lining up for a photo. When he laid eyes on her he told her "Baby, you're mine." And the rest was history.
Dick and Marion built a life together in the Milwaukee suburb of West Allis, with their sons Rich, born in 1960 and John, born in 1962. Dick was a man of great discipline and routine. He went to work every day. Ate dinner at 5 pm. Bought a new car every 3 years to make sure the autoworkers had jobs. Lead Cub Scouts. Taught CCD. Voted in almost every election. Was proud to be Polish. Spent summer plant shutdown with the family at St. Germaine. And every Friday night (and only on Friday night!), he would treat himself to a bag of potato chips, a tall bottle of Coca Cola and a large Snickers candy bar to celebrate the end of a long work week.
Dick retired from Allis Chalmers in 1981 at the age of 59. As his retirement years went on (this year he was retired for 34 years!) he was proud of the fact that he was retired for almost as long as he worked. During retirement, he filled his free time with fishing; volunteering for Meals on Wheels; serving as an active member of the United Auto Workers focusing on retiree issues; providing friendship, support and braunschweiger sausage to the Dominican Sisters of the Perpetual Rosary; wintering in Florida and rummaging and bargain hunting with Marion. He also continued to enjoy carving in his retirement, especially with his friends at Wilson Senior Center. His carving collection includes beautiful, handcrafted wooden angels, Santas, ducks, Polish falcons, and even a few Bucky Badgers.
He loved sharing a good joke with others and the joy it brought to their faces. Most of Dick's jokes were appropriate, but a few were known to come with an advance warning as they could skew a bit on the sassy side. He also appreciated a good pun and the ensuing groans from those he shared them with. A few of his favorites:
"I didn't like my beard at first. Then it grew on me."
"A dyslexic man walks into a bra."
"They told me I had type A blood, but it was a Type O."
Dick considered himself a man of average to below average intelligence, but those who knew him are keenly aware that he was much smarter and wiser than he ever gave himself credit for, and was always ready to share life's lessons with anyone who would listen. A few of his favorites: "A woman is her most beautiful in her 40's." "Be good to your mother. A mother is the most wonderful person in the world." And "I can say whatever I want about my family, but if you say something about my family–I'm going to send you to the moon!"
Dick is proudly survived by two sons, Rich (Janet) and John (Lynn), and his grandchildren, who affectionately called him Grandpa B: Joseph (Sara), Mitchell (Courtney), Emily and Max. He is further survived by his baby sister, Rufine Napp, his goddaughter, Patty Napp, the many nieces and nephews of "Uncle Dick," and the Sisters of the Perpetual Rosary.
He was preceded in death by this wife, Marion, his parents, and siblings Lorraine, two brothers, Evelyn and her twin sister.
We will miss our dear Dad and Grandpa B, but his 8-year-old grandson said it best last week: "This may be the last time I see you, but it won't be the last time we're together."
And in Dick's words: "God bless you. You're going to heaven!"
