Joseph N. Kolanko

Joseph “Joe” Norbert Kolanko, 89, went to heaven on Monday, May 20, 2024, and is now resting peacefully after battling pulmonary fibrosis for much longer than he was expected to.

Born on Friday, March 13, 1935, in Union, Pennsylvania, to Polish and Ukrainian immigrant parents Stanley Kolanko and Rose Marie (Aleksander) Kolanko or Buscia and Dziadzi, they moved to Ohio and settled in Rossford.

Joe married his high school sweetheart, Rose (Sobieniak) Kolanko after dating for three years during high school on May 5, 1956. They were blessed to be able celebrate their 68th wedding anniversary together and were a couple a total of 71 years! After living in Toledo for a short time, they ended up back in Rossford, their hometown, to raise their four children.

Joe graduated from Rossford High School and Macomber Vocational School as a tool and die apprentice. He also attended school his junior year in Point Place to become a member of the U.S. Coast Guard. Joe spent his entire career at Basilius Tool & Die where he retired 25 years ago.

After retirement, Joe continued to use his God-given talents to work on carpentry and various projects in his garage. The garage was his favorite room in his house, and he used it to build and fix almost anything for anyone who asked. A most common phrase amongst family members was “Take it to Grampy, he will fix it.”

Joe was a hard worker, tremendous father and master woodcraftsman. He was quite the sportsman too. While in the Coast Guard he won the ship’s bowling tournament; and most miraculously, if you had ever seen him golf, he had a hole in one! Joe was an avid Detroit professional teams’ supporter. He loved the Tigers, Lions and Pistons and rarely missed watching a game. He also closely followed The Ohio State Buckeyes and Toledo Rockets.

What Joe was most avid about was his family. He was happiest when the family was together laughing and partying. Joe liked to have a good time and truly enjoyed those moments with family and friends more than anything.

He was also a religious man with a very strong faith and devotion to the Blessed Virgin Mary. He attended All Saints Catholic Church in Rossford; and over the past several years before he became too ill, he donated his woodworking skills and made many beautiful pieces for the church.

His legacy for his children was that he was an anchor to a very loving family and passed that blessing on to his children and their children, who are now passing it on to their children.

He is survived by his wife Rose Marie “Rosie” Kolanko; sister-in-law Marie (Jim) Bode; children, Joseph (Dale) Kolanko, Julie Anderson, Mark (Kathy) Kolanko, Mary (Craig) Tammarine; grandchildren, Ashley Brown (Adrian Rabadan), Andrew Brown (deceased), Tucker (Raquel) Kolanko, Aleksandra Kolanko, Kellsey (Spencer) MacQueen, Taylor (Jacqui) Kolanko; great grandchildren, Charlie MacQueen, Carter MacQueen and soon-to-be born Caz Kolanko and Cora Kolanko, who will sadly miss meeting their legendary Grampy; and many wonderful nieces, nephews, cousins and all the friends he met along the way.

Joe will be greeted in heaven by too many to mention, but among them the first ones we know will be his grandson Andrew Brown, his parents and his brothers Stanley, Casmir and Edward.

We would like to say a special thank you to everyone at Hospice of Northwest Ohio who did a tremendous job taking care of Joseph this past year and being so good to his family as well.

The viewing will be at Sujkowski Walker Funeral Home, 830 Lime City Rd, Rossford, Ohio on Thursday, May 23, 2024 from 4:00 PM-7:00 PM with a Rosary service at 7:00 PM. Visitation will continue on Friday, May 24, 2024 from 10:00 AM-11:00 AM at All Saints Catholic Church, 628 Lime City Rd, Rossford, Ohio with a funeral mass at 11:00 AM. Memorial donations in Joe’s name may be made to Hospice of Northwest Ohio. Online condolences may be left to the family at walkerfuneralhomes.com.