Vicki J. Lachowicz

Obituary of Vicki Lachowicz Vicki Lachowicz, 78, returned home to God on January 18th after a courageous battle with leukemia. She died at her home, surrounded by her family. Visitation will be Sunday from 2 to 4 p.m. at Beyers Funeral Home, Lady Lake, and a Mass of Christian Burial will be celebrated at St. Timothy Catholic Church, The Villages, on Monday, January 26th at 8:30 a.m. Interment will be at 11:00 a.m. at Knollwood Memorial Park, Manitowoc, Wisconsin. Vicki, affectionately known as Janie to her family, was born in Manitowoc, Wisconsin, to Felix and Victoria Sieracki. She was the 4th of 7 children. Her oldest brother, Eugene, died in 1944 when his submarine, the USS Golet, was sunk off the coast of Japan. Her oldest sister, Marian Osieczanek (Archie), lives in Denver, Colorado, her brother, Florian (Mary Ann), lives in Waupun, Wisconsin, her brother, Lee (Heather), lives in De Kalb, Texas, and her sister, LuAnn (Don), lives in Manitowoc, Wisconsin. Her twin brother, James, died at birth. Vicki was a graduate of Lincoln High School, Manitowoc, and Manitowoc County Teacher's College. She taught elementary school in Grayslake, Illinois. Vicki met her husband of 56 years, Jerry, when he spotted her across the room, and was immediately smitten. He still feels the same way about her now. They were married at St. Mary's Catholic Church in Manitowoc on June 21st, 1958, and they moved to Green Bay so Jerry could finish his degree. Their daughter, Debbie, was born in 1959, followed by Julie in 1961 after a moved to Milwaukee. They relocated again to Sheboygan and their daughter, Patty, was born in 1965. After another move to Sheboygan Falls, their fourth daughter, Lisa, was born in 1966 and the family was complete. Vicki took wonderful care of her home, her husband and four daughters, and spent their school years taking care of them and moving from Wisconsin to Grand Haven and Muskegon, Michigan, to Loveland, Ohio, Libertyville, Illinois, and then back to the land of beer and cheese, Wisconsin Rapids, Wisconsin. Vicki returned to work at a Sears store in Illinois, and in Wisconsin Rapids at two dental offices and then became a substitute teacher, which was her favorite job, next to wife and mother. Vicki and Jerry left Wisconsin for The Villages, Florida, after Jerry retired in 1996, where they enjoyed golf, pickle ball, cards, shows and evenings with friends. They celebrated their 50th wedding anniversary in 2008 with a party at a water park resort in Wisconsin, complete with big band orchestra. Vicki and Jerry enjoyed traveling, going on cruises to the Caribbean and Greek Isles, many trips to Europe, and pilgrimages to Egypt and the Holy Land, Lourdes, Fatima, Medjugorje, and a treasured trip to Poland, part of her heritage. She enjoyed getting together with her sisters and brothers and their children, and loved them all dearly. Even though she was in the midst of chemotherapy for leukemia, she attended a reunion of the entire Sieracki family in Wisconsin last summer, and was so happy to see everyone. Vicki adored her 14 grandchildren: Andrew, Alex, Michael and Laura Millon, Patrick, C.J., Matthew and Nicholas Reiels, Tom, Amy and Sara Fuller, and Joey, John and Jake Gurskis. That's 11 grandsons and only 3 granddaughters. Jerry finally had his boys. Vicki loved to spoil her grandchildren, often serving them hot fudge sundaes at 10 p.m. and hiding powdered sugar doughnuts in the closet so the kids could eat them, much to the chagrin of the parents. She sent weekly cards to all the college kids to remind them that they were loved, also sending boxes of goodies whenever possible. She took numerous trips to be at as many grandchildren's events as possible, attending Baptisms, First Communions, Confirmations, graduations, Eagle Scout ceremonies, baseball and soccer games, plays and concerts. After every visit, she left a treasure hunt behind with a DVD or other gift as a prize. The grandchildren adored her and already miss their grandma so much. Vicki loved her Catholic faith, attended church daily, and prayed constantly. We are comforted knowing she is with Jesus, her beloved Blessed Mother, her parents and all the family members that have gone before her. To our beloved wife, mother, grandma, sister, aunt, cousin and friend: We love you to the moon and back.

Vicki J. Lachowicz

January 18, 2015