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Alexander B. Cembalski
08/16/1921 — 01/21/2005
From Richland, WA, US | Born in Mineville, New York
Alexander B. Cembalski
EINANS FUNERAL HOME
Alex Bernard Cembalski passed away on January 21, 2005. He was 83. He was a native of the green, rolling hills of Poultney, Vermont and moved to Richland in 1947, two years after he married Grace Helen Campbell in Schenectady, New York. He enlisted in the Navy in 1944 and served on the battleship Missouri from the time it was commissioned in New York until he was discharged in May of 1946. He was aboard the USS Missouri in Tokyo Bay when the Japanese surrendered in September 2, 1945. He worked on the Hanford Project for General Electric and several contractors before going to work for General Telephone. He retired in 1980. He was a charter member of the Knights of Columbus and served as its Grand Knight from 1965 to1966. He was a dedicated volunteer at the Tri-City Food Bank in Richland. He worked incessantly in behalf of the St. Vincent DePaul for 49 years. He was recognized and honored by community leaders for donating 32 gallons of blood to the American Red Cross in Richland, an amazing 52-year gesture of generosity about which he once said: Ive been healthy and Ive worked steady, and I have no problems. I guess the man up above is looking out for me. I feel its an obligation to the people who need it.
Alex was known for his unwavering love and dedication to his wife. They were married for 57 years. In September 1979, he and Grace spent 27 days in Poland visiting a sister he had never met. They also met all the families he had never seen and enjoyed all the experiences of coming home. They visited the Concentration Camp at Auschwitz where many Polish people died in the holocaust. After retiring in 1980, Alex took Grace on three different cruises. When she got sick he stood by her and never left her uncared for at home. When she passed away, he visited her grave every single day, not out of anguish, but out of love that knows no limits or boundaries. He showed many of us what it truly means to say: I promise to be true to you in good times and in bad, in sickness and in health. I will love you and honor you all days of my life.
Alex was a great man of faith and a humble servant of God. He was a very devoted and active member of Christ the King Catholic Church. No amount of snow or rain prevented him from going to church every single morning to recite the Rosary and participate at the Eucharist. He gave generously of his time and treasure. He visited the sick, cared for the poor, ran errands for the house bound, comforted the lonely, welcomed the stranger, and many other inspiring endeavors that we may never know. An honor once given to him by the Knights of Columbus captures many peoples admiration and respect for this ambassador of goodwill: To recount your many acts of charity, to recall your many hours of labor in behalf of your church, school, your council and your community, is an impossible task. All that you have done was offered as a labor of love. What you do is in a spirit of complete charity, to seek acclaim or reward is completely foreign to your timid and humble nature. You are an outstanding example of a fine Catholic gentleman who truly knows the wonderful virtue of humility. When people ask what they could do for him, he would often say, Pray for the repose of my immortal soul. For those of us who had the privilege of knowing him our prayers will indeed go with him daily.
Mr. Cembalski is preceded in death by his wife Grace of 57 years.
Survivors include two brothers; Frank and Edward Breznick of Poultney, Vermont, numerous nieces, nephews and many friends.
Visitation will be held on Thursday, from 5pm to 8 pm and on Friday from 8pm to 3pm.at Einans Funeral Home. A recitation of the Holy Rosary will be at Einans Funeral Home of Friday at 6:00pm. A Funeral Mass will be held on Saturday, January 29, 2005 at 10:00am at Christ the King Catholic Church in Richland.
Alex – you are a wonderful man. You were there for my mother Lois Moyers when Smokey died in 1991, Mom loved working at the Food Bank for many years with you, and there you were again last January when my mom Lois passed.
My thoughts and prayers go for you and your family.
We pay tribute to and have a great respect for Uncle Alex. What a wonderful, kind, loving soul. What a beautiful gift he had with people and a heart full of love….the epitomy of a husband, it showed through in everything he and Grace were to each other. We will miss him and thank God he was part of our family.
I did not get a chance to see Uncle Alex often and its been a while but he was known in our extended family for being a great loving and caring gentleman and he always made sure to keep in touch. We will surely miss him in our hearts.
The past few years we got to spend more time with Alex and his friend Chuck when they would spend the night in our yard while traveling to Anaconda to visit Chuck’s relatives. It was always nice to see Alex and he was so interested in everything. He will be missed.
We’ll truly miss getting Uncle Alex’s cards and letters! Even though we didn’t get to see him much, we shared alot in pictures and words. I hope he’s found Aunt Grace in heaven, because he missed her so much! We’ll miss you.
We will always remember you in our prayers. You have been an insperation to us for 40+ years now May you rest in peace and Gods speed.
Uncle Alex, I am so glad you called me the night before you left us – I will always remember that call. You have been a special uncle in my life and I wish I could have spent more time with you and Aunt Grace. Your kindness, gentleness, and thoughtfulness of everyone you ever met stands out in my memory of you. No matter how many babies were born in this family, you were aware of them all and asked about them when you called. I will miss your phone calls, but I know your loneliness for Aunt Grace is now over. You will be deeply missed by all who knew you, but never forgotten.
Uncle Alex was as kind, generous, and compassionate an individual one could ever want to meet. His charitable life and loving commitment to Grace was the true embodiment of Christ’s teachings. Uncle Alex was always kind to my mother, brothers, and myself and I shall always remember this. Godspeed Uncle Alex. You have a special place in eternity. May Grace be with you! You have touched all our lives in a way that transcends your loving life on earth.
We are so glad that Uncle Alex made one last trip to Vermont last fall. It was wonderful to spend that time with him and Frank. We will remember his special visit always. If he had not made that insightful trip, our Alex would never have met the Great-Great Uncle behind all of the Christmas Card Greetings with money gifts for each of our 3 boys each year. I feel fortunate to have known him and hope that all of his roads lead to Grace in Heaven.
Alex and Grace were very good friends of Gene and Lila Tausch, my ex-In Laws. Gene and Alex worked together at many KC activities, and Lila and Grace did their church activities too. I had many good, fun experiences with Alex both at work and play. At work, he was usually the phone man to change our telephones at the Hanford Site as we either relocated or rearranged offices very often. We always had a nice visit while he was doing his phone work! At play, seems Alex was always serving at the KC Hall, either food or drink. He always was the one to finish the work like after Bingo while others were playing pool or goofing around. Many mornings I would see Alex, when on my way to Hanford, at the corner of Williams and GW Way. That was near their home and he was on his way to Christ the King Church to do his morning activities there. Alex was always very friendly and interested in how things were going — and yes very nice to his Grace as she was lots of fun and a hard worker too! I sort of lost contact with them when I divorced and moved to Kennewick in 1986.
Our prayers for God’s peace and comforting in this difficult time. May you, Alex & Grace’s family, be blessed with good health, safety and fun times.
Old Time Friends,
Don and Marti Meyers
Uncle Alex We’re so sorry to hear of your passing but so happy for you because now you can be with Aunt Grace who I know you missed so much. I’ll always admire your love for each other. Once when I asked you how hard it must be to care for her by yourself you told me it was never hard to take care of her it was always a pleasure. I’m so glad I got to spend time with you last fall and got one last hug and kiss. Like when I was little and you always were slipping money into our hands. Thanks for being such a role model in love and compassion and generousity. Thanks for all the letters. You’ll always be in our hearts. Say hi to Grandpa Poopie for us.
I’ve known Alex since I moved here in 1960. I was a youngster working in D area for GE.
He was always friendly to me and greeted me warmly. It was a shock to hear of his passing but I have a strong feeling that he is enjoying his reward in heaven.
Alex – you are a wonderful man. You were there for my mother Lois Moyers when Smokey died in 1991, Mom loved working at the Food Bank for many years with you, and there you were again last January when my mom Lois passed.
My thoughts and prayers go for you and your family.
We pay tribute to and have a great respect for Uncle Alex. What a wonderful, kind, loving soul. What a beautiful gift he had with people and a heart full of love….the epitomy of a husband, it showed through in everything he and Grace were to each other. We will miss him and thank God he was part of our family.
I did not get a chance to see Uncle Alex often and its been a while but he was known in our extended family for being a great loving and caring gentleman and he always made sure to keep in touch. We will surely miss him in our hearts.
The past few years we got to spend more time with Alex and his friend Chuck when they would spend the night in our yard while traveling to Anaconda to visit Chuck’s relatives. It was always nice to see Alex and he was so interested in everything. He will be missed.
We’ll truly miss getting Uncle Alex’s cards and letters! Even though we didn’t get to see him much, we shared alot in pictures and words. I hope he’s found Aunt Grace in heaven, because he missed her so much! We’ll miss you.
We will always remember you in our prayers. You have been an insperation to us for 40+ years now May you rest in peace and Gods speed.
Uncle Alex, I am so glad you called me the night before you left us – I will always remember that call. You have been a special uncle in my life and I wish I could have spent more time with you and Aunt Grace. Your kindness, gentleness, and thoughtfulness of everyone you ever met stands out in my memory of you. No matter how many babies were born in this family, you were aware of them all and asked about them when you called. I will miss your phone calls, but I know your loneliness for Aunt Grace is now over. You will be deeply missed by all who knew you, but never forgotten.
Uncle Alex was as kind, generous, and compassionate an individual one could ever want to meet. His charitable life and loving commitment to Grace was the true embodiment of Christ’s teachings. Uncle Alex was always kind to my mother, brothers, and myself and I shall always remember this. Godspeed Uncle Alex. You have a special place in eternity. May Grace be with you! You have touched all our lives in a way that transcends your loving life on earth.
We are so glad that Uncle Alex made one last trip to Vermont last fall. It was wonderful to spend that time with him and Frank. We will remember his special visit always. If he had not made that insightful trip, our Alex would never have met the Great-Great Uncle behind all of the Christmas Card Greetings with money gifts for each of our 3 boys each year. I feel fortunate to have known him and hope that all of his roads lead to Grace in Heaven.
Alex and Grace were very good friends of Gene and Lila Tausch, my ex-In Laws. Gene and Alex worked together at many KC activities, and Lila and Grace did their church activities too. I had many good, fun experiences with Alex both at work and play. At work, he was usually the phone man to change our telephones at the Hanford Site as we either relocated or rearranged offices very often. We always had a nice visit while he was doing his phone work! At play, seems Alex was always serving at the KC Hall, either food or drink. He always was the one to finish the work like after Bingo while others were playing pool or goofing around. Many mornings I would see Alex, when on my way to Hanford, at the corner of Williams and GW Way. That was near their home and he was on his way to Christ the King Church to do his morning activities there. Alex was always very friendly and interested in how things were going — and yes very nice to his Grace as she was lots of fun and a hard worker too! I sort of lost contact with them when I divorced and moved to Kennewick in 1986.
Our prayers for God’s peace and comforting in this difficult time. May you, Alex & Grace’s family, be blessed with good health, safety and fun times.
Old Time Friends,
Don and Marti Meyers
Uncle Alex We’re so sorry to hear of your passing but so happy for you because now you can be with Aunt Grace who I know you missed so much. I’ll always admire your love for each other. Once when I asked you how hard it must be to care for her by yourself you told me it was never hard to take care of her it was always a pleasure. I’m so glad I got to spend time with you last fall and got one last hug and kiss. Like when I was little and you always were slipping money into our hands. Thanks for being such a role model in love and compassion and generousity. Thanks for all the letters. You’ll always be in our hearts. Say hi to Grandpa Poopie for us.
I’ve known Alex since I moved here in 1960. I was a youngster working in D area for GE.
He was always friendly to me and greeted me warmly. It was a shock to hear of his passing but I have a strong feeling that he is enjoying his reward in heaven.
A dear, kind, man. He will be missed. We’ve known Alex since we moved to Richland in ’67. Knowing he is not here anymore leaves a void for lots of people including us. Rest in peace gentle servant.
Uncle Alex, you were more like my older brother what with only six years difference in our ages. I shared so many things with you during my “growing up” years. I shall miss picking up the phone and visiting with you as we did more frequently since Grace passed away. Your love for all of us is our legacy.
I remember Uncle Alex as a very kind man. Always full of hugs and kisses whenever we saw him. He always had a smile on his face. I don’t recall that he ever met my two boys, but he always remembered them at Christmas time and always asked how they were doing. He was a kind soul and I know he’s looking down and watching all of us now. He will be a good guardian angel.
Our Uncle Alex will be missed He brightened our lives even though he was all the way across the country. He always made us feel special and loved. We loved him and feel the emptiness left by his passing.
Karen, Tom, Melissa & Lauren
Guestbook for
Alexander B. Cembalski