Joseph M. Antoniak, Jr., 86

Joseph M Antoniak Jr., “Joe Mike” was born July 15th, 1937, first of six children to Joseph M. and Margaret (Winans) Antoniak Sr. He grew up on 20th & Martha with the family moving in 1950 to his current neighborhood at 21st & Josephine. He attended ICC grade school, finishing at Chandler School going to South High School 9th through 11th. He would go back to school later in life to get his GED. He married the love of his life Sherry J Beers on August 9th, 1954, celebrating their 60th Anniversary August 9th, 2014. Mom passed away two months later on October 30th, 2014. Their family grew with daughters Cindy 1955, Cheryl 1956, sons, Joe III 1961, and Chris 1970. Our dad showed us the meaning of working hard to support his family. He was a bricklayer by trade working for A. L. Borchman & Sons. He worked at the local packing houses in the winter when he couldn’t lay brick. I never felt he thought he was too good for any job. He went to work for Lloyd Kelley as maintenance for the many apartment complexes he owned. Mom would eventually join him and clean apartments as tenants moved out, side by side. His next move was to FBG Maintenance where he was able to get a desk job and manage crews. Being the hands-on worker he was, he would sometimes be the manager by day and go home, change clothes and work maintenance at night. Mom made the move with him and was in charge of a small group of “Ladies” as she would call them. They would come over to the house on occasion and enjoy some pool time. Dad and Mom loved entertaining. After his retirement from FBG on Friday he began his last and I believe the job he was always meant to have as Maintenance at Assumption Church on Monday. As the churches combined, he was eventually in charge of three South Omaha churches, Assumption, St. Agnes, and Our Lady of Guadalupe. He took pride in all his work throughout the years, but it was especially noticeable at “his” churches. At Assumption he striped the tile flooring around the alter and new wax was applied. A lady that sang in the choir once remarked it was so shiny the choir could see their reflections. His work wasn’t just in the churches, he also kept Assumption grade school in tip top shape. Dad and Mom also cleaned Assumption church every weekend, dusting, vacuuming, and placing the prayer books neatly in the pews. I went up and helped a few times. I was shown which way to vacuum so the carpet wouldn’t look like it had stripes on it. Again, everything had to be done right. Dad and Mom also worked the Assumption Czech Festival for 25 years. They ran the Polish/Italian Sausage booth. Again, working side by side. Mom belonged to the Ladies Auxiliary and would help make the hundreds of kolaches for the festival dinner. Dad served as an Acolyte on Sundays and would deliver Communion to parishioners who were unable to attend Mass. He always enjoyed his visits with people. He did this for several years, assisting with the Mass at Guadalupe until he hung up his Alb at age 80. He was doing snow removal from sidewalks and driveways at the church and school, always wanting to get there early so it was cleared for the elderly and school kids in his 70’s. He retired from Assumption in June 2015 at age 77 just weeks before his 78th birthday. My brothers and I were blessed to get to take a few family vacations to cabins on the lake. It was nice to watch him finally relax. We always enjoyed listening to his stories from his childhood, and there were many! Dad got his last puppy, Little Girl, his 4th Boston Terrier, July 5th, 2018. They were inseparable spending countless hours watching Cowboy movies, Royals baseball, and playing fetch with her favorite toys. Dad passed away peacefully at 1:00 in the morning, Sunday May 26th. It appears he was sitting on the end of his bed looking at the picture of mom he has on his dresser. His feet were on the floor, and he just laid back. We think Mom told him it was time to come home. “They are together once again side by side.”

Dad is survived by his children Cindy (Tom Sr.) Dougherty of Plattsmouth, Joe III, and Chris Sr. (Jamie) of Bellevue; grandchildren Tami (Jim) Cover, Tom (Leah) Dougherty Jr, Tabitha (Mike) Kouba, Derrick (Joanna) Antoniak, Kara (Daniel) Pickard, Chris (Sam) Antoniak, Cory Antoniak, Alex Nichols, Ronnie Faust Jr, and Kristina Faust; 26 great-grandchildren; brothers Chuck (Diane), and Geno (Christine); sister Michelle (Don) Moore; sister-in-law Sandy Antoniak; many nieces, nephews, and cousins.

Preceded in death by his parents; wife Sherry; daughter Cheryl Faust; grandsons Robert Faust and Anthony Nichols; sister Geraldine (Al) Fideline; and brother Michael.




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