Funeral Mass November 5, 2019 at St. Joan of Arc Catholic Church, Arvada, Colorado
Memorial Mass June 3, 2020, 10:30 a.m. MT at St. Mary's Church, Nenzel, Nebraska

John Weston Krajeski, died in the early evening of October 27, 2019 in Arvada, Colorado at age 93. This was a man whose life spanned nearly a century and who moved easily from prairie school boy, American soldier, university student and newspaper man to uranium prospector,  fruit grower and  grandfather,  making his homes in the upper Niobrara country of Nebraska to the elevated beauty of western Colorado.  He and his family were pioneers in the Sandhills.

Three short weeks after his death, his wife of 71 years, Darlene Ruth Mecham Krajeski died in Arvada, Colorado at age 92.

John (Jack) Krajeski was born in Dawes County in a log cabin on the UR ranch northeast of Chadron, Nebraska on May 22, 1926. In 1929 John's family moved from the Chadron ranch area to a farm south of Kilgore. He graduated from Kilgore High School in 1943.  He was chosen at an early age to be a servant of Jesus and was selected to study the Catechism, attending weekly instruction in Valentine, then a drive of several hours from his home in Kilgore, Nebraska.  He received his First Communion at age 5. His was a special and spiritual assignment, and his angels wanted him to be prepared.  They also worked to protect him. In early August 1944 he entered the Army.

In World War II, he was saved twice:  once when he slipped from the invasion landing craft's rope ladder into the ocean with a 60-pound pack on his back.  His hand, guided by a heavenly protector, caught a piece of netting that hung 15 feet below the deck, and he crawled back up the net to safety.  The second heavenly intercession came at night when he was chosen to climb an Okinawan escarpment behind enemy lines and blow up a cave—but without light and with the clear danger of the enemy spotting him from their post in front of the cave.  Miraculously, one lone flare from a Navy ship lit up the darkness, allowing the mission to be accomplished and earning John a Silver Star and a Bronze Star and peace and safety for countless American soldiers.

John was discharged from the Army in October 1946 having attained the rank of Master Sargent, 17 ^th Infantry, 7 ^th Division.  Moving to Lincoln, he became happily reacquainted with Darlene Mecham, and they were married there in St. Elizabeth's Cathedral on April 3, 1948.  After graduating from the University of Nebraska in 1951 with a bachelor's degree in journalism, John moved with wife Darlene to Bancroft, Nebraska.  There they bought and ran a weekly newspaper, the Bancroft Blade, for several years before returning to Lincoln. John created a Uranium and oil exploration company and moved to Grand Junction, Colorado, in 1955 to be closer to his claims.

In 1956, he was diagnosed with a severe muscle weakness disease called Myasthenia Gravis and was unable to move or to breath.  He had a near-death experience, but chose to swim back up the dark stream away from the light to the land of the living in order to take care of his daughters and his wife.

Like Padre Pio, his vocation was suffering.  He lived his entire life with pain and weakness and compromise.  Our father learned to live with his own suffering with joy, creativity and a deep commitment to life and to people—from the neighborhood boys who came over to play tether ball on the Krajeski driveway, the friends with whom he went deer hunting in spite of his disability, the Grand Junction auctioneer and bargain seekers at the Saturday sale he frequented, and his fellow residents in assisted living whose hands he shook or tenderly kissed after he lost his real ability to speak. Papa encouraged the heart and gave others a reason to smile.

Jack Krajeski and Darlene Krajeski were particularly proud of their two daughters, Dr. Roxann Krajeski Headley (Doug), a pediatrician in Denver, and Anita Krajeski Russell (Charlie) a marketing and communications executive, also of Denver. John praised his two cherished daughters, who, he said, "Kept reminding me—in spite of my illness—that my brain cells and orneriness could and would see me through."  He also said he "remembered quite a few times to thank his God for his long and happy life despite his disability."

In April 1996 John and Darlene built a house in Forest Springs in Arvada, Colorado to be closer to children, grandchildren and great grandchildren. They lived in their beautiful home on Westwoods Golf Course, enjoying the view from the deck they built themselves until March 2019 when they moved into assisted living.

John is survived by daughters Roxann and Anita; granddaughters Jennifer Anderson and Ambryn Dahlstom (Matt); and Carly Russell Priestley (James); great grandchildren Parker and Kellyn Anderson and Nathan and Ryan Dahlstrom.

Papa, we love you and by the grace of God, we will see you again!