Former Amherst mayor remembered

With flags flying at half staff and Amherst city vehicles leading the procession, retired Amherst Mayor John C. Jaworski Jr. was laid to rest in Lorain.

Jaworski, 91, served as mayor of Amherst from 19841995, but he began 50 years of public service in 1962, including council-at-large for two terms and president of council for four terms, according to his obituary.

A 1943B graduate of Lorain High School, he died March 25 at O’Neill Healthcare Center in Bay Village.

Amherst Mayor Mark Costilow said he knew of Jaworski and met him while they volunteered together during the presidential election at the Lorain County Board of Elections.

“At 91 years old, he was volunteering at the Board of Elections,” Costilow said. “He was a very nice man, very polite, just a very nice person to talk to. They called us into separate rooms. I didn’t get a chance to know him well. He seemed like a very impressive person.”

Costilow said he called the office of Ohio Gov. John Kasich for permission to fly flags in Amherst at half staff for two days in honor of Jaworski.

“I rode in the funeral procession,” Costilow said. “There were two utility department vehicles, a police vehicle and a fire vehicle. We led the procession and escorted the remains to the cemetery.” Others in Amherst honored Jaworski’s memory.

“I’ve known him ever since I was a little kid,” said Amherst City Council President John Dietrich. “There weren’t that many people in the area where we grew up. He was working at one of the establishments us kids used to hang out at. I didn’t know him well at that time.

“When he was going to retire, he wanted me to run for mayor. At that time, I wasn’t that familiar with politics. I was serving the public. I decided to run for council-atlarge and I’ve been there ever since.”

Jaworski was a giving person, always ready to help and offer a lot of good advice, Dietrich said.

“It was a nice friendship over the years,” he said. “I knew his wife, Helen. It was a nice acquaintance, and I was privileged to know him. He was very family oriented.”

Retired Amherst Mayor David A. Taylor said when Jaworski served the city, the mayor’s position was parttime, so he worked a full time job in addition to running the city.

“You really had to be dedicated in those days,” Taylor said. “He had a full time job as a meat manager and served the city at the same time.

“I knew him when he was council president and I was safety service director many, many years ago, back in the ‘70s and ‘80s.”

Taylor said Jaworski was a good guy who was involved in local politics for years and became mayor.

“When I was mayor, I talked to him several times and asked him things and his opinion, and he always gave me good advice,” Taylor said. “It’s been awhile since we were together.”

Jaworski’s father, John C. Jaworski, served as mayor of Lorain from 1952 to 1962.

A Mass of Christian Burial was March 29 at St. Joseph Catholic Church, 200 St. Joseph Drive in Amherst, followed by interment at Calvary Cemetery in Lorain. Jaworski