Presence in moment was key to balance
At Florida Hospital, Paul Kuczynski translated the jargon of tech manuals into a language his colleagues could understand. During his tenure in the project-management office and as a trainer and mentor to co-workers, Kuczynski wielded his tenacity, a meticulous care for detail and a desire to connect.
Former boss April Poggione called it his trifecta.
That commitment mushroomed into other arenas of his life — Kuczynski’s family knew the same deep passion his co-workers spoke of.
“He was always present,” said wife Donna. You couldn’t find him huddled in a corner or in a man cave. Instead, he engaged in each facet of family life from grocery shopping to decorating.
Paul Joseph Kuczynski died Oct. 12 of pancreatic cancer. He was 69.
His presence each minute enabled an even balance between kin and co-workers.
“He was definitely in the moment,” Poggione said of Kuczynski, who never kept his phone out during a conversation. If it rang, he silenced it and checked it later.
“Even when he was sick, he was always committed to doing his best work,” said Carlos Escobar, who worked with Kuczynski for around a decade, adding that the two remained close even after Kuczynski no longer reported to Escobar. “He really loved what he did.”
Still, once the workday was done, it was done, Poggione said.
At his church, he supported others who wished to become Catholic through the Rite of Christian Initiation of Adults program, and became a Eucharistic Minister, his wife added.
Over nearly the last two decades, Kuczynski assumed the role of cooking from Donna, who had fixed supper for the first 20 years. His culinary endeavors bridged the gap between Lithuanian stuffing and pizza.
“I cooked to feed the family,” she said. “He cooked because it was an art.”
Kuczynski owned a Triumph Racing Green car and adored his collie. He toted a camera with him around Mount Dora, Anna Maria Island and Cape Cod. He and Donna continued to vacation to the Cape even after their children grew up.
Married in 1967, Kuczynski met Donna less than a year earlier in upstate New York, where she lived and he was stationed in the Air Force. They were inseparable.
During his military service, Kuczynski took interest in computers, eventually taking courses. Afterward they moved from place to place as “he worked his way up the ladder the hard way,” ultimately arriving in Florida in 1985.
He joined Florida Hospital around 10 years ago, his family says. Kuczynski devoted time in person to see the “aha moment” on a colleague’s face.
Ralph Aiello, a co-worker since 2010, remembers the luncheon that Kuczynski coordinated at a local pizzeria.
“In the simplest of terms, I said, ‘Paul, you’re a good soldier,’ ” Escobar said. “It was never about him being successful, it was always about others being successful.”
In addition to his wife, Donna Kuczynski of Mount Dora, Paul Joseph Kuczynski is survived by two sons, Mark Kuczynski, of Deltona, and John Kuczynski, of Apopka; a daughter, Tricia Royal, of Chicago; two sisters, Karen Straynor, of East Haven, Conn., and Mary Ann Vaczek, of Orlando; and eight grandchildren.
DeGusipe Funeral Home & Crematory, Maitland, handled arrangements.