William Joseph Janecek
William (Bill) Joseph Janecek, 76, passed away peacefully surrounded by his loving family and friends at Middlesex Hospital on Monday, May 27, 2019. Bill was born in Middletown, son of the late Joseph and Gladys (Guida) Janecek and the grandson of the late Josephine M. Fiala of Middletown.
Bill graduated from Salisbury Prep School where he exceled in sports. Bill joined the Marines in 1966 and was deployed to Da Nang, Vietnam where he earned the Navy Achievement Medal, National Defense Service Medal, Vietnam Service Medal and the Vietnam Campaign Medal. He was discharged as a Sgt. in 1968 and helped his uncles establish and run the Guida Sunshine Farms Stores. After that he worked at his grandmother’s convalescent home Sanibel Hospital as a bookkeeper. Bill was very active in the community. Bill loved politics and ran for First Selectman of Chester in 1971. He was an active member of the Chester Hose Company, a Little League coach and a Boy Scout leader. Bill owned Glendale Manor in Chester which he ran for many years before opening The Villager in 1978, the Lunchbox in 1980 where the locals called him “Boom Boom Billy” and later ran the Snack Shack on Cedar Lake. When he retired he donated the Snack Shack to the Town of Chester.
Besides his wife, Charlene (Ohmen) Janecek, Bill is survived by a daughter, Jennifer (Janecek) Shea and her husband Donald of Deep River, his two sons, Joseph Janecek and his wife Yvonne of Moodus, Jason Janecek of Chester, four grandchildren, Maggie, Max, Cheyenne and Ashley greatgrandchild, BellaRose, a sister, Donna (Janecek) Drouin and her husband Daniel of Pawleys Island, South Carolina.
A Mass of Christian Burial will be held Monday at 10:30 a.m. at Saint Mary of Czestochowa, 79 South Main Street Middletown followed by burial at Pine Grove Cemetery with full military honors. Friends may call at Biega Funeral Home, 3 Silver Street, Middletown Sunday from 4 to 6 p.m. In lieu of flowers, please make memorial contributions to Chester Hose Company, P.O. Box 214, Chester, CT 06412. To share memories or express condolences online, please visit www.biegafuneralhome.com.