Obituary for Alfons Joachim Kwidzinski July 18, 1925 - November 9, 2017



Alfons was born in Danzig, Germany (now Gdansk, Poland) in 1925. He is survived by his wife of 69 years, Winnie Loding Kwidzinski, his children Irene Kwidzinski, Herb Kinsmann and his wife Jennifer, Michael Kwidzinski and his wife Amy, two grandchildren Jesse and Brooke, and Anita Short. He is also survived by his family in Hamburg Germany, Walter and Helga Loding and their daughter Diana, and his family in Gdansk Poland, Monika Kwidzinski, Jan and Dorota Kwidzinski and their daughter Ania, and Gisela and Werner Samp and their children Bogusia and Wojnic. His parents Maria and Joseph Kwidzinski, his siblings Irene, Paul and Hans, and a niece Bernadetta predeceased him.

Alfons was born during difficult, challenging times. His childhood was impacted by the Great Depression and World War II. He was drafted into the Navy at the age of 17 and never saw his parents again. He was able to bring his brother Hans and his wife Monika to the United States for a visit in 1974, and Alfons and Winnie were able to visit his family in Gdansk in 1994. They were able to visit family during several trips to Germany, and his German family members visited the United States as well.

Alfons was an engineer in the Navy and after the war worked on British minesweepers in the North Sea. He worked for the Hamburg Blohm-Voss shipyards before emigrating to the United States in 1952. In New York, Alfons worked as a tool & die maker and in construction on multiple projects including the George Washington Bridge. In 1964, after relocating to Connecticut, he established Ideal Contracting, a residential construction business. Later, he worked as a tool & die maker for Westinghouse and built robots at Unimation. His last two years were spent as a resident at Masonicare in Newtown.

Alfons was proud to be a naturalized citizen of the United States and celebrated the anniversary of his arrival every year. He always exercised his privilege to vote. Alfons felt that he was a very fortunate man. He treasured and was very proud of his family. He not only achieved his dream of designing and building his dream home, he did it twice. He worked hard all of his life and was awed by all that he had experienced in his 92 years.

The family would like to extend its heartfelt thanks to the staff at Masonicare who took such good care of him. The staff and the residents’ relatives became family and were so supportive.

Our family will receive friends at the Honan Funeral Home, 58 Main Street, Newtown CT 06470 on Saturday, Nov. 18, 2017 from 10-12. Burial will take place immediately after at Newtown Village Cemetery, 22 Elm Drive, Newtown Ct.

In lieu of flowers, donations in his name can be made to Masonicare At Newtown, 139 Toddy Hill Road, Newtown CT 06482 or to a charity of your choice.

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