Sylvester G. "Sy" Janochoski

Dear Corrine, Tom/Mona, Jim/Joyce and Dan/LeAnn – PRAYERS/ LOVE –
I speak first of all for the Sisters of St.. Benedict – we would be there for YOU- at the funeral if we were able to leave our COVID CLOISTER! We will do a visit when it is open for us to come. You have been so good to our community – gifts, flowers for major feastdays and sponsoring the publication of our Federation History in 1997. Your many visits as Mr. and Mrs. Claus made our holidays special. I cannot list all the support, care and insights that Sy gave us in our many construction projects especially the 1980-83 Renovation and Additions to our Chapel project.
Sy was our “resident Theologian/ Plumber” specializing in Holy Water Fonts!!
He will be around often and we will welcome his good spirit among us. May your journey without his visible presence be a time in your life to celebrate the goodness of our POLISH PLUMBER! Prayers…
Sister Colleen and Sisters all.

My sincerest sympathies to all of you on your loss. It was a pleasure to know Sy first as a child and then as an adult. I know my parents were very appreciative of the friendship over all the years as well. May the Lord grant you peace and comfort during this time.

Sy impressed me with his open heart and philanthropy, donating to the church and the hospital and any charity that touched him. He opened his heart and arms to me when I met his son, Tom, with whom I played dance band music for many years.

Sy was a go-getter, and never let the the grass grow under his feet. He made a home, provided for a family, contributed to his community, and didn’t brag or boast about it. He let his actions speak for themselves.

Sy volunteered to help me move a piano between two cities long ago. During the ride in the truck, his got quiet and thoughtful, looking out the window, as if he’d stepped off into another time, and he told this story:

(He said) I was a Company Clerk in the Korean War. You know, like Radar O’Reilly on that M.A.S.H. TV show. Our M.A.S.H. unit was up on the bleeding edge of the front lines, and ended up with some soldiers hurt too bad for us to handle. We requested a chopper to fly them out to Seoul, and I went along to assist. The chopper was big enough to handle some corpsmen, the wounded, and me. We were halfway to Seoul when the pilot warned us we were in trouble: two Soviet MIGs were inbound on us, and it was going to get rough. He didn’t know if we’d make it out of there, but he’d called for help from Navy jets, and they were ten minutes out.

But the MIGs were already there.

(Sy said) The MIGs lined up and came at them with machine guns firing. The chopper pilot cut the lift and dropped the helicopter down below them. Sy said it felt like riding in an elevators when the cables had been cut.

The bullets missed, passing right where the chopper had been.

The pilot radioed for an update on reinforcements, and the Navy jets said they could see the chopper on radar. They were nearly there.

The MIGs turned around and headed back, lining up the chopper in their sights again, and let fire. The pilot dropped again, right down to tree-top level this time, and the bullets missed again.

As the MIGs came around for the third time, Sy said he knew the chopper pilot had nowhere left to go.
That’s when the U.S. Navy fighters showed up and engaged.

Sy watched them from the chopper as they began dog fighting. One MIG quickly went up in smoke and flames and the other on turned north.
The Navy pilots gave chase and shot that one down together.

Sy kept staring out our truck’s window, and said he’d never told anyone that before.

The rest of us sat in stunned quiet.

I was used to Sy being loud, laughing, engaging, and always larger than life. And now I saw him remembering a past with a haunting look in his eye.

But soon he brightened and started telling jokes, and the drive became a short one.

Always one to buy someone a drink, always ready to buy pull tabs for the ladies at his table.

Sy was one in six billion. And I am glad to have known him.

And glad to have known his family, who followed his example and made a stranger welcome in their home.

I am so very sad that we all have lost wonderful Sy. He was such a kind and generous soul with a great sense of humor. Special condolences to Corrine and sons, daughters-in-law and all the grandkids. Thoughts and prayers are with you all. May God grant you peace and comfort at this very sad time.