Moody J. Wiktorowicz
… His Green Thumb Kept Him Young
TEWKSBURY - Moody J. Wiktorowicz, age 98, died Monday, August 16, 2010 at his home in Tewksbury, after a long period of declining health. He was the beloved husband of the late Juliane M. (Bukawska) Wiktorowicz and father of the late Peter (Wikes) Wiktorowicz.
He was born in Poland on October 26, 1911, a son of the late, Stanley and Mary (Vojas) Wiktorowicz and emigrated to the United States with his family as a child. A graduate of East Coast Aerotech, Moody served with the Army Military Police in the Aleutian Islands during WWII. His interest in flying led to his purchase of an Army trainee plane following the war. Moody’s career included working in the Lowell textile mills, installing power lines and being part of the blasting crew that built Route 38 in Tewksbury. A lover of the outdoors, his lifelong passion was for gardening. Moody worked for many years on the Martin Farm across from his home on Andover Street in the days when the farm regularly trucked vegetables to Boston’s Faneuil Hall. He has maintained a large garden on his own property for decades and ran a popular “self help” vegetable stand each summer until recent weeks.
Moody was a friend of the therapeutic programs at Ironstone Farm, having begun his friendship with Founder Dick Donovan more than 50 years ago. He regularly delivered his famous zinnias to the staff at Ironstone, as well as that of Enterprise Bank down the street and to neighbors of his home in Tewksbury and his former summer home in Hampton, NH. Moody was a member of the Tewksbury Elks, the Polish-American Veterans Club and a communicant of Holy Trinity Church in Lowell.
He is survived by a sister, Eleanor Novak, and was brother of the late Edwina Blumberg, Helen Wilson, Stella Soda, and Walter Wiktorowicz.
Visiting hours are Sunday, August 22, from 4 p. m. to 7 p.m. in the Tewksbury Funeral Home, corner of Dewey and Main Sts. (Rte 38) TEWKSBURY CENTER, phone (800 in MA or 978) 851 2950. His Funeral was held Monday, August 23 in the Holy Trinity Polish Church, Lowell. Burial with Army Honors followed at the Holy Trinity Cemetery. Memorial contributions to Monastery of St. Clare, 445 River Road, Andover, MA 01810, will be appreciated.