Condolence From: Mariana Wagner (Zwierski)
Condolence: In memory of our beloved Papa (father), husband, Dzia Dzia (grandfather), brother, and friend, Gabriel Zwierski - 69 years old, born on January 30, 1949 and passed away on June 24, 2018. We will remember him forever. Gabriel Zwierski was born in January of 1949, the first child of Marie "Alys" Zwierski (nee Wisniewski) and Edward Zwierski, in Wisconsin. He was the oldest of 6 children, Peter (1951), Karl (1952-2007), Liza/Elizabeth (1954), Eddie/Edward (1955), Michi/Michele (1957) and Angela (1960-1960). He was raised in Milwaukee Wisconsin, USA and joined the Navy out of high school. In the early 1970's he moved to Seattle WA where he met and married Janice Martin (1973) and had their only daughter together, Mariana (1975). In 1977 they moved to Brooklyn NY. Gabriel continued to live and work in New York after his divorce in 1985. In the early 1990's he met Esther and her daughter, Marilyn. Esther and Gabriel were soon married and spent the next several decades together with the plans of moving to the Dominican Republic for retirement in 2018, where he and Esther had purchased a farm. In 1995 he welcomed his first grandson, Orion, and in 2003 he welcomed his second grandson, Remi.
Gabriel spent his life building and beautifully restoring musical instruments, specifically violins and pianos. He loved his morning coffee (black), his evening rum (with water) and was always a fan of old world classics of Polish kielbasa. He was an avid sci-fi reader and movie watcher and could always be found happily humming classical tunes while walking through the streets on New York. His sense of humor was highly intelligent and extremely dry - he was a master at maintaining a poker face until you "got" his subtle joke. And puns ... oh my goodness. His ability at finding a pun for every conversation was pure genius.
In his mid-30's Gabriel was diagnosed with Parkinson's Disease, yet he successfully adapted his life to successfully live with it, despite it's setbacks. In June 2018 Gabriel was diagnosed with an inoperable aggressive brain tumor and passed just 2 weeks after the diagnosis.
Gabriel is preceded in death by his mother, Marie Alys Zwierski, his father Edward Zwierski, sister Angela Zwierski, and brother Karl Zwierski. He leaves behind his loving wife Esther Zwierski, sisters Liza Blackburn and Michi Zwierski, brothers Peter Zwierski and Eddie Zwierski, daughter Mariana Wagner, son-in-law Derek Wagner and step-daughter Marilyn Urraca, and 2 grandsons, Orion Wagner and Remi Wagner.
He was loved by everyone who had the honor of spending time with him and will be missed beyond words.
Thursday August 16, 2018