Obituary of Michael Wozniak

Michael Wozniak of Vestal Michael Wozniak, 72, passed away peacefully surrounded by his loved ones on Monday, May 13th after an extended illness. He is survived by his beloved family; wife of 50 years Mary Alice Wozniak; his daughter Sara DeSimone, son-in-law Joe DeSimone and their two children, Gabriella and Joey; his daughter Lisa Baesemann, son-in-law Shane Baesemann and their two children, Peyton and Fenton; his daughter Amy Henderson, son-in-law Blake Henderson and their two children Lucy and Layla. His surviving brothers Thomas Wozniak (Karen Wozniak); Peter Wozniak (Isabelle "Iza" Wozniak) and nephews Giles, Jacob, and Lucas; and Ignatius (Joseph) Wozniak (Christine Wozniak). Michael completed two deployments to Vietnam as part of the U.S. Army 611th Ordnance Company. After his honorable discharge he achieved his Associates degree at Erie Community College and his Bachelor's degree at Binghamton University and became an Engineer at IBM, and later at EIT Technologies and Sanmina. He received multiple patents for his work and was affectionately known as "The Woz" to his colleagues. He enjoyed staying active throughout his life, from bowling leagues, horseshoe leagues, playing softball and running an under 7min mile. He coached his daughters throughout their softball careers and could be seen cheering (or yelling) on the sidelines of their soccer, softball, and field hockey games. His family remembers all of the good times they had at the beach, Finger Lakes, Disney, the Grand Canyon and especially in their hometown of Buffalo, NY. He was an avid card player, and he and Iza Wozniak will perpetually be known as the King and Queen of Hearts. He loved the outdoors and could be counted on to identify a tree just by its leaves. Michael and Mary Alice loved that their daughters were able to grow up in a country-like setting; able to have friends and family over, to play in the backyard. We hiked down to the creek, went for a swim, only to return to a roaring fire or sit in lawn chairs in the garage to watch the storms roll through. We'd catch fireflies, eat s'mores and wish on the stars that fell. This is what he lived for, and he will be forever missed. One of his favorite sayings was, "Not all who wander are lost." The family will be holding a memorial for Michael on July 5th from 1pm-5pm. Details can be found here: https://www.facebook.com/events/3787154858228505/ .