Joseph Anthony Kmiec, the patriarch of the Kmieć family in the United States and a World War II veteran was the oldest living male representative of the post-war Polish community in the Haverhill area.

One of the last of the greatest generation, he had a remarkable life as devoted husband, father, a man of faith, and a true provider.

Joseph lived life fully and meaningfully for 94+ years. Surrounded by his family, he passed away unexpectedly and peacefully on July 30, days following a basic procedure. The family is experiencing great sadness at the sudden loss.

Józef Antoni Kmieć was born on July 9, 1926 in Wadowice Górne in southeastern Poland, and emigrated to the United States with his mother and brother in 1934.  They joined the rest of the family, eventually settling in Lawrence, MA. He attended John Tarbox Elementary, James Lawlor Grammar and Lawrence High.

In 1944, at the age of 18, Joseph enlisted in the Army Infantry. He became a US citizen right before being deployed to Europe and as part of the naturalization, Americanized his name by decree of Court.

He served as Rifleman, Ammunition Handler, and in the 384th Military Police Battalion, was awarded the Combat Infantryman's Badge; and decorated with the Army of Occupation Medal, European African Middle Eastern Campaign Medal and World War II Victory Medal, and retroactively -- The Bronze Medal.

Kmiec served 19 months in European operations -- moving first through the German Rhineland, Austria, Holland, and at the end of the war on September 2, 1945 was situated in what is now the Czech Republic.

When his tour of duty was completed, Kmiec left as a Private, First Class -- being honorably discharged on August 23, 1946. He was proud of his military service and would share stories of wartime encounters, combat and near misses -- including a deadly attack, which led to Kmiec being hospitalized.

Kmiec joined the Air Force Reserves as a Second Lieutenant and continued service during his civilian employment.

He returned to Lawrence High School and graduated in 1948, and received his Bachelor of Science degree in Mechanical Engineering from the University of Massachusetts, Amherst in 1952. He continued supplementary studies at other colleges.

Kmiec began his career at Western Electric Company in Kearney, NJ in Systems Standards Engineering. He met Victoria, the love of his life on Valentine's Day and they were married on October 9, 1954.

He was transferred to the new Merrimack Valley Works facility of Western Electric as a founding member of their engineering staff. He worked simultaneously as a Member of Technical Staff for Bell Telephone Laboratories and as Senior Engineer for Western Electric.  He took his designs to manufacturing, made revisions over its lifecycle and then started again designing his section of new products.

Telepak projects for military, government, and private use included: X108 and X128 - National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) for the Nimbus Satellite transmission of data,  X120 for Aerojet General Corporation, and projects for the Air Force, U.S. Steel, among others.

Kmiec retired in December 1989 at the age of 63 from the Ward Hill Bell Laboratories facility, completing his portion of the physical design of the first SONET (synchronous optical network) multiplexer.  During his career he was a member of both the Massachusetts and New England Society of Professional Engineers.

Joseph was an active member of Saint Michael's Roman Catholic Church -- the Polish parish in Haverhill, which was later merged to All Saints Church. He was on St. Michael's Parish Council, and was an officer of The Polish National Home and member of the Casimir Pulaski Polish Social Club.  He was rightly proud of his heritage.

He was a founding member and strong force of The Lubliniacy Polish Song & Dance Ensemble -- serving as propsmaster, sound technician and even performing in the senior ensemble. With his family, he was awarded the Oskar Kolberg Award -- Poland's most prestigious cultural honor. In 2008, Joseph and Victoria received the Merrimack Valley Polonia Honors Award.

Kmiec was a member of AMVETS Post MA-0147 and American Legion MA Post# 0004. He was Assistant Scoutmaster - Troop 3 and was asked by the pastor to found St. Michael's Troop 71.

He was predeceased by his father Jan (John), mother Wiktoria (Victoria) Chmura and siblings Maria (Mary), Felyks (Felix), Ferdynand (Fred), Kazimiera and Wiktor (Victor).

Joseph is survived by his beloved wife of 65 years, Victoria; his sons John and Staś; daughters Christine and Diane; their spouses Małgorzata Kmiec and Jerzy Markowski; grandchildren Jasiu and Ania, and three generations of nieces and nephews.

An "everyman," Kmiec was humble,  unassuming and practical in character, and led with straight-forward, matter-of-a-fact simplicity. He enjoyed a special bond with his dogs Puszek and Rosie.

Joseph had a passion for photography, reading, text book study, cultivating grapes, making wine, fixing things, and gardening. This year he planted a large garden and tended to multiple fruit trees and berry bushes. He always proclaimed he was feeling "fantastic," which he attributed to the care and cooking of his wife, along with his active life.

Spoczywaj w pokoju (Rest in peace).

Relatives and friends are invited to call on Monday, August 10, 2020 from 4 to 7 p.m. at Berube-Comeau Funeral Home, 47 Broadway, Haverhill, following the Commonwealth of Massachusetts  guidelines for social distancing and the wearing of masks. His funeral services begin on Tuesday morning at 11 a.m. from the funeral home with a Mass of Christian Burial at 12 o'clock Noon at All Saints Church, 120 Bellevue Avenue, Haverhill. Burial with military honors will follow in Saint Patrick Cemetery, Haverhill. To send a message of condolence to the family or to share a cherished memory, please visit www.berubecomeau.com .