Dandenong RSL president Alec Kowarzik will be sorely missed by his children, Lynne and Mark.
By Shaun Inguanzo
DANDENONG RSL president Alec Kowarzik died on Saturday evening after losing his battle with cancer.
Alec, 79, died peacefully in Casey Hospital about 6pm after fighting lung cancer and a trailing series of health complications.
But the lingering threat of death failed to keep the hardened Korean War veteran from commemorating his final Anzac Day last week.
Son Mark Kowarzik said he, his two sons and his sister arrived at Casey Hospital in Berwick on Anzac Day morning at 6am to watch a live telecast of Melbourne’s dawn service with his father.
Mark said medical staff believed that Anzac Day gave his father the motivation to live for a few extra days.
“The nurses said he was awake most of the night before because he did not want to miss it,” he said.
“He might have been worrying he would not wake up, and he was also excited that we were coming in to be with him.”
Mark said his father had a long association with Dandenong’s dawn service. “As president he took those services and did readings,” he said.
RSL colleagues will sorely miss Alec’s strong leadership qualities, best seen during his sub-branch presidency over the past four years.
But to his family, Alec was also an excellent singer, passionate bowler and avid golfer.
Mark said he and siblings Lynne and John had enjoyed an active childhood with their dad.
“One thing I’ll never forget was every Sunday after lunch (Dad) would always take us to the beach without fail,” he said. “It was something he always did. Come winter time we always went to Churchill Park together to collect firewood.”
Alec was also known for his voice, Mark said, and was a member of the Springvale Light Opera.
He also remained a larrikin until the day he died.
“He was just a stirrer, and always loved chatting to the girls,” Mark said. “The nurse said to me the day before he passed away that she gave him a bed bath and he was laying there hardly conscious, but held his arms up in air.
“She asked him what he wanted, and he said ‘you’. He was a ratbag like that.”
Alec Kowarzik was born in Penguin, Tasmania, on 4 August 1927 to parents John and Vera Kowarzik. At age 14 he worked on Tasmania’s railway before enlisting in the Royal Australian Navy in 1946. He served with the navy for 12 years, including during the Korean War, as a petty officer and stoker mechanic on HMAS Shoalhaven and HMAS Arunta.
Alec was discharged from the navy in 1958, married wife Winifred, and moved to Janet Street, Dandenong North.
Dandenong RSL secretary John Laughton said Alec was a popular face at the sub-branch, and a dedicated contributor.
“He was a committee member for 14 years with a high dedication serving his fellow ex-service personnel and their families,” he said.
“As a bowler and golfer he was a great supporter of the sporting bodies of the club.”
Alec Kowarzik’s funeral will be held today (Thursday) at Le Pine Funerals in Dandenong. He will be cremated, and have half his ashes buried with wife Winifred, who died in 2002, and the other half buried at sea as part of a naval tradition.
