Vincent James Maciejewski

Vincent James Maciejewski, aged 80, passed away on Monday, August 22, 2022 at St. Joseph’s Hospital in Tampa, FL. He was born January 4, 1942 in Robinson Township, Ottawa County, Michigan, to Vincent and Bernice (Davis) Maciejewski.

He had an adventurous spirit, going places, building things, and testing limits. 

Vince served in the US Navy from 1961 to 1964. Having tested exceptionally well in language aptitude, he served as a Chinese Mandarin interpreter with stops in Taiwan, Japan, and other Asian Pacific locations and Naval crafts, during his service.

Returning to civilian life, he gravitated to another area that matched his intellect – computer programming. He began working in this field in the mid-1960s in Holland, Michigan. Soon thereafter, he moved to the Tampa, FL area and began working as a computer programmer/analyst for GTE Data Services and the telecommunication field, continuing in this field for the large majority of his work career to the 1990s.

Vince and his first wife, Diana, lived in the Tampa area where they raised their two daughters, Karen and Pam, and their son, Jim. They spent a lot of their time fishing and gardening.

While working for GTE, Vince often traveled to other GTE locations across the country to offer his expert guidance. One such trip in the mid-1980s took him to Southern California where he would meet his future wife, Winnie Pei-Wei Chow, and begin a cross country romance. Having met the love of his life, Vince left his Florida home of over nearly 20 years and moved to the Los Angeles area to be with Winnie and her family. Winnie and Vince were married on October 4, 1986, in Las Vegas, Nevada. Shortly thereafter, in November 1986, they brought Winnie’s son, Kevin, from Hong Kong to begin a new life in the United States.

Vince was an avid outdoorsman and his love of the water was evident from his love of fishing, boating, and frequent travel to destinations such as St. Maarten. In his retirement, he continued to keep busy as an entrepreneur in starting several businesses in the Tampa area while also enjoying life, taking his boat from his dock at home to Tampa Bay and the Gulf of Mexico.

He is remembered by his four children, Karen Jean Maciejewski Lambrecht of Dallas, TX, Pamela (Charles) Ann Maciejewski Chiappone of Palmetto, FL, James (Kylie) Vincent Maciejewski of Brisbane, Australia, and Kevin (Shareena) Kwokcheong Chan of Berkeley, CA; his siblings, Mary Jo Vokal of Maple Grove, MN, John Maciejewski of Eugene, OR, Elizabeth (Rick) Wilson of Spring Lake, MI, Marie Johnson, Charles (Betty) Maciejewski of Whitehall, MI, and Christine (Michael) McCarthy of Grand Haven; and his three grandchildren. He was preceded in death by his wife, Winnie Pei-Wei Chow in 2000, and his parents, Vincent and Bernice Maciejewski.