Joel Andrew Zajac, 26, of Clearwater, passed away on Monday, April 7, 2008 at home. Born in Skokie, IL he moved here from Chicago, IL in 1997. He worked as a mechanic for Lokey KIA in Countryside. He was a member of St. Matthias Lutheran Church. He was a sports fan and supported the Chicago Bears. He enjoyed MMA fighting and was a music fan. Survivors include his wife, Clare and daughter, Kimberly Genevieve Zajac; parents, Wally & Linda of St. Petersburg, FL; two sisters, Nancy Sheppard of Elizabeth, NC and Holly Lamph of Fredricksburg, VA; and his grandmother, Florence Lehman of Naperville, IL.
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Joel Zajac
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Joel was a great guy who kept our team in high spirits at work.
Sincere condolences to Joel’s family from Tires Plus and the Metts family.
My love and prayers are with the family. May they feel God’s comforting arms wrapped tightly around them.
love, diane
I wish I had magic words to comfort you. All I have is that we love you.
Alicia-Ed-Ethan-Ashton
Joel was a:
* SON
* HUSBAND
* FATHER
* FRIEND
* MASTER KIA TECHNICIAN
ALL of us here at LOKEY KIA will miss our brother and friend.
We will miss you,
Lokey SERVICE and PARTS TEAM
I’ve known Joel since he was 9 years old and I will never forget his sense of humor and how he always made me laugh!! My heart, thoughts, and prayers go out to all that knew and loved Joel. His warm smile and laughter will always be with me. He was like my little brother and I will greatly miss him. I am incredibly thankful that I got to visit with Joel this past January in Florida. God Bless his family and friends. Love and miss you Joel!!!
Our thoughts and prayers are with you and your family. Wonderful memories last forever. Shirley and Jim Poehlman
It is difficult to put words to the erray of emotions felt in these times. I extend my deepest condolences to the Zajac family. He wil be missed.
My thoughts and prayers are with the Zajac family and the many friends of Joel. He will be missed.
Our thoughts and prayers are with Joel’s family in this time of grief. I hope that we can all look to the happy times and wonderful memories we have of Joel in this difficult time.
With much love,
Candice and Corey Casto
Dear Clare and family: There are no “correct” words to say at a time like this. Just know that you are entitled to feel the pain and loss and it is OK to cry. Crying helps you heal. I know it cuts deep. You are a strong and special person and you will get through this eventually. Take your time. I know you have spent most of your life in Florida, but you were born here in Columbus and spent much of your childhood here. I have great memories of you as a child. I am glad I got to be a part of your early life. I am so, so sorry for your loss. I wish you strength, treasured memories of good times, peace, love, and happiness. Take care of yourself and your beautiful daughter. God has a plan for all of us – it’s just hard to figure it out sometimes.
All my love – from your birthtown here in Columbus, Ohio.
Patty Black
We were greatly saddened to hear the news of Joel’s passing. We regret that we will not be able to travel to Florida this week, but please know that our thoughts and prayers are with you. Our hearts are heavy, but we know that Joel is at peace. Lots of love to Uncle Wally, Aunt Linda, Clare, Kimberly, Nancy, Holly and family.
We extend our deepest sympathies to you, Clare, your family, Uncle Wally, Aunt Linda, Holly, Nancy and families. We pray that God brings you peace and healing through this difficult time. Though many miles away, our thoughts and hearts are with you.
Joel was a teddy bear at heart with a smile that could light up a room. We’ll miss you Joel!
Love.
Dear Joel:
From the first day I met you, you became part of my family. You tugged at my heart and I let you in. The time we had was precious and beautiful and oh how we could all laugh and have fun together. I have many happy and heartfelt memories of you that I can pass on to Kimmy. I thank you for the time you gave to me. Look down with a light heart that we will have our arms around Clare and Kimmy. Rest with our Lord and your family members in heaven.
My love and prayers forever
Joel my heart breaks for you and everyone that cared about you. I will treasure the times you touched my heart and use those memories to heal the void I now feel. You trusted me to be a part of your daughter’s birth and you can trust that I will watch and protect Kimmi on Earth while you do so from heaven
All my love Aunt Judy
Dear Zajac family, In times like this there are no words that can express the feelings and emotions that family and friends experience, but in my own experiences a good way to help our selfs is to remember our lost loved one in his most glorious and happy days.I met Joel when he had just turned 15 and what a character he was.The whole time I lived in Largo Joel was like a little brother to me,I even took him to Disney with my family and Jim Riggs,it was the best trip to Disney I ever had.I could go on with story’s about all the good times we all had with Joel but I would have to write a book to tell them all.Joel was the best friend anyone could have ever asked for.I will never forget his big smile and his even bigger heart.Joel will be with us all in our hearts and thoughts.Our condolences and prayers go out to Wally and Mrs.Z and to all his family and friends.And lastly I want to say to Joel,Lisa,Little Jay and myself we love you and will miss you more than words can say little brother.We will all be together again some day and till then know we all love you.
It seems every heart Joel touched is breaking, now. We will try to draw strength from one another in our overwhelming grief and through the years to come.
We will always remember Joel and think of him as a guardian angel watching over his little girl.
I,ll never forget you Joeo… and all the silliness we shared. your one of a kind and the whole world sucks without you. I love you more than youll ever know.
To the Dear Family of Joel
Our thoughts and prayers are with you. Our memories of Joel are those of a fine young man. Kaeli has known Joel for many years. We would both like to offer our sympathies to all of Joel’s family.
Joel Andrew Zajac was the most beutiful soul I have ever known.
Joel was a good friend and we will miss him greatly. He will be remembered fondly and I offer all my condolences to his family.
So very sorry to learn of the death of cousin Joel.
Our deepest sympathies to Uncle Wally, Aunt Linda, Clare, Kimberly, Holly, Nancy and families. You are all in our thoughts.
Wishing you Peace.
We are so very sorry to learn of your loss…all of you are in our thoughts and prayers….and we hope that your happy memories of Joel, and the love and support of family and friends, will help to bring you comfort and peace…
Our deepest sympathy
Joyce Francis
Donald Merz
Schaumburg Illinois
and
Jason Francis
Helen Reinhardt
Clearwater and St. Petersburg Florida
There are no words at this time other than we are very sorry for your loss. Our thoughts and prayers are with you.
May God bless Clare,Kimmi and Joel’s family, and help you to find the comfort you seek at this time.
Clare,
Don and I had the honor of being a part of your and Joel’s wedding, we have memories we’ll cherish forever.
I’ll always remember the happiness and anticipation you both had at Carol’s birthday party last July, when you were huge with Kimmi.
Then you gave Don and myself the double honor of having Kimmi on our wedding anniversary.
May God bless you, and may you find refuge and comfort in the arms of family and friends.
Our thoughts and prayers are with you in your loss.
My thoughts and prayers are with you all during this difficult time. I am so very sorry for your loss
Joel. He was a great man and an even greater friend. Though he was only in our lives for a short time, the impact he had on us all will last forever. My heart and my prayers go out to Joel, Clare, and little Kimmi. And I want them to know that “uncle Mikey” will always be there when help is needed.
God bless and be with you.
We were shocked and saddened when we heard the news. Our sympathies and love to Clare and Kimberly, Uncle Wally, Aunt Linda, Nancy and her family and Holly and her family.
Joel the short time I knew you I was impressed by the way you took care of Kimmi and put her needs first even though you were going through a hard time yourself.You were a good young man.Go with God.Paul.
Joel, you made me what I am today. Your influence provided me with the confidence I needed to be who I am. You are the most charismatic man I have ever met. My heart died when I heard this news. You deserve what this world could not give you. I will never forget how giving and loving you are. My tears will never cease.
Wally,Linda, My prayers are only focused your family now. I wish I could hug you both, but miles make that wish impossible. I went to walgreens today and scanned all copies of pictures I had of Joel which I will be sending to you as soon as they are developed. I continue trying to write what I can through my tears, but nothing will ever express the loss we have had with Joel. I will be sending you a letter this week with the pictures I have. I can not experience the pain of losing a child but I have never felt pain like this ever. Please give love and support to his wife and child that I have never had the pleasure of meeting. Linley
To the Dear Family of Joel
Once again, Kaeli and I would like to express our thoughts to you. The service for Joel was a tribute to a fine young man. We hope the service has offered you some comfort, knowing that Joel was a well liked and well thought of person. I know that he will always be in your thoughts, as well as ours. Thank you for allowing us to share this young man in our lives.
Dear Clare, Kimberly, Wally, Linda, Nancy and Holly,
Our thoughts and prayers are with all of you. We pray that Joel finds peace in Heaven and that your hearts heal quickly. Remember all the good and wonderful memories of Joel’s time with you.
Love to All,
Laura, Carl, Kaitlyn and Tyler
I wish there were an 11th commandment that parents do not outlive their children. My heartfelt condolences. I can still see the little green eyed big eared boy running round in my living room. He was a very special kid around my house and always welcome. My deepest sympathy to all.
Lee
Linda, Wally, Holly and Nancy, there are no words. Joel was a wonderful, funny, loving little boy that grew up to be a gracious young man. There should have been more memories…I cannot find the words to express the depth of my sorrow for all of you. I still remember the day you brought him home such a little bundle that developed to a great man.
I’ve had to wait a while to write this because I didn’t know what to say. I still don’t feel that I have the words and probably never will. More than a month later all I still know is that I miss my friend. As hard as it’s been I know that it’ll always be hard when I think about it. But there have been many reunions with old friends and new friends found in this time of pain and healing. I know that I’ll always love my friend and cherish the time with the ones I love all the better knowing how hard it is to say goodbye. I love you Joel. You went too soon, and I’ll never forget you.
To uncle wally, aunt lynne , nancy, and to joels wife,
I only recently found out about joels passing. I am so very sorry about it words can not describe how I felt when I found out. I have always felt that joel was like the older brother I never had. I am so sorry.. love james and family
I have talked to you every day. Sometimes just to let you know what’s going on down here, and sometimes just to vent..but you know that. I feel Busha and Grandpa are keeping you busy. You are always with us and we love you with all our hearts. Love Aunt Kathie, Uncle Ken and the Gibber
I only recently found out about Joel’s passing. Wally, Linda, Nancy, Holly, Clare and Kimmi….I am so profoundly sorry for your loss, there are no words. Joel was extremely funny, loyal, stong, and a loving friend and he will be missed deeply by all.
You will always hold a speial place in my heart Joel, I will never forget you.
Love u dad
r.i.p