Submitted by: Dan Rich

 Bro. Chester J. Ziemba CSC

July 21, 1920 - April 6, 2003

South Bend Tribune 4/8/2003

Brother Chester Joseph Ziemba, C.S.C., passed away in Holy Cross House on Sunday afternoon, April 6. He was 82 years old. Bro. "Chet" (Chester) was born on July 21, 1920, in Chicago, Ill., to Adam and Sophie Ziemba. He attended St. Casimir grade school in Chicago and then Farragut High School, graduating in 1938. After high school, Bro. Chet held a variety of positions in the Chicago area. He worked in a department store and as a printer. His neighborhood abutted Hawthorne Park, a track for race horses where he was known to have spent some time.

When World War II broke out, Bro. Chet joined the Army and was part of the 83rd Infantry, the Thunderbolt Division. Landing on Omaha Beach a few days after D-Day, he remained there until the end of the war. Bro. Chet served as a radio man for artillery fire. He would receive target coordinates and relay them to the officer in charge of the big guns. One night in the middle of December 1944, he overheard radio conversation about German tanks moving south into Belgium. He reported this to his commanding officer. Bro. Chet and his comrades were among the first to see the Nazis move into what became known as the Battle of the Bulge. Returning to Chicago after the war, Bro. Chet worked at a series of jobs in the Chicago area for three years before beginning work in a shop making medical instruments.

Feeling drawn to religious life, Bro. Chet entered Holy Cross at St. Joseph Hall as a Coadjutor Brother candidate in October of 1959. On Aug. 15, 1960, he entered Sacred Heart Novitiate, Jordan, Minn., and made first profession a year and one day later. His first assignment was to Moreau Seminary and the Provincial House on Miami Road, working on maintenance and as part of the post-novitiate formation program. In 1963, Bro. Chet moved to Holy Cross Mission House and the Fatima Retreat Center. Thus began a long term of service, 39 years, to that house and the thousands of retreatants who would benefit from the great and good work of Bro. Chet. When he arrived he had little knowledge of planting, gardening or trimming of trees. With God's help and the encouragement and guidance of groundskeepers from Notre Dame, Bro. Chet had the place looking great. In fact, Fatima was looking so well the Moreau Seminary was added to his schedule from 1968 to 1970.

Moving back to Moreau Seminary in the 1970s, Bro. Chet added more to his plate by tending to the needs of college candidates and professed seminarians. His addition to the formation team was wonderful. His interest in the men, his love of religious life in Holy Cross and his kind, gentle encouragement and wisdom added greatly to house spirit. His careful "cultivating and pruning" in that task yielded a rich harvest.

Bro. Chet continued his work at Fatima and the Mission House while living at Moreau. He "retired" form the work just recently, due to failing health. He moved to Holy Cross House in the fall of 2002.

Often referred to as St. Francis, Jr., because of his feeding of the rabbits, squirrels, birds, ducks and geese, this warm- hearted generous man will be greatly missed.

Bro. Chet is survived by a sister, Lilian Slater of Chicago; a brother, Eugene Ziemba of Arvado, Colo.; and by several nephews.

A wake service will be held for Bro. Chester J. Ziemba, C.S.C., in the Chapel of Moreau Seminary, Notre Dame, Ind., at 7:30 p.m. today, April 8. Visitation will begin at 3:30 p.m. The Funeral Mass of Christian Burial will be celebrated at the Basilica of the Sacred Heart, Notre Dame, at 3:30 p.m. Wednesday, April 9. Burial will follow in the Holy Cross Community Cemetery at Notre Dame. The Kaniewski Funeral Home, South Bend, is in charge of arrangements.