Valentine “Val” Cielecki, age 88, of rural Stockton, passed away Thursday, Feb. 13, 2025, at Good Samaritan Society rehabilitation center, Davenport. A funeral service was held at 11:30 a.m., Tuesday, Feb. 18, at Bentley Funeral Home, 1001 6th St., Durant. A visitation was held from 10-11:30 a.m., prior to the service at the funeral home. Burial took place in Durant Cemetery. Memorials may be made to the Durant Ambulance or the Durant Fire Department. Online condolences may be left at www.bentleyfuneralhome.com.
Val was born on March 22, 1936, the son of Josef and Johanna (Werb) Cielecki in Romania. He endured the hardships of World War II as a child, separated from his parents and living in orphanages. In 1952, he immigrated to the United States through a war refugee relocation program sponsored by Catholic Charities, arriving in New York before being relocated to Davenport. Val proudly served in the National Guard for six years. He met his beloved wife, Erna, through mutual friends. They were married on April 4,1959, at Sacred Heart Cathedral, Davenport, and made a home in Durant. Together, they shared a love for polka music and dancing, especially the waltz.
He worked at Brach’s Candy Company and The Schebler Company as a maintenance engineer. A skilled craftsman, Val excelled in metalworking and electrical repair, often fabricating custom machine parts when originals were no longer available. Val was a lifetime member of the Experimental Aircraft Association (EAA) and volunteered in the Emergency Repair facility at annual EAA conventions. He also helped rebuild and maintain tow planes and gliders for the Blackhawk Soaring Club in Muscatine, where he once held the record for the longest sustained sailplane flight. In 1985, he fulfilled a dream by building a home in the countryside near Stockton.
Val loved the outdoors, taking annual fishing trips to Chetek, Wis., every spring and fall. He took great pride in his large garden and fruit-tree orchard, which he meticulously cultivated every summer.
Val will be dearly missed by his wife, Erna; three children, Mikel (Kim) Cielecki, Johanna Anderson, and Marc (Tammy) Cielecki; one granddaughter, Elizabeth Roberts; a great-grandson, Wesley; one sister, Eugenia Cosma; and several nieces, nephews and cousins.
Val was preceded in death by one sister, Aurelia.
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