Walter Kalinowski

Walter Kalinowski, 76, of Rio de Janeiro, passed away Wednesday, March 29, 2023.

Walter was born in Germany in a refugee camp where his Ukrainian family arrived after fleeing Ukraine amidst the second war. His family then came to Brazil, where they had the promise of a new life, and Walter spent his childhood and adolescence in Ponta Grosso, Paraná, where he started working and learned to play football at a high level.

When he was 17, Walter emigrated with his family to the United States where he spent the next 35 years.  There he started working at a Ukrainian newspaper where he was responsible for operating the press, he was proud to have contributed at that time to the Ukrainian community, with hard but essential work.

At that time, he also started playing football professionally, combining natural talent and physical agility with his Brazilian life experience, which led him to be a striker for Jersey City FC and earning an all-star status. 

Around the same period, he studied to be a professional electronics technician, which opened his way to engineering, another of his great passions. Already working as an electronics technician, at the same time he took up studies in engineering and eventually graduated, becoming an engineer specialized in the energy market.

Walter married Maria, also of Ukrainian origin, but born in Brazil. He formed a family with her and had his daughter Claudia. Claudia had two children with her husband Ken, grandchildren Spencer and Max, who are the great pride of their grandfather. Sadly, Maria passed away untimely and suddenly in 2000.

Walter returned to Brazil in 1998 as a director of El Paso, a large oil and gas company for the Brazilian market and lived in Manaus, Brazil for many years. Walter was then promoted to oversee all El Paso power plants in all of Brazil which then moved him to Rio de Janeiro, where he eventually retired.

Walter spent his later years enjoying spending time with his family and friends, especially his grandsons, and his companion Luciana Monteiro.

We will greatly miss Walter’s love for life. He was always ready with a good drink and a good time. 

Walter was predeceased by his wife, Maria (nee Waclawyk) Kalinowski; his parents: Dmitro & Anna Kalinowski.

Walter is survived by his daughter, Claudia Budris and her husband, Ken; his grandsons, Spencer and Max; his sister, Alessandra Poisler, her husband Olindo, their sons Luis (wife Marli, daughters Kristen & Katelyn) and Elton (partner Scott Nicoll); Irene Alexander, her husband Nick, their children Vera (husband Troy, daughters Kasey and Hanna) and George (wife Robyn, children Anthony, Joshua, Jonathan and Grace); and Sister-in-Law: Ilka Zaraszczak, her sons Eli (Wife Petrina, children Petro & Anna) and Kevin; and his companion Luciana Monteiro.

Memorial viewing Saturday, April 15, 2023 from 12:00 pm to 4:00 pm at Bizub-Quinlan Funeral Home, 1313 Van Houten Avenue, Clifton, NJ.  Please visit www.bizubquinlan.com for complete information and to leave condolences on the Tribute Wall section of the obituary.

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