John James Krysiak Sr.

John James Krysiak Sr. was a lifelong Wisconsinite whose story, as told in the obituary published by his family, was one of quiet endurance: a long career in industry, a hard-won recovery from alcoholism, two marriages, a late-life move to the Texas coast, and a homecoming to the state where he was raised. He was born in Cudahy, Wisconsin, the son of John and Marion Krysiak, and was raised in that same Milwaukee County suburb, attending St. Frederick's School before graduating from Cudahy High School in 1958.

He was not a celebrity, an elected official, or a public entertainer. His life mattered in the way that most lives matter: through decades of steady work, family raised and loved, and relationships that outlasted hardship. He met his first wife, Ingrid Jones, while they were still in high school, and the couple married young and had three children together. The marriage later ended, a breakup that, according to the obituary his family wrote, was tied to a period in which Krysiak struggled with alcohol. He was candid, in the account his family chose to share, about the toll that struggle took, and about the sobriety he later achieved and maintained.

Professionally, Krysiak spent 35 years with the Ladish Company, a metal forging and machining firm long based in the Milwaukee area, before retiring. His second wife, Nancy Cotter Krysiak, shared his love of travel and the outdoors, and the couple eventually left Wisconsin for South Padre Island, Texas, where they spent close to two decades enjoying the sun, the water and fishing. After Nancy died, Krysiak returned to southeastern Wisconsin, settling in the city of Greenfield. There he found a new partner, Suzanne Hall, with whom he shared a fondness for dancing and for the 1950s style band Doo Wop Jukebox. Friends and family who knew him in these later years described a man who kept active through RV travel, boating, fishing and home remodeling projects.

John James Krysiak Sr. died on September 15, 2026, at the age of 86. His family announced the death through an obituary placed with Church and Chapel Funeral Home in Brookfield, Wisconsin, which serves the greater Oak Creek area. The notice did not disclose a cause of death, and none has otherwise been made public.

He is survived by his three children, John (Cretia) Krysiak, Connie (Jeff) Bunnell and Alan (Michelle) Krysiak, along with grandchildren, great grandchildren, and his partner Suzanne Hall. He was preceded in death by his parents, his second wife Nancy, and his half sister MaryAnn Woltz. Those who knew him will remember a man whose life took several turns, from a difficult stretch in early adulthood to decades of steady work, a sunlit retirement by the Gulf of Mexico, and a final chapter spent back among family and friends in Wisconsin.