Philip Gardner
I was shocked to hear the terribly sad news that Jozef had suddenly passed away.
Jozef joined TRIUMF a few months before I did, and I recall that from the first meeting I was impressed by how he was constantly upbeat, and approached life with a wonderfully positive attitude. He was a pleasure to be around.
Our first contacts were in the early mornings when we passed each other on our runs around UBC. He was a great runner, and really enjoyed sailing around at an impressive speed. He made a number of attempts to entice me into joining him for a 'fun 24 hour relay', but I was not sure I could manage the 24 hours as easily as he did.
Over the years Jozef and I worked together on many occasions, perhaps most notably with ATG. He was a dedicated and highly competent engineer who had an inventive mind that frequently identified novel solutions to problems that arose. Whenever there was a major mechanical problem with the operations of any of the small cyclotrons, he was always at the forefront, ready and willing to jump in and help fix it.
Jozef's daughter, Anna, worked with us as a summer student, and through her I learned that he was also a dedicated father, devoted to his two daughters. He was also a keen auto mechanic and even completely rebuilt his BMW. I also recall his telling me on one occasion how he had spent the prior weekend replacing the transmission in his daughter's car as quickly as he could, while she waited anxiously for the return of her transportation.
Jozef approached everything with great enthusiasm, dedication and determination. He was one of those rare people who are a pleasure and gift to know.
Jozef will be sorely missed by the many, many people who were fortunate enough to have known him. Our thoughts are with his family members at this time of great loss.
Wednesday October 18, 2017 at 6:24 pm