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The tireless fundraiser for veterans and a man acquaintances say always had a cause died Friday morning after being taken off life support for the second time this year. He was 64.
Like the soldiers he strived to honor in Veterans Memorial Park, Pellowski is remembered as a man always willing to do for others. He single-handedly raised tens of thousands of dollars for the park’s granite monuments, even after he lost a leg this spring after complications from heart problems.
Pellowski refashioned his car so he could drive with one leg in search of donations.
Through his work in various service groups, he also collected used computers, which vets repaired, to donate to children. He raised money to repair the Old Wagon Bridge connecting Latsch Island with Aghaming Park. He served on numerous committees. And he was said to be especially proud of his Polish heritage.
But mostly, Pellowski’s friends, who regularly met him for breakfast, say he was an inspiring human being.
“He always tried to help me — even the first day he came to breakfast with his artificial foot,” said Jim Galewski, a Daily News columnist and retired editor. “I never knew Mike to say anything bad about anyone. In fact, he always had something good to say about everyone. And he always had a ticket to sell.”
Ten dollars here, 20 dollars there, Pellowski scraped together cash selling memorial bricks and miniature American flags, holding pork chop dinners, raffles, chickencues and bingo games.
His secret?
Persistence, said Bill Wieczorek, another friend in the breakfast crowd. “We all called him a mooch, but it was always for a good cause, and we always bought the tickets,” he said. “Even if we didn’t go, we’d give the tickets away.”
Ed Kohner, a retired fire chief, called him a “one-man-band fundraiser,” doggedly chasing the next dollar for a veteran or child. “But he was more than that,” Kohner said. “He was just the greatest guy in the world.”
Pellowski was born June 5, 1944, and later married Judy Storvseen. He was a veteran, serving in Germany from 1962-1964. He worked 38 years for Peerless Chain in Winona and was the top knight in Winona’s Knights of Columbus up until his illness.
He developed heart problems earlier this year — friends say three of the arteries in his heart were blocked — and he was placed on life support. When the situation grew dire and the life support was removed, Pellowski somehow recovered, though he lost the leg. Friends were surprised to see him hobble into the back room of Midtown Foods for breakfast not long after.
He continued to solicit donations until earlier this month, when friends say he suffered another heart attack, one he could not overcome.
Pellowski is survived by Judy, two children and two brothers.
dfhilton1 wrote on Dec 6, 2008 8:31 AM:
God Bless his family
Dave Hilton "