James Anthony MAKIELSKI

7 DEC 1962 - 13 OCT 2022

• BIRTH: 7 DEC 1962, South Bend, St Joseph, IN
• DEATH: 13 OCT 2022, South Bend, St Joseph, IN

• MARRIAGE: 19 NOV 2004, St Joseph County, IN

INDEX

[N33359] James A. Makielski
December 7, 1962 ~ October 13, 2022 (age 59)

James A. Makielski (59) passed away 10/13/2022 comfortably in his home. James was born 12/07/1962 to Norman and Alice Makielski in South Bend, Indiana. He was the youngest of 4 children. Kathy (Ken) Lapkiewicz, Carol (Paul) Gurson, Tom (Linda) Makielski. Jim knew he was the baby and always used to his advantage with his parents and his siblings. His sisters just loved their little Jimmy. Jim loved family and being around family. While he didn’t have any children of his own he always adored his nieces and nephews: Kenny, Ryan, Kristi, Angie, Sean and Kelli. He was the fun Uncle and always had a smile on his face. He was also the proud Great-Uncle to Kate, Kinsley, Lucy and Beau. Jim meet the love of his life when he met Tammy. They married on November 19, 2004 but were together a total of 22 years. Jim and Tammy feel in love over their love for Notre Dame. Anyone that knew Jim knew that his love for the Irish ran strong and Tammy was his perfect match. They loved football season and cheering for their favorite sports teams together. One of the final things that Jim watched on TV was Notre Dame’s win against BYU on October 8th. When Jim married Tammy he gained in laws which he adored, David and Harriet Stafford and Brother in law Kirk Stafford. When Jim wasn’t cheering on the Irish he was rooting for the Colts or the Indiana Pacers. Jim loved to enjoy life. He loved to fish with his dad, brother and nephew. They had fish stories for days and a trophy to go with it. They started a tradition that the largest fish caught that day got the trophy until the next trip. He also loved to attend concerts. It didn’t matter if it was a great cover band or the real deal he was there. He loved music and loved it loud. His favorite band was Cars. He loved to play pool, darts and 31 with family. He was a hard working man that worked at Saint Mary’s College in the Building Services Department for 33 years where he finally retired in 2020. Anyone that knew Jim knew that they had a friend and cherished him for that. He was someone you could count on to show up and be the life of the party, bring you the most hilarious birthday cards or assist in an occasional bar fight. He had a heart of gold and was always there. To the people he loved, he loved hard. He will be missed and there will be a major void with him gone but we have amazing memories to carry on. So with this we end by saying “Go Irish” A Celebration of Life for Jim will be held in the coming weeks. Please check back for an updated date and time of service. Online condolences may be left at www.kaniewski.com

Posted online on October 15, 2022

Published in South Bend Tribune