WESTFIELD – Bob Kaczman (1929-2025) lived his 95 years of life with energy, dedication and devotion to his family. He was a soldier, a craftsman, an engineer, a businessman, a teacher and a perfectionist in everything he did. Whether he was inspecting an aerospace assembly, teaching a class, or putting up an above ground pool or just building a sandcastle, he did it just so. You might sometimes get impatient while he was measuring (or measuring twice or even three times) but you would always have to smile in the end, and you just knew the result would be exactly right and made to last forever. And he was the best father, grandfather and great-grandfather you can imagine. After raising three children and surviving the death of his oldest son, he helped raise four grandchildren and was joyfully known as Grandpa Bob. He was always around to help out. The grand kids always loved it when Grandpa Bob came over, whether to play games, to watch Jeopardy, to read the funnies or just to laugh and give hugs.
Bob served his country in the US Army stateside and also overseas in Bremen Germany. He received a BA from Westfield State College and then went on to serve as the Westfield Water Commissioner, was a machinist, toolmaker and inspector at the Springfield Armory, helped make the Westfield Fair what it is today and worked as a US Government inspector at Pratt & Whitney for 42 years. And since all those years of hard work were not enough for Bob, he worked at Studio 5 Dancewear in Westfield MA with his wife Joanne until he was 89 and made sure every dancer always got exactly the right dance shoes. Bob was an avid outdoorsman his whole life and shared that enthusiasm and regard for nature as a Boy Scout Leader. He loved hunting and fishing and farming and gardening, and every year planted more tulips and daffodils than you can count.
Bob is survived by his son Ken Kaczman and his wife Eileen, his daughter Loree Cloud and her husband Jeff, his grandchildren Sarah, Christine, Brett, Hayley and her husband Mirko, Christopher and Jade, and his great-grandchildren Athena and Jayden.
He is predeceased by his wife of 70 years Joanne and his oldest son Mike Kaczman.
Bob lived a long and full life and would want everyone to remember him as a family man first and foremost. Bob was a devout Catholic and in lieu of flowers, Bob would want any donations to be given to any church. He will be interred at the Mass Veterans Memorial Cemetery in Agawam MA. www.firtionadams.com
