By Lori Skura Jackowski
Eddie went to Stamford High School in the 1930’s and The Depression came before he could finish, so he never graduated. In those days money was more important than education, he had to go to work. He served in the United States Army, under Omar Bradley, and was involved in one of the bloodiest battles of the war commonly known as the “Battle of The Bulge”. In those days everyone up to the age of 45 was drafted. Eddie was in his early 20’s and Chet in his early 30’s. Eddie shared some stories of the war with sons, only after they prodded him with desperate curiosity, but left out much of the dark details. Eddie received The Purple Heart and The Bronze Star but seemed that he didn’t want to recall much of the war. Vietnam was bad, Iraq is bad, WWII was hell. This was what the Skura men did after The Depression! We siblings and our siblings never went through that…
When he returned from Germany he worked for the Railroad Express Agency in Stamford as a laborer, then a clerk and later as a driver. He met Barbara Case (they called her Casey back then) in 1948. She was in her senior year of High School at Sacred Heart Academy and worked at the Newsstand at the Stamford Railroad Station. Barbara was 18 and Eddie was 30. He was adorned by all the girls and she was envied. He swept her off her feet and may have robbed the cradle a bit. Barbara continued with her education and went to the Nursing school at Greenwich Hospital/University of Connecticut and became a Registered Nurse. They were married May 17, 1952 and it is said that she need not lift a finger and they never had a fight. They moved in with Barbara’s mother, Josephine on Tremont Avenue in Glenbrook after her father Harold had died after being involved in a train wreck, while commuting from NYC.
They had their first son David Adam born on 9/18/1953, then another son James Edward born 7/9/1956, followed by their 1st daughter Patricia Ellen 1/30/1958. In 1959 they bought a home on Belltown Road and 3 months later gave birth to another girl Catherine Ann on 8/29/1959. It was 10 years later that they had their 5th child, another girl, Laura Elizabeth, born 10/29/1969. When Eddie came out to waiting room he stated “It’s another girl, and she is the most beautiful of them all”. The four older children attended St. Bridget’s Parochial School for their lower & middle years and Eddie was like Helen, a strict disciplinarian, who lived by the belt. When the older boys, David & Jimbo along with the tomboy Patty got into trouble (often tattled on by their younger sister Cathy) they always made Patty go 1st, so she would cry enough to make their punishments lighter. They took summer vacations at Lake Champlaine, VT, with their longtime family friends the Morrell’s, who had home on the New York side of the lake. It was the 1st trip with the new baby, Lori in July of 1970 that put an end to those summer memories. Eddie suffered a fatal heart attack at age 51 and died on July 20th leaving his widow Barbara with a 16 year old, 14 year old, 12 year old and 10 year old as well as a 9 month old infant.
Barbara then had to go to work full-time and run a household with 5 children. She was never before responsible for the household in such capacity, especially financially. She did the best she possibly could and raised all 5 children with an abundance of love, kindness and understanding. Her mother Josephine lived with them which helped enable Barbara to work nights at the hospital and then later in private homes. Barbara continued to encourage the children to exercise their inherent passion with wildlife. Over the years she and Eddie had allowed the children to bring home anything they caught from the nearby woods and swamp, from turtles to snakes, and even hatched ducklings and other birds. When the youngest, Lori was in 1st grade, her brother David brought the family’s pet raccoons to school for “show & tell”. All things caught were always returned to the wild at the appropriate time, of course. Barbara later was diagnosed with Ovarian Cancer in 1990 and after a 13 month battle died at age 60.
David Adam Skura loved God, his family and his children. He adored his mother and often talked sadly about the death of his father. He was a master fisherman, knew every tree in the forest, and had a natural knowing about animals. He was very artistic and also very outgoing. I don't think he ever met a stranger. David was fun and funny to be around. He was extremely generous and a very hard worker. David married Sally Lombard and they had a son, Joshua James on January 9, 1977. They divorced. David later married Sandra LeClair, Nov 9, 1979. They had three children together. Stephen Paul , Dec.17, 1979, and twins, Rachel Elisabeth and Rebecca Ann, June 9, 1982. David died August 6, 1983, he was enrolled in a drug treatment program at the time and was trying very hard to overcome his addiction.
Cathy worked for an Insurance company after High School and then met Carl “Lou” Buccino, a local pub owner and carpenter by trade who she later married on May 29, 1982 at an extravaganza of a wedding. They gave birth to twin baby boys, Michael Anthony & Matthew Edward on 6/17/1986. Both boys took their grandfather’s names for their middle names. Cathy then became a stay at home Mom. Lori had a separate childhood from her siblings, being raised primarily by Barbara alone. She only had the memories of others to imagine her father, Eddie. Lori graduated from Stamford Catholic High School in 1987 and then held various clerical positions over those next years. It was in 1990 that Barbara was diagnosed with Ovarian Cancer and Lori spent the next 13 months caring for her Mother and Grandmother Josephine at home (until Josephine was moved to St. Camilus Nursing Home in Stamford). In 1993, Lori then met Vinny DeMaio, a New Canaan Police Officer through an arranged date, the two married 9/24/1994. They were married for 7 years during which time Lori received an Associates Degree at NCC, and pursued a career as a Registered Nurse like her Mother, Barbara. Lori began working at Stamford Hospital as a bedside nurse in 1998 and the two divorced in 2001. Lori then met Edward Jackowski, a fitness author from New York in November, 2002 via a blind date arranged by mutual associates. Edward and Lori eloped in Asheville, NC in May 2005 at the home of his son, Max whom they share joint custody of with Max’s mother, Misty. They celebrated the birth of their son James Edward (named after his uncle Jimbo) April 16, 2007. The family resides in Norwalk, CT.
Eddie went to Stamford High School in the 1930’s and The Depression came before he could finish, so he never graduated. In those days money was more important than education, he had to go to work. He served in the United States Army, under Omar Bradley, and was involved in one of the bloodiest battles of the war commonly known as the “Battle of The Bulge”. In those days everyone up to the age of 45 was drafted. Eddie was in his early 20’s and Chet in his early 30’s. Eddie shared some stories of the war with sons, only after they prodded him with desperate curiosity, but left out much of the dark details. Eddie received The Purple Heart and The Bronze Star but seemed that he didn’t want to recall much of the war. Vietnam was bad, Iraq is bad, WWII was hell. This was what the Skura men did after The Depression! We siblings and our siblings never went through that…
When he returned from Germany he worked for the Railroad Express Agency in Stamford as a laborer, then a clerk and later as a driver. He met Barbara Case (they called her Casey back then) in 1948. She was in her senior year of High School at Sacred Heart Academy and worked at the Newsstand at the Stamford Railroad Station. Barbara was 18 and Eddie was 30. He was adorned by all the girls and she was envied. He swept her off her feet and may have robbed the cradle a bit. Barbara continued with her education and went to the Nursing school at Greenwich Hospital/University of Connecticut and became a Registered Nurse. They were married May 17, 1952 and it is said that she need not lift a finger and they never had a fight. They moved in with Barbara’s mother, Josephine on Tremont Avenue in Glenbrook after her father Harold had died after being involved in a train wreck, while commuting from NYC.
They had their first son David Adam born on 9/18/1953, then another son James Edward born 7/9/1956, followed by their 1st daughter Patricia Ellen 1/30/1958. In 1959 they bought a home on Belltown Road and 3 months later gave birth to another girl Catherine Ann on 8/29/1959. It was 10 years later that they had their 5th child, another girl, Laura Elizabeth, born 10/29/1969. When Eddie came out to waiting room he stated “It’s another girl, and she is the most beautiful of them all”. The four older children attended St. Bridget’s Parochial School for their lower & middle years and Eddie was like Helen, a strict disciplinarian, who lived by the belt. When the older boys, David & Jimbo along with the tomboy Patty got into trouble (often tattled on by their younger sister Cathy) they always made Patty go 1st, so she would cry enough to make their punishments lighter. They took summer vacations at Lake Champlaine, VT, with their longtime family friends the Morrell’s, who had home on the New York side of the lake. It was the 1st trip with the new baby, Lori in July of 1970 that put an end to those summer memories. Eddie suffered a fatal heart attack at age 51 and died on July 20th leaving his widow Barbara with a 16 year old, 14 year old, 12 year old and 10 year old as well as a 9 month old infant.
Barbara then had to go to work full-time and run a household with 5 children. She was never before responsible for the household in such capacity, especially financially. She did the best she possibly could and raised all 5 children with an abundance of love, kindness and understanding. Her mother Josephine lived with them which helped enable Barbara to work nights at the hospital and then later in private homes. Barbara continued to encourage the children to exercise their inherent passion with wildlife. Over the years she and Eddie had allowed the children to bring home anything they caught from the nearby woods and swamp, from turtles to snakes, and even hatched ducklings and other birds. When the youngest, Lori was in 1st grade, her brother David brought the family’s pet raccoons to school for “show & tell”. All things caught were always returned to the wild at the appropriate time, of course. Barbara later was diagnosed with Ovarian Cancer in 1990 and after a 13 month battle died at age 60.
David Adam Skura loved God, his family and his children. He adored his mother and often talked sadly about the death of his father. He was a master fisherman, knew every tree in the forest, and had a natural knowing about animals. He was very artistic and also very outgoing. I don't think he ever met a stranger. David was fun and funny to be around. He was extremely generous and a very hard worker. David married Sally Lombard and they had a son, Joshua James on January 9, 1977. They divorced. David later married Sandra LeClair, Nov 9, 1979. They had three children together. Stephen Paul , Dec.17, 1979, and twins, Rachel Elisabeth and Rebecca Ann, June 9, 1982. David died August 6, 1983, he was enrolled in a drug treatment program at the time and was trying very hard to overcome his addiction.
Cathy worked for an Insurance company after High School and then met Carl “Lou” Buccino, a local pub owner and carpenter by trade who she later married on May 29, 1982 at an extravaganza of a wedding. They gave birth to twin baby boys, Michael Anthony & Matthew Edward on 6/17/1986. Both boys took their grandfather’s names for their middle names. Cathy then became a stay at home Mom. Lori had a separate childhood from her siblings, being raised primarily by Barbara alone. She only had the memories of others to imagine her father, Eddie. Lori graduated from Stamford Catholic High School in 1987 and then held various clerical positions over those next years. It was in 1990 that Barbara was diagnosed with Ovarian Cancer and Lori spent the next 13 months caring for her Mother and Grandmother Josephine at home (until Josephine was moved to St. Camilus Nursing Home in Stamford). In 1993, Lori then met Vinny DeMaio, a New Canaan Police Officer through an arranged date, the two married 9/24/1994. They were married for 7 years during which time Lori received an Associates Degree at NCC, and pursued a career as a Registered Nurse like her Mother, Barbara. Lori began working at Stamford Hospital as a bedside nurse in 1998 and the two divorced in 2001. Lori then met Edward Jackowski, a fitness author from New York in November, 2002 via a blind date arranged by mutual associates. Edward and Lori eloped in Asheville, NC in May 2005 at the home of his son, Max whom they share joint custody of with Max’s mother, Misty. They celebrated the birth of their son James Edward (named after his uncle Jimbo) April 16, 2007. The family resides in Norwalk, CT.
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