John P. Wiatrak Sr., 87, an 11 year resident of Olympia, WA, died on Saturday, Oct. 21, of cancer. He was born in Chicago on March 30, 1913. He grew up with four brothers and two sisters in a building that housed the family business – a grocery and meat market. John traveled to the Northwest in 1932 and graduated from St. Martin’s High School in Lacey in 1933. The next year he joined his older brother Joe at the University of Washington. Both enjoyed great success playing football for the University. During his career John was elected an All-American, representing the UW in the 1938 all-star game in Chicago. His final game with the University came in the 1937 Rose Bowl, where his fellow players selected him team captain. In addition to the gridiron, John’s personal life was successful in Seattle as well, for it was there that he met Muriel Ralston. They married on June 19, 1937, and remained life partners. John had brief stints with several professional football teams including the Los Angeles Bulldogs, Detroit Lions and Chicago Bears before hanging up his spikes and moving back to Chicago with Muriel in 1939. In 1945 John started an electrical contracting company. Over the next 40 years, John and Muriel enjoyed the fruits of those labors while raising two sons and two daughters, sending all of them to college. In 1989, John and Muriel returned to the Pacific Northwest they loved and missed. They settled in Olympia, but were preceded by three of their four children who live in the Olympia area. The two sons, John and Phil, work for state government agencies, and one daughter, Mary Wiatrak, works as a nurse for Group Health. The other daughter, Frances Urchak and her family still live in Chicago. He is also survived by a brother, Paul Wiatrak of Seattle, WA, and two sisters, Constance Zielinski of San Antonio, TX and Sr. Florence Wiatrak of Chicago, IL. John’s hobbies included sports, geology, stamp collecting and traveling. He also enjoyed spending time with his family that has grown to include 13 grandchildren, 12 great-grandchildren and numerous nieces and nephews. Visitation will be from 3 to 7 p.m. Wednesday, Oct. 25, at Mills & Mills Funeral Directors, 414 S. Franklin in Olympia. A Requiem Mass will be celebrated at St. Michael Catholic Church in Olympia, at 10 a.m. on Thursday, Oct. 26, followed by a graveside service at Olympic Memorial Gardens, Tumwater, WA. Memorial donations can be made to the American Cancer Society, P.O. Box 1201, Olympia, WA 98507 or Sound Home Health and Hospice, 3706 Griffin Lane SE, Olympia, WA 98501. Funeral arrangements are by Mills & Mills Funeral Directors of Olympia, WA.
