Joseph "Blackie" Anthony Nowak, Jr.

Joseph “Blackie” Anthony Nowak, Jr.

Joseph “Blackie” Anthony Nowak, Jr., of Toledo, OH, age 95, died Thursday, April 30, 2026, at home with his family by his side. He was born to Helen Graziski and Joseph Nowak, Sr. October 20, 1930, in Toledo, OH. He was raised in Toledo and attended St. Hyacinth Catholic Church with his siblings Frank, Rosemary, John, and Margaret. Home life was tough for Joseph, so he stopped attending Devilbiss High School and enlisted in the US Navy at the age of 17. He said he did not join the Army because he wanted a bed to sleep in. Joseph served during the Korean War and was stationed aboard the USS Kearsarge and later the USS Oberon with the Fleet Aircraft Service Squadron Eight, Fighter Squadron 63 where he assisted with launching and refueling of fighter jets. He talked fondly about his time in the Navy and enjoyed traveling the world. A highlight was being aboard a carrier and sailing to Pt. Barrow, AK, “the top of the world” as he would say. Joseph earned his GED while in the Navy and left the service after his five years were completed and disembarked in San Francisco, CA. Making his way back to Toledo, he met (shooting craps behind Uncle Ernie’s fruit market on Alexis Road) and married Patricia Louise Hoffman on August 18, 1956. They spent the next 58 years together until her death in 2014. Shortly, thereafter came three children, Kenneth, Anita, and Sandra. Their young family set roots at Regina Coeli Catholic Church. In 1957, he built their house and this would be the house that he stayed in until his death. Joseph worked for the Treu House of Munch beer distributorship beginning as a driver and retiring after being one of the regular top salesmen of the business. He won numerous sales competitions which took Blackie and Pat on numerous trips, including a dream destination of theirs: Hawaii. After 40 years, Joseph retired at 63 years old and visited Florida every year. Joseph and Patricia celebrated their 50th wedding anniversary with family and friends at Mancy’s Restaurant. Joe had two passions in life: his family, waiting 36 years to have that first grandchild and loving fiercely the following three grandchildren, His other passion was golf. Upon retirement, golf was his daily passion. He worked at several different courses, shared his vast knowledge of golf. He collected, sold, and gave away numerous sets of clubs and bags over his retired years. If you needed anything golf, Joe was your guy! He enjoyed “junking” on morning breakfasts between McDonald’s and Burger King until COVID closed the restaurants and forced him to stay inside. After three years of being confined, Joe was using a walker and tried to return to his previous level of physical activity but unfortunately, he wasn’t able to. Since 2024, he was homebound but as he said many times, he was happy to still be in the house he helped build back in 1957. Always gregarious and outgoing, “Blackie” as he was known, would outlive a lot of family and friends. He will be dearly missed by those who knew him. He would always say “I will live until I die” and he died where he wanted to be, in His own home of 69 years, in his own chair.

Joseph leaves behind his children, Kenneth Anthony (Gina) Nowak, Anita Louise (John) Fannin, and Sandra Marie (Jason) Laube; his grandchildren, Zebadiah (Malia) Fannin, Fannin, Nolan (Lily) Laube and Brionna Laube; Joseph is also survived by his brother Frank Nowak, Rosemary Beck and Margie Dzikowski. He was preceded in death by his wife Patricia; his parents, Joseph Sr. and Helen; and his youngest brother John Nowak. The family expresses their gratitude to Hospice of Northwest Ohio for their kind and compassionate care.

Family and friends may visit at Sujkowski Funeral Home Northpointe, 114 E. Alexis Rd., in Toledo, on Friday, May 22, 2026, from 10:00 AM until 11:00 AM with the memorial service held at 11:00 AM. Online condolences and the sharing of memories may be left at www.sujkowski.com

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