Edward J. Siergiej

Edward J. Siergiej, 94 of  Danbury died December 20, 2019 at the home of his son. He was born June 30, 1925 to Joseph and Helen Siergiej. A native of Danbury, CT he attended Sacred Heart of Jesus School and Danbury High School, where he graduated in the class of 1942. He was a sophomore at the Danbury State Teachers College, when he was drafted into the U.S. Army. Following basic training at Fort Benning, GA, he was assigned to the Army Specialized Training Program as an Engineering student at Norwich University in Vermont. When the program was terminated in March 1944, he was reassigned to Company C of the 194th Glider Infantry Regiment of the 17th Airborne Division. He qualified as both a Paratrooper and Glidertrooper during training in the U.S. Serving as a Rifleman, he fought with the 17th in the Ardennes (Battle of the Bulge), Rhineland, and Central European Campaigns. On March 24, 1945 he landed by glider in the Airborne crossing of the Rhine river into Germany, as part of the largest single day airborne operation of WWII, where he was wounded. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s90UOiFu4-I  Ed remained with the 17th Airborne Division until the end of the WWII.  Following the end of the war, Ed was reassigned to the 82nd Airborne Division and was one of the first members of the 82nd to enter Berlin for occupation duty. Returning to the US in 1946, he marched down 5th Avenue as part of the 82nd in the WWII Victory Day parade in NY City before being discharged. He was awarded the Purple Heart and Bronze Star medals. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ojlKy5Lib4g&list=RDojlKy5Lib4g&start_radio=1&t=0

After discharge from the Army, Ed returned to the Danbury State Teachers college, where he was the president of the Class of 1948. Following graduation, he received as Masters Degree in Administration at Columbia University.

In 1954, Ed married Mary Alma Taylor of Danbury.

Ed served as Coordinator of Audio Visual Communications in Great Neck, NY for 19 years and as an administrator in the Rockville Centre, NY school district for 10 years, and was a delegate to the National Leadership Conference on Education Communications and Technology.

Retiring in 1980, Ed returned to Connecticut, and served as Secretary Treasurer of the 17th Airborne Division Association until 2007. During this time, Ed worked tirelessly to help locate his former comrades and build the membership of the Association. He and his wife Mary made numerous trips to Europe with his comrades to visit the sites where his unit fought, and to honor the memory of those troopers who did not come home.

After moving to Florida full time in 2000, he and his wife lived in Deland, and at the Advent Christian Village in Dowling Park. In August 2019 Ed relocated back to Danbury to live with his son Edward and Daughter in Law Joanne.

He is predeceased by his parents, Joseph and Helen Siergiej of Danbury, and his wife Mary Alma in 2017.

He is survived by his sons, Edward (Joanne) of Danbury, and John (Fern) of Oceanside, NY. Grandchildren Regina Romblad, Brian Siergiej, Maryjo Siergiej, Michael Siergiej, Julia Siergiej, and Great Grandchildren Kaitlyn Romblad, and Luka Siergiej a sister Elizabeth Forsberg of Norwalk CT, Niece Kathleen Forsberg and Nephew Kevin Forsberg.

The family wishes to thank the staff at Dacier Manor and the Good Samaritan Center at the Advent Christian Village, Filosa Nursing Home in Danbury, Ridgefield VNA/Hospice, and Visiting Angels of Brookfield, for the excellent care that was given to him during recent years.

Calling hours will be at the Hull Funeral home, 60 Division Street, Danbury, CT 06810 on Friday, January 3, 2020, from 6:00 to 8:00 PM. A Memorial Mass will be celebrated on Saturday, January 4th, 2020 at Sacred Heart of Jesus Church, 12 Cottage Street, Danbury, CT, at 10:00 AM. Interment with Military Honors will be done in the spring of 2020.

Donations in his memory can be made to the following organizations: Scions of the 17th Airborne Division Memorial Fund, 62A Forty Acre Mt. Rd, Danbury, CT 06811 Or Sacred Heart of Jesus Church, 12 Cottage Street, Danbury, CT. 08810

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