A life is measured in many ways, but when you really think about this journey of ours there are really only three important ideas that measure our moral compass - kindness, goodness and love. We lost John Zalesny, our brother, brother-in-law, uncle and friend Friday, November 17th. He died peacefully, surrounded by family after a long battle with muscular disease that robbed him of his body but not his soul. He was a soft-spoken gentle person who thought of other and put their needs ahead of his own. John was incredibly unselfish, gracious and giving.

John was born in Wilkes-Barre, PA and resided there before his family - parents John and Josephine, sisters Rose Marie, Joan and Barbara Ann and twin brother Joseph relocated to Passaic and eventually Clifton. He was a graduate of Passaic High School and a star football player there and at Upsala College in East Orange. He servied with the US Army in Vietnam and was Honorably Discharged in 1972.

He was a longshoreman in Connecticut for decades and a member of the AFL-CIO and will be missed by co-workers and close friends. Although he was a longtime resident of New London, his refrigerator door was covered with family photos shared through the years - distance in miles, perhaps, but not the heart. He's dancing the polka in heaven and reuniting with family who welcomed him with opens arms and he is in our hearts forever.

John is survived by his twin brother, Joe, his sisters, Barbara Ann Paz, Joan Franzoni, brother-in-law Joseph Paz, sister-in-law Patricia Zalesny and numerous nieces, nephews and great-nephews. He was predeceased by his parents, his sister Rose Marie Hoentz and her husband LeRoy Hoentz and their sons, Richard and Robert.

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John Joseph Zalesny, 74, of New London, CT., passed away on November 17, 2017. Born in Jenkins Township, PA, he was raised in Passaic and Clifton and was a resident of New London for many years.

An Army Veteran of the Vietnam War, John was a Longshoreman for many years, retiring several years ago. Beloved brother of Joan Franzoni of Brick, Joseph Zalesny and Barbara Paz of Clifton, and the late Rose Marie Hoentz.

Funeral Tuesday 9:45 AM at the Shook Funeral Home, 639 Van Houten Ave., Clifton, and 11 AM at St. John Kanty RC Church, Clifton. Interment, St. Mary's Cemetery, Saddle Brook. Visiting Monday 5-9 PM at the funeral home.

In lieu of flowers, donations made to the Vietnam Veterans of America, 8719 Colesville Rd., Suite 100, Silver Spring, Maryland 20910, www.vvva.org in memory of John would be greatly appreciated.