Henry Zarzecki

Henry Joseph “Hank” Zarzecki, 86, died May 6, 2009, at his home at Aegis Assisted Living in Issaquah.

Hank was born Aug. 17, 1922, in Milwaukee, Wisc. to Joseph and Stella (nee Kurowski) Zarzecki, who both immigrated from Poland while young children.

Hank enlisted in the Navy during World War II and served as both a fireman and a machinist’s mate on the USS Trout submarine where he was known as “Ski.” The USS Trout (SS-202) was a Tambor-class submarine serving in the Pacific from 1941 through 1944. The Trout was sunk during a combat patrol with Japanese forces on Feb. 28, 1944.

Hank was aboard the Trout for nine of its 11 war patrols, including the second when its crew delivered ammunition to the besieged American forces on Corregidor and then evacuated 20 tons of gold and silver from the Philippine currency reserve to Pearl Harbor. The entire crew was awarded the Silver Star for that mission.

Upon completion of nine patrols, Hank was stationed at Perth in Western Australia for earned “R & R.” That’s where he met, courted and, on Feb. 5, 1944, married his sweetheart Patricia “Pat” Gepp.

After the war, Hank was employed by Mobil Oil in several of their California field operations, plus a year at Mobil’s facilities in Saudi Arabia, before his retirement in 1984.

Hank and Pat moved to a westside waterfront home on Whidbey Island in 1998 where he enjoyed watching the shipping lane traffic — especially the Coast Guard escorted submarines en route to or from the Bangor Naval Submarine Base. He regularly displayed his submarine flag and was delighted on the occasions when hoisting it was acknowledged by the crew standing bridge watch on a passing sub.

Hank is survived by his daughter, Susan (Mike) Kearns of Lake Almanor, Calif., and five step-grandchildren; daughter, Jan (Brett) Wilhelm of Greenbank; sister, Wanda Zimney of Milwaukee, Wisc.; sister, Irene (Gerald) Watson of Ash Grove, Mo.; and brother, Al Zarzecki of Muskego, Wisc. Hank is also survived by family members in Australia, including sister-in-law Florence (Les) Smith and brother-in-law Peter (Peg) Gepp of Perth where Hank was uncle to seven plus their spouses and great-uncle to nine.

He was preceded in death by his beloved wife Pat, and four sisters: Phyllis, Lillian, Celine and Janet.

Mass was celebrated Monday, May 11, at

St. Hubert Catholic Church in Langley. Interment was at Sunnyside in Coupeville.

The family would like to thank their dear friend,

Dr. Marianne Dorman, all the staff at Aegis of Issaquah, Evergreen Hospice and Burley Funeral Chapel for their help and support.