Joseph H. Michalcewicz

Joe Michalcewicz, 70, of Hampton Lake in Bluffton, SC passed away at his residence on Sunday, March 19, 2017. Joe was born in Bayonne, NJ to the late Stella (Funk) and Joseph Michalcewicz and grew up in Scotch Plains, NJ. He was a proud Eagle Scout and always enjoyed the honor of having obtained this rank. While attending Rutgers University, he was a member of the ROTC and upon graduating in 1968 with a degree in Journalism he was commissioned as a Second Lieutenant in the US Army. Shortly after graduation, he was stationed at Fort Knox, Kentucky. While there Joe met the love of his life, Pat, in Louisville and they were married in May 1969. After serving in Vietnam with the 2nd Battalion 34th Armor leading a Combat Tank Platoon from 1969 through 1970, Joe returned home with the rank of First Lieutenant and moved to New Jersey with his wife, where he began his life long career with Johnson and Johnson in New Brunswick. During this time he earned his MBA from Pace University in New York City. He worked his way up to Vice President of Human Resources at ALZA in Mountain View, CA where he proudly retired early after 29 years of service to Johnson and Johnson. Upon retirement in 2005, Joe and Pat moved to the Lowcountry of South Carolina to be closer to their family. Joe enjoyed an active lifestyle that included traveling the world with Pat. Some of his favorite travels included the entire family and at the end of a day on any beach he would remark, “This is the life!” He loved being a part-time Californian and spent the summers in the Lake Tahoe area where he enjoyed stand-up paddle boarding, kayaking, hiking, biking and jumping off “the rocks” into the lake. In 2008-2010, he served as the President of the Johnson and Johnson Western Region Retiree club. Joe valued community service and in 2010, he joined a small group to evaluate the healthcare needs of the underserved in the growing Bluffton-Jasper county area. This led to the start of the Bluffton-Jasper County Volunteers in Medicine Clinic. He had most recently chaired the Community Outreach Committee with the goals of increasing community awareness and financial support for the clinic. Joe was proud of his service to Volunteers in Medicine and the impact it has on the community. From a young age, Joe was an avid New York Yankees fan and enjoyed attending games with his father and later his daughter, Robin. Joe had a gift with words and loved to share his writing and stories with those closest to him. He took great pleasure in writing about the Yankees and memorable moments from the good old days. GO YANKEES! He had the rare quality of maintaining life long friendships with childhood friends and those he met throughout his career with Johnson and Johnson. He closed many a conversation and speaking event with, “And the crowd went wild!” Joe is survived by his loving wife, Pat (Shean) Michalcewicz and their daughter, Robin Michalcewicz Enders and her husband, Rob, of Centreville, MD. Joe was an awesome Papa to his granddaughters, Abbie Enders of Centreville, MD and Emily Enders and fiancé, Jordan Beall of Davidsonville, MD. In addition, his sister Pat Hamilton and her husband, Terry Hamilton of South Boston, MA, also survive Joe. His niece, Jennifer Lavery, and nephews Kevin Hilliard and Mark Michalcewicz survive him. His brother, Bill Michalcewicz and niece, Tanya Michalcewicz, predeceased Joe. A celebration of Joe’s life will be held on April 22, from 11am to 2pm at The Lakehouse in the Hampton Lake community at 20 Hampton Lake Drive in Bluffton, SC. In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions may be made to Bluffton-Jasper County Volunteers in Medicine, PO Box 2653, Bluffton, SC, 29910.