Alexander T. Polasky, acknowledged to all as Tim, was born June 9, 1946, in Canonsburg, to Mary (nee Hrcka) and Alexander Polasky. He was lifted, along with youthful brother Fred, within a substantial extended loved ones of loving aunts and uncles.
He graduated from Canon-McMillan High Faculty in 1964, and from the U.S. Coastline Guard Academy in New London, Conn., in 1968. Tim then went on to serve for 25 years as an engineer in the U.S. Coastline Guard – a profession that offered him the chance to vacation the environment.
Tim’s initial tour of duty with the Coastline Guard was aboard the USCGC Pontchartrain, providing assist off the coastline of Vietnam throughout the Vietnam War. In 1971, he moved to Kodiak, Alaska, to provide aboard the USCGC Storis, which patrolled the Bering Sea and Gulf of Alaska. Tim’s really like of Alaska was fast and enduring.
Even though on shore go away in Kodiak, Tim achieved Jacqueline Gibson. They had been married August 11, 1972. Their 1st kid, daughter Natasha Anne, was born in Kodiak in 1976. Subsequent her beginning, the spouse and children remaining Alaska and drove across the state in a yellow Volkswagen bug to Ann Arbor, Mich., where Tim attended graduate school at the University of Michigan. He graduated in 1978, to start with in his course, with degrees in marine engineering and naval architecture. In Michigan, he also acquired a lifelong appreciate of Michigan football.
The family then moved to Extensive Seaside, Calif., and from 1978-1980 Tim served aboard the USCGC Glacier, an icebreaker supporting scientific investigate in the Weddell Sea of Antarctica.
In 1978, Tim and Jackie welcomed a second child, son Nicholas Alexander. The loved ones then moved throughout the state to Alexandria, Va., exactly where Tim served a tour of duty at the Coast Guard headquarters in Washington, D.C. When living in Virginia, Tim followed in his father’s footsteps and planted a large vegetable backyard, which he spoke of all his lifetime.
In 1983, Tim at last obtained yet another assignment in Alaska, this time in Juneau. For a last time the loved ones moved across the country, now in a trusty Volkswagen bus. In Juneau, Tim and Jackie welcomed their 3rd kid, daughter Sophia Catherine, born in 1984.
When living in Juneau, Tim served two further excursions of obligation to Antarctica. From 1986-1987 he was the government officer aboard the USCGC Glacier, and from 1987-1988 he was the government officer aboard the USCGC Polar Sea. Both of those ships sent provides and furnished aid to the McMurdo Station on Ross Island in Antarctica. Tim mailed home hundreds of postcards to his three youngsters, the place he recounted his adventures in meticulous handwriting. He arrived property with hundreds of shots of penguins on ice flows.
Tim retired from the Coastline Guard in 1994 obtaining reached the rank of captain. His last assignment was as district inspector, which enabled him to journey all in excess of Alaska to considerably flung locales, which he greatly liked.
After his retirement from the Coast Guard, Tim took on his most difficult, and perhaps his favourite, mission: driving a university bus for a 12 months. His character and navy sensibilities served him properly – he gave two troublesome little ones assigned seats at the front of the bus, but by the finish of the yr they were being inviting him to their substantial faculty functions – invitations he did not settle for. In 1995, Tim embarked on a next profession with the Alaska Marine Freeway Program, spending 10 a long time furnishing engineering guidance to the ferries of SE Alaska.
After retiring for a 2nd time, Tim loved strolling the beaches of Juneau with his wife and his beloved malamute huskies. He was an avid recycler, and would return from his seaside walks with all kinds of deserted treasures which he handed on to his grandchildren. He was so very pleased of just about every of his 10 grandchildren. He cherished sitting by his woodstove working crossword puzzles and sudoku, equally of which he did in pen.
Tim was also a fixture at St. Paul’s Catholic Church, where by he attended day-to-day Mass and engaged in energetic theological debates. He was a voracious reader, and would mail earmarked and highlighted articles or blog posts to his youngsters on a common foundation. His Catholic religion influenced a commitment to social justice, and he was a quiet philanthropist all his everyday living. Tim had a sharp and brief brain, matched by a curiosity that under no circumstances stop. He was a boisterous and commanding storyteller, and close friends will don’t forget for yrs how his voice could fill a space. Most of all, he was devoted to his spouse and relatives, and cared deeply about furnishing for them. He left powering a complete pantry and a neatly stacked woodshed.
Tim handed absent unexpectedly Thursday, January 7, 2021.
He is survived by his wife, Jacqueline Polasky of Juneau a brother, Fred Polasky (Maureen Riley) of Boalsburg small children Natasha (Sean) Flak of Vancouver, Wash., Nicholas (Kelley) Polasky of Juneau and Sophia Polasky (Chris Lauer) of Silver Spring, Md. and his 10 grandchildren, Aileen, Audrey and Evelyn Flak, James, John, Zachary, Micah and Abigail Polasky, and Alois and Jacqueline Lauer.
For a boy born in landlocked Pennsylvania, he noticed the earth, and uncovered a 2nd residence at sea amount. Dad, we skip you. Your woodstove was very well tended. Honest winds and next seas.
In lieu of bouquets, you should look at a donation in Tim’s title to just one of the charities he supported his complete lifetime: the Covenant Residence in Anchorage, Alaska. Donations can be manufactured at https://www.covenanthouse.org.
To plant a lovely memorial tree in memory of Alexander T. Polasky, stop by the Tribute Retailer at www.legacyalaska.com.
Printed in Observer-Reporter on Jan. 23, 2021.