Joseph I. "Irek" Mierzejewski, 70, of Pleasant Prairie, passed away on Sunday, May 7th, 2006, at Victory Memorial Hospital in Waukegan, IL. Born January 7, 1936, in Poland, he was the son of the late Henry and Weronika (Kolakowska) Mierzejewski. He was educated in the schools of Poland before coming the United States in 1961. On December 29, 1962, in Chicago, IL, he married Helen "Iska" Tychek. For 47 years he worked as a Machinist at Magnacast in Arlington Heights, IL. He was a member of St. Mary Catholic Church. Joseph was an excellent chef and always willing to help others, never expecting anything in return. He loved fishing and vacationing in Rhinelander, WI. His favorite thing was to be with his grandchildren. He was an outdoors enthusiast and enjoyed fishing, gardening and mushroom hunting. He kept up to date on world events. In earlier years he was a competitive Semi-Professional soccer and chess player in Poland. He was a superior mechanic and builder and was self taught in all trades. Surviving are his wife, Helen "Iska" of Pleasant Prairie; three children, Margaret (David) Milz of Bristol, Robert (Debbie) Mierzejewski of Brighton, and Joseph (Jill) Mierzejewski, Jr. of Pleasant Prairie; two sisters, Janina (Bill) Kowaliszyn and Barbara (Karl) Riess, both of Illinois; three brothers, Kazimierz (Alina) Mierzejewski of Poland, and Tom (Halina) and Gregory (Donna) Mierzejewski, both of Illinois; eight grandchildren, David "DJ", Derek, Brittany and Dustin Milz, Kyle, Robby and Dylan Mierzejewski and Ann "Annie" Marie Mierzejewski; his mother and father-in-law, Leokadia and Mieczyskaw Idzikowski of Chicago, IL; and sisters-in-law, Elzbieta (Ford) Harding of New Jersey and Alice Dogancay of Chicago, IL. Funeral services will be held on Thursday, May 11th, from Proko Funeral Home at 1:00 pm. Mass to be celebrated at St. Mary Catholic Church at 1:30 pm. Interment to follow at Springbrook Cemetery. Visitation will be held on Thursday from 10:00 am until the time of services at Proko Funeral Home.Proko Funeral Home & Crematory5111-60th StreetKenosha, WI 53144Phone: (262) 654-3533www.prokofuneralhome.com