Obituary of Stanley Joseph Socha

Chapel Hill - Stanley Socha, 95, of Chapel Hill, NC and formerly of Stockbridge, MA, died peacefully on Sunday, August 11, 2019.  A loving husband, father, and grandfather, Stanley was a kind and gentle man who was always willing to lend a hand to family and friends.

He was born on June 19, 1924 in Adams, MA to the late Bronislawa Gzierga Socha and Jozef Socha.  After attending local schools in Adams, Stanley served in the US Army during WWII.  For nearly a decade in the 1950's, Stanley was on of the craftsmen who built the Chapel at the Marian Fathers Shrine of the Divine Mercy in Stockbridge, MA.  He not only worked in the construction of the church, but was one of two men who created the woodcarvings that adorn the interior.  It was there that Stanley met his future wife, the late Jadwiga Kraszeski, who was working as a secretary.

Stanley and Jadwiga were married on October 10, 1953.  Stanley later had his own construction business and then went to work at General Electric, where he was a specialized machinist in the Naval Ordinancce Department.  After retiring from GE, Stanley enjoyed repairing antique furniture and volunteering his talents with Habitat for Humanity when he and his wife moved to Chapel Hill.   

Stanley is survived by his daughters, Susanne Jackson, and her husband, William, of Chapel Hill, NC, Barbara Perkel, and her husband, John, of West Stockbridge, MA; son, Peter Socha, and his wife, Nancy, of Stockbridge, MA; and his granddaughters, Vanessa Jackson and Julia Jackson.

In addition to his wife of 62 years, and parents, Stanley was preceded in death by his sisters, Julia and Helen, and his brothers, Frank, John, Louis, Stephen and Walter.

A Mass of Christian Burial will be celebrated in in memory of Stanley on Friday, August 16, 2019 at 2:00 p.m. at St. Thomas More Catholic Church, 940 Carmichael Street, Chapel Hill, NC 27514.

In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to Habitat for Humanity, 88 Vilcom Center Drive, UnitL110, Chapel Hill, NC 27514, https://www.orangehabitat.org/donate, or to St. Thomas More Catholic Church, https://stmchapelhill.org.

The Socha family is under the care of Walker's Funeral Home of Chapel Hill.  Please express your online condolences by using the tab below.

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