Robert Leonard Wojciechowski, Hillside Farm, Barnesville, MD passed away September 2, 2018 at Frederick Memorial Hospital under the care of Frederick Hospice. Born in Jersey City, NJ, August 18, 1930, he was the caring son of the late Joseph and Stella Wojciechowski and grew up on Cranbury Neck Rd, in Cranbury, NJ.
He is survived by his loving wife of 55 years Madeleine Greene, children Kate (Jon) Grussing of London England, Robert M. of Boonsboro, MD, Christopher J. (Carol) Middlebrook, VA, Adrienne (Tom) McCann, Washington, DC. His six grandchildren loved their “PopPop”- Austin Wojciechowski, Alexandra, Charlotte, Maxwell, and Madeleine Grussing, and Madeleine Riley McCann. He is survived by his sisters Eleanor Berry, Cornelius, NC, Irene Holak, Whiting, NJ, and sister-in-law Mary Wojciechowski, Monroe, NJ. He was predeceased by his brother Eugene Wojciechowski.
After graduating from Hightstown HS in 1948, he began a lifetime of public service when he served with the US Army 7th Army Headquarters Staff, Patch Barracks, Stuttgart, Germany. Decades later he would delight in showing his children and grandchildren that he still fit into his uniform. Following military service he attended Rutgers University and was employed as County Office Manager in the Middlesex-Somerset-Union office of the U.S. Department of Agriculture-Agricultural Stabilization and Conservation Service (USDA-ASCS), the agency is now the USDA Farm Service Agency. In 1965 he was appointed New Jersey State USDA-ASCS Director, transferring in 1970 to the Office of the U.S. Secretary of Agriculture in Washington, DC. He later served as the Assistant Director, Southwest US for ASCS, completing 39 years of federal service with countless family farms assisted. Upon USDA retirement he joined the staff of the Barnesville School, where he was affectionately known by all as “Mr. Bob” retiring again in 2000.
Bob was a distinguished 4-H member representing NJ in Leadership at the National 4-H Club Congress and retiring the coveted President’s Trophy for NJ Beef Member of the Year after three wins. When he was not busy baking, gardening, practicing his cherished accordion (that only later in life his children fully appreciated), or tending to his small flock of chickens, he was a lifelong devoted 4-H volunteer and parent, a dedicated member of the St. Mary’s RC Church, Monocacy Lions Club, the Montgomery County Agricultural Center, and the Montgomery County Farm Bureau.
Recognizing the importance of science and giving back, he donated his body to medical research.
A memorial mass will be celebrated at St. Mary’s Church and Shrine, Barnesville, MD. October 6, 2016 at 11:00 am with the family greeting friends from 10-11:00 am. Inurnment will be at Arlington Cemetery at a date to be determined. Please consider a donation to Hospice of Frederick County, 516 Trail Ave., Frederick, MD, 21702 or St. Mary’s Haiti Project, which funds education and economic development in Carcasse, Haiti, c/o, St. Mary’s, P.O. Box 67, Barnesville, MD 20838 or The Prader-Willi Syndrome Association USA which supports research into the genetic defect of Bob’s grand-daughter Alexandra or a charity of your choosing.
