James M. Kwiatkowski

James M. Kwiatkowski, a longtime Blade copy editor, a former teacher at St. Francis de Sales High School and Cardinal Stritch who reportedly left the seminary because he couldnt sing died at his Toledo home on Monday, his family said. He was 77.Mr. Kwiatkowskis niece, Jennifer Glendening, 38, said emergency responders said her uncle likely died of heart failure. She said he had a history of heart problems, but his death was a shock to the family, his friends, and co-workers at The Blade.Ms. Glendening said she went out for an early dinner about 3 p.m. Monday and, when she returned to their South Toledo home and saw Mr. Kwiatkowskis car still in the drive at 5:30, when he was slated to start work, she knew something was wrong.She found her uncle in his room.Ms. Glendening called her uncle an important role model not only to her, but to her 7-year-old daughter.”He was the greatest guy in the world,” said Ms. Glendening, who lived with Mr. Kwiatkowski since 1996. “He was my mentor, my best friend. He was just earlier showing us some stuff on his iPad, joking with us, sitting outside, and reading his books.”He had been reading Thinking, Fast and Slow, by Daniel Kahneman, Ms. Glendening said.Mr. Kwiatkowski, who graduated from Central Catholic High School in 1953, was a student in the college of education at the University of Toledo, according to Blade archives.While a junior at UT, he was named editor of the Blockhouse, the annual yearbook, in 1956. He graduated from UT in 1958.Mr. Kwiatkowski was born in Toledo on Nov. 6, 1934, to Valeria and Chester Kwiatkowski.Mr. Kwiatkowski, the oldest of four children, never married nor did he have children, but was close with his extended family.For a time, Mr. Kwiatkowski was in the seminary studying in Maryland, but eventually left when he “decided it wasnt for him,” Ms. Glendening said. “One reason why he left the seminary was because he couldnt sing,” Ms. Glendening said. “He didnt want them to make him sing.”He taught at schools in Philadelphia and Wilmington, Del., before moving back to Toledo and taking a teaching job at Cardinal Stritch Catholic High School.In 1974, Mr. Kwiatkowski was hired as an English teacher at St. Francis. During his time there he started a student magazine and was the adviser to the student newspaper, the Lance.”The students at St. Francis worshiped the ground he was on. Literally,” said a longtime friend, Stephen Loomis, a French teacher at the high school.Mr. Kwiatkowski and Mr. Loomis, 66, who plans to retire at the end of this school year, started at the school the same year and became instant friends.Mr. Loomis, a Findlay native who returned to Ohio from Washington, said Mr. Kwiatkowski “took me under his wing. He sort of led me through teaching at this new school and gave me lots of comfort and guidance, and our friendship just grew and we clicked.”Mr. Kwiatkowski loved to teach he would always want to discuss teaching and wonder how he could better do his job, Mr. Loomis said.As adviser of the Lance, he would spend long hours at the school with students working on the publications, pushing them to work harder and take their jobs as student journalists seriously.”He demanded they be there and be on time,” Mr. Loomis said. “He would teach them responsibility. You dont just join the newspaper and have your own schedule. You had to be responsible for your job, and it was a job.”When he did that, the kids really bought into it,” Mr. Loomis said. “He did a fantastic job.”In 1978, Mr. Kwiatkowski was the first to be awarded the Outstanding English Teacher Award from the northwestern Ohio chapter of the Public Relations Society of America, according to Blade archives.Mr. Kwiatkowski left teaching about the time he was hired at The Blade in 1989.Tony Durham, Blade news editor, said Mr. Kwiatkowski was excellent at explaining things.”Whenever you had to train someone on a new job or on a computer system, or a new employee, he was the first one to go to because he was so good at explaining things,” said Mr. Durham, who attributed the ability to Mr. Kwiatkowskis teaching career.Mr. Kwiatkowski wrote headlines, photo captions, and other display type; proofread, and frequently was in charge of the daily index box on the front page of The Blade that directs readers to content inside the paper. During his career he also worked on the Neighbors section of the paper.”He was a good all-around copy editor and a fine gentleman,” Mr. Durham said.Ms. Glendening said her uncle loved to travel. She recalled a trip she took with him to New York City last year, when Mr. Kwiatkowski became dehydrated and collapsed in Times Square near where Good Morning America is filmed.Ms. Glendening said she joked with her uncle, who she said had a good sense of humor, asking why he couldnt have waited until morning so they could be on television.Her uncle was an avid reader. Inside his bedroom, she said, there were dozens of books. If one was moved, he would know about it.Mr. Loomis recalled Mr. Kwiatkowski once reading a book about the history of the comma.”He was extremely smart and intellectual,” Mr. Loomis said. “A lot of times he was over my head.”Ms. Glendening said her uncle planned to retire from The Blade so he could help her home-school her daughter.Mr. Loomis said Monday he bought an iPad, inspired to do so by Mr. Kwiatkowski, who was always embracing new technology.When computers were first becoming popular, Mr. Loomis said, Mr. Kwiatkowski was playing on them at St. Francis, learning how to design the student paper.Just three days ago, the two friends met for lunch in South Toledo, something they hadnt done in 10 years.”I look at that as a gift from God, to go out one last time,” Mr. Loomis said. “We hadnt done that in a long time.”Mr. Loomis said the two stayed at the restaurant for almost three hours, past closing time, catching up.”This has been a shock to my system,” Mr. Loomis said, saying he fell to the ground when Ms. Glendening called to deliver the news.”Im going to miss him a lot,” Mr. Loomis said. “Hes one of my best friends absolutely. A great guy.”Mr. Kwiatkowski is survived by his brother, John, and sisters, Jean Kwiatkowski and Joyce Zakorczeny.Funeral arrangements were pending.