Andrew J. Chomentowski, longtime Philadelphia and school district police officer, has died at 83
He retired from the police department after 31 years as a corporal and worked for 17 years as a sergeant with the school district.
Andrew J. Chomentowski, 83, of Philadelphia, retired longtime Philadelphia and school district police officer, Army veteran, community volunteer, and doting father of three daughters, died Tuesday, Jan. 27, of complications from dementia at his home in Fishtown.
Over 31 years of service, Officer Chomentowski rose to the rank of corporal in the Philadelphia Police Department. He was assigned to the Northwest, Northeast, and East Police Divisions, and worked in Fairmount Park and at Philadelphia International Airport.
He also did stakeout and administrative jobs, served as a department spokesperson, and was active with the Fraternal Order of Police. He was working the night shift at the airport in the winter of 1992 when he told The Inquirer that he sympathized with the struggling women who regularly slept on floors and chairs in the deserted terminals at night.
“As long as they don’t bother anybody, we don’t bother them,” he said. “We don’t want to arrest them, and we don’t want to kick them out. I mean, it’s winter.”
In the 1980s, among other things, he had to deal with a crippling power outage at the airport and a tragic drag-racing death in Kensington. In 1970, he was working as an off-duty assistant manager at an auto tag service in West Oak Lane when two men robbed the office. He gave chase with his service revolver when they ran off and exchanged gunfire with one of the robbers. Both escaped.
He retired from the police department in 1996 and worked until 2013 as a police officer with the school district. He became a sergeant and worked most often at South Philadelphia High School.
“He came off as strict and stern sometimes. But he was the fairest person I know,” said his daughter Kit. “He was practical and paid attention to detail. He liked sharing his knowledge and wisdom with young people, and help them understand why things were done in a certain way.”
He spent three years, from 1962 to 1965, in the Army as a mechanic and was stationed for a time in Germany. Back in Fishtown, he was handy around cars and the house, and he often helped neighbors with repairs they could not complete.
He was especially adept at electrical upgrades. “As the number of TVs and hair dryers grew, so did the number of receptacles and lights,” his family said in a tribute.
He and his wife, Kate, helped found the Fishtown Civic Association, and they were always in the thick of things when it came to neighborhood improvement projects. He liked to read, was interested in current events, and wrote letters to the editor of The Inquirer about public service city residency requirements, the role of police in aiding stranded motorists, the site of a new baseball stadium, a controversial police department shift change policy, a proposed police advisory board, and the role of the FBI in local crime investigations.
“He always wanted to get things right,” his daughter Kit said. “It wasn’t how you wanted it to be done. It was about how it should be done.”
He worked part-time jobs for years and sent his daughters to private Catholic schools. If they needed something, they said, he got it for them.
“Dad’s life was rooted in providing for his family, protecting the citizens of Philadelphia, and helping in the community,” his family said. “And he survived in a house with four women and one bathroom.”
Andrew John Chomentowski was born Nov. 29, 1942, in Philadelphia. The youngest of three children, he sang in the Philadelphia Boys Choir, dropped out of high school, and earned his General Educational Development certificate a few years later in the Army.
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He met Kate Hampton through mutual friends in Fishtown, and they married in 1962. They had daughters Kit, Helen, and Andrea, and lived together in Fishtown for 63 years. His wife died in 2025.
Officer Chomentowski liked to barbecue and smoke meats, and was known for “Andy’s famous burned chicken.” He enjoyed movies, public radio, all kinds of music, photography, and deep-sea fishing.
He was a good driver and took his family on camping trips and memorable cross-country vacations. “He almost always took the scenic route, otherwise known as the ‘looooong’ way,” said his granddaughter Catrenia. “He was never in a hurry to get anywhere.”
He escorted his family to concerts, musicals, and the ballet. He tinkered with his electric trains at Christmas and insisted that the tinsel be placed on the tree one strand at a time.
He was funny and liked to crack jokes, and a friend said in an online tribute: “I will always remember Andy as the life of the party.” His daughters said: “We are proud to have called him dad and even prouder of his service to others.”
In addition to his daughters and granddaughter, Officer Chomentowski is survived by two other grandchildren, a great-grandson, and other relatives. A sister and a brother died earlier.
Services were held earlier.
Donations in his name may be made to the Alzheimer’s Association, 225 N. Michigan Ave., Floor 17, Chicago, Ill. 60601.