Joseph E. Czarnecki, celebrated family physician and Holy Ghost Prep team doctor, has died at 86
He drove to more emergency house calls in Port Richmond than anyone can remember, and he practiced medicine with his wife for decades on East Allegheny Avenue.
Joe Czarnecki became a doctor in 1965, his wife, Nancy, said, because: “He loved people.” And because he loved them, she said: “He wanted to help them.”
So, for 43 years, Dr. Joe, as everyone called him, cared for generations of patients in and around Port Richmond. He drove to more emergency house calls than anyone can remember, and he told The Inquirer in 1973 that he kept an extra gallon of gasoline on hand just in case.
“If I get caught without gasoline,” he said, “that’s trouble.” Sometimes, he accepted home-cooked food as payment.
Dr. Joe also loved basketball and Holy Ghost Preparatory School in Bensalem, and he volunteered as the basketball team doctor for 22 years. So, from 1981 to 2003, he watched hundreds of games from the student section, constantly waving a white rally towel and launching into cheers and chants.
“He made those years special,” said Tony Chapman, retired Holy Ghost basketball coach. Chapman’s wife, Jane, said: “He was better than a mascot.” In 2007, the school inducted him into its athletic Hall of Fame.
Dr. Joe and his wife practiced family medicine together for two decades on East Allegheny Avenue in Port Richmond. They established a much-needed local mammography unit and diagnostic center, and he worked later with Allegheny, Tenet, Einstein, and Holmesburg medical groups. He retired in 2009.
On Saturday, April 18, Joseph E. Czarnecki, 86, of Egg Harbor Township and Venice, Fla., formerly of Philadelphia, died of complications from a hip fracture at Tidewell Hospice in Venice.
“He was one of a kind,” Chapman said. “Super personable, high energy, always looked to the good in people.”
Born in Port Richmond and a 1961 graduate of Temple University, Dr. Czarnecki and his wife, also a doctor and Temple graduate, established their family practice in 1966. He focused on preventive care, chronic disease management, and treatment across entire lifetimes.
He made rounds and served on committees at the old Northeastern Hospital, and lectured to peers at seminars and the public about medical issues. When his wife went on maternity leave over the years, he looked after her patients, too.
At Holy Ghost, Dr. Czarnecki went to practices and took players to Villanova games for fun and instruction. He gave them Gatorade and gum, and advised them on nutrition and sleep.
He wore his team jacket to games, sent newspaper clippings to Chapman, and even offered coaching tips on the side. “Dr. Joe loved the players,” former player Gary Nolan said.
Dr. Czarnecki graduated from the College of Osteopathic Medicine and Surgery at what is now Des Moines University in Iowa in 1965. Editors of his senior yearbook wrote: “His good natured personality will undoubtedly keep him at the top in the practice of his choice.”
He met Nancy Szwec when they were freshmen at Temple. They started dating as Temple seniors, spent years apart at different medical schools, and married in 1963.
They both earned bachelor’s degrees in biology at Temple, and she was among the first graduating class at Thomas Jefferson Medical College that included women in 1965. Together, they fund two scholarships at Jefferson.
Dr. Czarnecki spoke English and Polish, and loved nothing more than to fish with family and friends, even when he got seasick.
His wife said: “He was kind and funny. There was always a smile on his face.”
Joseph Eugene Czarnecki was born June 23, 1939. He was always a standout student, and his parents sent him to the old St. John Kanty Prep School in Erie, Pa.
He and his wife lived in the Northeast for decades and had sons Joseph and John, and daughters Andrea and Camille. They relocated over the last 20 years to Egg Harbor Township in the summer and Venice in the winter.
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Dr. Czarnecki followed the 76ers and Villanova basketball teams. He volunteered with the Knights of Columbus and the Lions and Circle K Kiwanis Clubs.
He and his wife enjoyed birding, opera, ballet, and twirling and stomping on the dance floor. He liked to say: “Happy wife, happy life.”
He was a tall tale teller, everyone said, and he doted on his children and grandchildren. They said: “He instilled the importance of treasuring family, offering genuine kindness, choosing optimism, and always saving room for dessert.”
His son Joe and daughter-in-law Wendy said: “His wisdom was not conveyed by elaborate or eloquent speeches but by a lifetime of quiet example.”
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His wife said: “He was the love of my life. We shared everything. He was so loving, so giving.”
In addition to his wife and children, Dr. Czarnecki is survived by eight grandchildren, a brother, and other relatives. Two brothers died earlier.
Visitation with the family is to be at 10 a.m. Saturday, Aug. 1, at St. Thomas Catholic Church, 331 8th St. South, Brigantine, N.J., 08203. Mass is to follow at 11 a.m.
Donations in his name may be made to St. Thomas Catholic Church, 331 Eighth St. South, Brigantine, N.J., 08203.
