John Brymerski, age 92, a long time resident of Great Falls, passed away on December 2, 2024 at his daughter’s home where he had been residing since September 2023. John was born in Ostrow, Poland on February 3, 1932 to Jozef and Bronislawa (Berniece) Brymerski. He was 7 years old when WWII started and his family had been moved by the Nazi’s to a work camp in Germany. His father worked on a farm milking cows and doing manual labor to feed the German Army. When the war ended, he remembered that they were sleeping in a barn and heard the planes going over and people started to scream "The American’s are here!", and he said they all cried tears of joy.
The family was in Germany after the war until March 1949. When John was 17 years old, they all immigrated to Coaldale, Alberta, Canada. When asked why Canada, he would tell the story of how the village that he lived in had decided on several places; they all agreed they would go to Coaldale, Alberta, Canada to work the sugar beets. He went onto become an apprentice for an upholster in Lethbridge, Canada. There he met Alice Swiecinski of Great Falls when she went to visit friends in Lethbridge at a Polish Dance. They got married November 25, 1961 at Holy Family Catholic Church and they resided in Great Falls until Alice’s failing health forced them to move closer to their daughter in Billings. They had just celebrated their 64h anniversary exactly a week prior to his death. John missed Great Falls very much.
In Great Falls, he worked at Bofto’s Upholstery and then started his own upholstery shop called John’s Custom Upholstery on Central Avenue until his retirement. He continued to do jobs for special customers that did not want him to retire. He was known for the very precise upholstery he did, restoring old cars and working a lot with antiques. He enjoyed gardening and loved taking care of his roses. He also enjoyed the casinos. John was a regular customer at Lucky Lil’s on Fox Farm Road and the little convenient store where he got his Wednesday and Saturday lotto tickets at just about 8:00 p.m. because “that is what time the lucky numbers were drawn”. They all knew John and knew that he always wanted “THE WORKS” as well as last week’s winnings and then he would pick out a scratch card game. John then became a US Citizen in 2008, and that was one of the proudest moments of his life.
He was preceded in death by his parents, 2 brothers Edward and Leon and his daughter Christine Brymerski. He is survived by his wife Alice of 64 years, his 2 daughters, Amy Woodard (Bill) of Warner Robins, Georgia; Caroline Chvilicek (Jerome) of Billings, Montana; son, Mark Brymerski (Maria) of Auburn, Washington; 6 grandchildren, Tyler and Hunter Woodard, Tanner and Abbie Chvilicek, Zac Clough, and Joseph Brymerski; 4 great grandchildren, Ona & Rustin Chvilicek and Cooper & Camden Woodard; sister Jeannette Johnson of Granite Falls, Washington, and three nieces.
No services will be held at this time. Inurnment service will take place at a later date in Great Falls close to his late daughter, Christine.
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