Obituary of Wallace J. Wojtowicz

Wallace Joseph Wojtowicz, Jr. beloved and adored son, brother, uncle, God-father, grandson, nephew, cousin and friend passed away peacefully at home on Monday afternoon in the presence of his loving family after a long illness. Wally was born December 18th, 1966 in Troy, NY. Diagnosed at the age of two with profound, non-verbal autism, at the age of 10 with epilepsy, and at the age of 36 with ALS (aka Lou Gehrig's disease). Wally developed patience and resilience at a young age. Due to the unflagging advocacy and excellent care of his mother and father, Wally was able to thrive, live life to the fullest, and remain at home with his family his whole life. Wally began writing using Facilitated Communication at the age of twenty five and achieved the ability to type independently on both his computer and his eye gaze computer. He used his amazing intellect to write about his experience of being autistic with the purpose of enlightening neurotypical people so they could better understand and advocate for people with autism. Wally's hope was that his work would improve the quality of life and access to education and communication for non-verbal autistic people. Having had no voice for so long, Wally blossomed when Facilitated Communication opened up our world to him, and he always used his writing to bring good into the world. Wally was invited to present his work at several conferences and classrooms and is a published author. His work has been included in at least 6 books and numerous publications that have been distributed worldwide. He was a wonderful advocate for people with disabilities, a deeply spiritual human being and a kind, compassionate friend to all who knew him. Wally had a wonderful sense of humor. He loved opera and classical music, poetry, and nature. He was an avid reader of history and science books who also immensely enjoyed having the Harry Potter series read to him by his sister. He looked forward to the sunflower garden his dad would plant in front of his window every spring, watching the flowers grow with the birds and squirrels among them. Wally appreciated the many thoughtful things his mom always did for him, and wrote her beautiful letters thanking her. Wally enjoyed a very loving relationship with all of his grandparents. He was an excellent uncle who always thought of his nieces and nephews and little cousins, and he loved babies and the company of the family dogs Michie and Oliver. He was a loyal friend and a devoted family man. Despite the physical limitations imposed by his illness Wally stayed busy with his writing and was focused on living each day with gratitude, enjoying time with loved ones and achieving the goal of finishing his book. His joyful smile, peaceful presence and wise words will be deeply, sorely missed by his family and friends. Wally is survived by his devoted parents, Wallace and Gayalyn (Howard) Wojtowicz Sr. of Halfmoon, grandmother Marjorie (Knapp) Howard of Halfmoon, sisters and brothers-in-law Jennifer and Marcus Anderson of Vischer Ferry and Jane and Mark Munoff of Blackfoot, Idaho, nieces and nephews Christopher Munoff, Madeline (Munoff) and Johnathan Hojnicki and their children Max and Mena, Lauren (Munoff) and Mark Neumann and their son Eric, Jonathan, Mary, Paul and Matthew Wallace Munoff, Marcel Garbos, and JenniferAdama Anderson, aunts and uncles John and Carole Wojtowicz of Halfmoon and Guy and Susan Howard of Vischer Ferry, great-aunts and uncles Lorraine and Walter Bilinski, Dinda and Fred McNeary and Wallace and Winifred Knapp and many cousins, especially Gail Fryer, Erin (Wojtowicz) Massaroni, Molly Honsinger and Reece Howard. Wally is the Godfather of his cousin Carson Wallace Massaroni and his niece JennyAdama Anderson. Wally is also survived by many friends, especially his dear friend Jennifer Bakeman of Burlington, Vermont and Jean Wood and Wendell Harris of Albany. Wally is predeceased by his grandparents John and Sarah (Bochenek) Wojtowicz and Guyowen Howard, Sr., his best friend of twenty years Daniel Treacey and his niece AdiaRose Anderson. Our family would like to express our deepest gratitude to Wally's doctor, Dr. Roberta Miller, whose tireless efforts and advocacy made it possible for Wally to have a beautiful quality of life at home with his family. We also wish to express our deepest gratitude to Wally's respiratory therapist, Ken Andersen and nursing staff, especially his friend Sandra Soltran, and all of the other people who made up "Team Wally", including his personal barber Joe Marotto who kept Wally looking sharp and the nurses and staff at St. Peter's Hospital for their devoted care during his visits there. At Wally's request there will be no calling hours. A Mass of Christian burial will be held on Friday at 11 am at St. Mary’s Church in Crescent. Burial will take place following the service at St. Paul’s Cemetery in Mechanicville. As an expression of sympathy, memorial contributions may be sent to St. Peter's ALS Regional Center (19 Warehouse Row, Albany, NY 12205, 518-525-1629) or Clifton Park and Halfmoon Emergency Corps (PO BOX 1469 Clifton Park, NY, 518-371-3880). Our family would like to express our deepest gratitude to these organizations for the care that they provided for Wally.