Feb. 27, 1921—Nov. 25, 2009

Robert J. Warsitz, a volunteer firefighter and retired employee of the Erie County Department of Environmental Planning, died Nov. 25 in Hospice Buffalo, Cheektowaga. He was 88.

Mr. Warsitz was an Army Air Forces veteran of World War II.

As a county employee, he worked as a mechanic, specializing in diesel engines. He retired in the late 1970s.

Active in firefighting circles, Mr. Warsitz joined the Lake Erie Volunteer Fire Company in 1969 and served as its president.

He also was a member of the Angola Fire Control Fire Police Association, Erie County Volunteer Firemen’s Association, Erie County Fire Police Association, Southwestern Association of Volunteer Firemen and the Firemen’s Association of the State of New York.

Survivors include his wife, the former Isabel “Betty” Murawski- Warsitz. The two married in 1981. His first wife, Patricia, died in 1978.

“We came together like two good friends,” said his wife, who noted they met as volunteers for the Lake Erie company.

Other survivors include a daughter, Linda J. Compisi; a son, Robert C.; two stepdaughters, Carlene Bingenheimer and Miriam “Mimi” Alf; and a stepson, Henry Murawski.

A Mass of Christian Burial will be offered at 10 a. m. today in Most Precious Blood Catholic Church, 22 Prospect St., Angola, with prayers at 9:30 in Addison Funeral Home, 262 N. Main St., Angola.