1900: Born June 27 in Newark, the son of Polish immigrants Vincent and Sofia Dobarzynski.
Not much is known about Sophia and Vincent, who returned to their native Poland, leaving their son and daughter, Walter and Sofie (1905–1996), in the United States.
Sophia and Vincent may have given their son Walter the Catholic middle name Ignatius to indicate a line of descent from the Ignacy Dobrzyński family of pianists and composers, or simply as a reverential homage to them.
Sophia was Jewish, according to Walter’s daughter, who added that the children were left on their own with the hope that they would live a better life as Christians in the new world.
Walter and his sister Sofie were raised in Catholic orphanages in the Newark and Buffalo areas, possibly the Immaculate Heart of Mary Orphan’s Home in Cheektowaga, N.Y., as it allowed boy and girl siblings to stay together and was led by Polish clergy.
1919: Walter joined the U.S. Navy.
1927: Dobarzynski was stationed at Pensacola Naval Air Station when he met Martha Hester Ryals (Sept. 10, 1906–Jan. 28, 1999) in nearby Century, Florida. They were married on May 6.
1928: Birth of son Walter Jr.
1929: Birth of son Joseph.
1934: Birth of daughter Martha.
Circa late 1930s: Move to National City, California. While on assignment as an aviator in Hawaii, the aircraft on which Dobarzynski served, a Consolidated PBY Catalina seaplane, was flying low and crashed into the beach. He survived, but his back was badly injured, and this would be a source of pain throughout the rest of his life. Dobarzynski was no longer able to fly.
1941–42: Stationed in Astoria, Oregon. The family was making the trip north up the coast, crossing the Golden Gate Bridge on December 7, 1941, they heard news on the radio that Japan had attacked Pearl Harbor. As soon as they crossed the bridge, they got off the road so Dobarzynski could check in by phone and find out what was happening and where he should go. The family only stayed in Astoria for a couple of months. Dobarzynski was transferred to Jacksonville to escape Oregon’s cold, damp climate, which aggravated his back condition.
1944: The family lived in a Jacksonville military project until Dobarzynski retired as a chief aviation machinist mate. The family would go on to buy a house in the Murray Hill section of Jacksonville where Dobarzynski created a machinist shop in his garage. He could create virtually anything with his hands, from finely finished furniture to go-carts for his grandchildren.
1962: Jacksonville; portrait by Richard W. Gilmore.
1972: Dobarzynski died in his sleep on May 8. Walter and Martha are buried at Riverside Memorial Park (unit 181, lot 13, space 5) in Jacksonville.
N.B. The portrait at the top was painted by L. Staples.
